10x02 - Bus, Sweat and Tears

[bunniefuu]

[Marty] Homesteaders
have a dream,

but it's becoming a nightmare.

[Khalid] Welcome to our home,
Marty.

It's a bus.

[Lucretia] Our son lives
with his grandmother
right now.

[woman 1] Can't even imagine
not having him here.

[Marty] Shelter, water,
and food.

None of it is found here.

[Khalid] It's not sustainable.

Our work's cut out for us.

Here we go.

We're in complete cowboy mode.

[Misty] Woo-hoo!

[Marty] Oh, my God.
Water's coming in.

Can you see it running?

Is that cool?

-Is that cool?
-That's awesome.

That's great.

[Marty] Going to reunite
this family.

Watch out, branches.

Whoa, whoa.

[Matt] That was awesome, man.

[Lucretia] It gives you hope
in mankind that there's people

like this that exist.

-[Marty] Do you like it?
-I love it so much.

I'm speechless right now.

That's what neighbors do.
That's what friends do.

[Marty] Welcome to Virginia.

[Misty] Yes!

[Matt] Virginia is about
as far away from Alaska
as you could get.

People have been settling
in this part of America

since the 1600s.

[Misty] People homesteading,
the original settlers.

It's the first frontier.

All right, here we go.
Look at this straightaway.

We're gonna get
to the homestead faster than

Grant took Richmond, yeah.

[Matt] You guys
have definitely upped

your coffee intake.

[laughing]

[narrator] The Raneys heed
a dire call

from a remote homestead
just beyond the headwaters

of the Appomattox River.

Steeped in history and home
to the first English colonies

in the New World, Virginia
is a land of extremes.

Scorching tropical summers
turn suddenly

to frigid temperatures
with brutal winter ice

storms that surprised
and decimated

many of those earliest
settlements.

It is here in these densely
forested wilds

that the Jones-Thompson family
struggled to realize

their own homesteading dream.

My name is Lucretia
and this is my partner,

Khalid.

[Khalid] And we have our
beautiful son, Kiyoshi.

We started full-time
homesteading

in October of 2021.

In every area, we've just
met challenge

after challenge
after challenge.

Shelter, water, access
to protein and to produce.

Water catchment
has been a huge issue for us.

Our gardens suffered quite
a bit when rain levels got low

during the summer.

And then also we can't take
in animals if we ourselves

are still trying to figure out
how we're gonna have enough

water for us.

We got this 35-foot school bus
from a neighbor of ours

for $400 and we have converted
it to a living space

by building bed platforms
and kitchen space

with found pallets.

[Khalid] Our ideal dream
is to live in a yard-type

structure, but the bus
was the only option

we had to begin the process.

When we first got here living
on the bus full time

in the fall, the weather
was pleasant,

but as winter approached,
it became a challenge.

[narrator]
Heading into their first
winter on the homestead,

Khalid and Lucretia
were unprepared

for the harsh realities
the season brings to Virginia.

The winter was very cold.

Our propane heaters
only do but so much.

You know, you start reaching
your averages of low 30s,

uh, and then, at night,
it drops.

[Lucretia] We realized
we can't have our son

in this situation.

[narrator]
After the first cold night,

they made the heartbreaking
decision to send Kiyoshi away.

So, Khalid and I are here
on the homestead, and our son

Kiyoshi lives with his
grandmother right now.

Our dream is to make
this homestead a place

where we can thrive
as, you know,

independently as possible.

The three of us together.

But the way we're currently
living is not sustainable.

[Lucretia] There he goes.

There he always goes.

Hmm.

We can't put ourselves,
our son through another

winter like we experienced
last year.

[Lucretia]
Kiyoshi can't be here now

and we can't be here
without him.

-Raneys, we need your help.
-Raneys, we need your help.

Please, please, please.

Hey. How are you?

[Khalid] How are you?

Hey. These guys
look like homesteaders.

-Lucretia.
-Nice to meet you.

Lucretia? Lucretia and?

-Khalid.
-Khalid.

Khalid. Yes, Khalid.

Yes. Hello, Marty.

Marty Raney.
What's your name?

-Randall.
-Randall.

How do you fit
into this mix? Are you--

Oh, I'm just their friend.

Yeah, I live a little bit
farther down the road.

It's nice to be here,
but you guys called us here

for a reason. Why?

[Khalid] Lucretia and I first
met way back

when we were younger.
I was 19 and she was about 22.

We're super tight.

Sometimes I think
we're the same person

in two different bodies,
to be honest.

[Lucretia] My background
was growing up in the suburbs.

[Khalid] I grew up living
in apartment

on the west end of Richmond.

But after we had Kiyoshi,
Lucretia said,

"We need to get to land,
we need to move out
of the city."

And it just clicked for me,

the way we could be living
and should be living,

especially for our son.

From that point forward,
we were on a search

and a mission to try to find
land and begin homesteading.

[Lucretia] We purchased
this land three years ago.

[Khalid] Living on a school
bus has been cramped,

to be honest with you.
I'm 6'2".

Bus isn't taller than
six feet.

It gets really cold
in the winter.

During the summers,
it gets really, really hot.

And in addition to that, water
catchment has been a huge

issue for us.

[Lucretia]
We weren't able to grow
as much food

as we intended
because of lack of water.

We travel an hour to hour
and a half to natural springs

to get water for drinking
and bathing.

[Khalid] What we're doing,
it's not sustainable.

It would be very beneficial
if we take a look around

and we go from there.

-Let's hit it.
-That's where I used to hunt.

-That's right, sir.
-[Khalid] All right.

[laughing]

All right. Let me take
you over here

and show you one of our
rain catchment systems.

We are using tarps to catch
rain and we use

a transmission pan to collect
it in and to help

drive it down and, um...

-Do you mind
if I look in there?
-[Khalid] No. No, not at all.

You can...

[Marty] The water doesn't look
very sanitary, buddy.

-[Khalid] No.
-Does it?

No.

This is more for watering
plants and the like,

because once it got to brown,
we couldn't really

use it for anything else.

In terms of drinkable water,
we're going to a spring

an hour away.

This homestead
is completely reliant

on four tarps and the rain.

-[Khalid] Yeah.
-[Marty] Right?

[Khalid] That's it. That's it.

[Marty] Do we go in here?

[Khalid] No, we're going
through the back.

Be careful on your way up.

Welcome to our home, Marty.

This is our... our home
for the last year.

[Marty] Just explain
to me how you live in here.

-Where is the kitchen?
-This is the kitchen
right here.

-You're standing next to it.
-[Marty] Okay.

[Khalid] We have our propane
stove with the oven,

and that's what we use
to cook.

This was eventually going
to become a sink,

but it ended up becoming
a cabinet area.

[Marty] On this homestead,
there's not that much to see.

There's only one structure.

It's a bus.

[Khalid] Horse trough,
we use this to bathe in.

That's obviously your bedroom
back there.

Yes, that is our bed
that we built. Queen-size bed.

[Marty] This bus
is too cramped, too crowded.

It could k*ll
anybody's homestead dream.

This is Kiyoshi's bed
that we built for him.

He's getting bigger, so...

He's eight years old?

He'll be nine in November.

-Hey, so, can I be honest
with you?
-Yeah.

My neck hurts. Can I sit down?

Yes.

Whoa, ah...

It's pretty insane in here.

So you were in this bus
last winter?

-[Khalid] Yeah.
-Does it get cold here?

Uh, it can get to the 20s.

Is Lucretia happy
with living in a bus,

raising that eight-year-old
son sleeping on that bed

in these confined corners?

-Is that your boy?
-[Khalid] Yeah.

That's my son, right here.

-That's him. He just cut
his hair recently.
-[Marty] Oh, my God.

-This kid is cute.
-Thank you.

Do you mind if I borrow
these for a little bit?

I can show Misty and Matt

the third homesteader
here on this property.

Yes, sure, sure.
I'll get it back for you.

[Khalid] No, no problem.

[Misty] Garden? Greenhouse?
What do you have here?

We have a couple of garden
spots that we cleared out.

Some tomatoes hanging
in there.

It kind of fell over
a little bit.

Yes, that fell over.

Down over here, we had some
greens earlier in the season.

-Rabbits ate a lot of that.
-Okay.

[Lucretia] Being an herbalist,
I had some medicinal plants

like motherwort.

I planted a lot of comfrey
around.

And what do you do
with the herbs?

So I make tinctures--

Okay.

...I make infused honeys,
infused vinegars--

To sell or for yourself?

...infused oils. Mm-hmm.

For ourselves, for our family,
and to sell, yeah.

That's my, that's my main
source of income.

Primarily, it's making
these medicinal things.

What is this structure?

This is a greenhouse
that we got as a kit

and put together.

[Misty]
Okay, so this is a pretty
small space.

Yes. We figured
if we could get

these filled up with plants,

going with that
would be quite a bit.

We're still not growing
enough for us and Kiyoshi.

-Yeah. Since you brought
Kiyoshi up.
-Yeah.

I have a little boy
who's 11 and I can't...

a mother to mother,
I can't even imagine

not having him here.

I can't imagine
what that feels like.

[Lucretia] Dropping Kiyoshi
off at my mom's

and to be separate from him,
that's not the dream.

We want to be here together.

Knowing that Misty understands
it on that level

is a big deal.

Together as a family
is the best place--

That's the best place.
That is the goal.

[Matt] There's some fresh scat
right here.

Yeah, that is definitely
fresh.

[Matt] What do you think,
deer?

[Randall] Probably, deer.

[Matt] Khalid and Lucretia
want to be self-sufficient
here.

And Randall's been living
right down the road

for about 17 years now.

He knows the land.

What kind of animals
are running around here?

Well, I mostly hunt deer,
but there are turkeys,

bears, there's rabbits.

Have you traded any hunting
secrets with Khalid?

Well, a little bit.

And he is a beginner.

[Matt] It's bow-hunting
season right now,

and these homesteaders
just need more skills

to be able to tap
into that resource.

Being able to provide
for yourself

and your family from your land
as a protein source

and having the skills
to do that,

that to me is what
homesteading is about.

Now would probably
be a good time

to check in with Misty
and my dad and see

what they've learned
on the homestead.

Thank you so much.

[Randall] You're welcome.

[Marty] All right, kids,
our works cut out for us.

Where do we begin
is the question,

because there's no way
we can leave

in a week or so and leave
them in a bus.

If we do, we've failed
them, period.

But look around here.

Usually, when we find
a homesteader

that, you know, needs
a structure, we immediately

look at the property,
we look for trees.

But look,
this property's been logged,

the big trees are gone.

So getting a sawmill
and building these guys

a structure from the resources
on the ten acres

puts us in a bind.

And it's pretty heartbreaking

that their son
doesn't live here.

-[Marty] It's terrible.
-But what matters for us
is how do we change that?

When it comes to this garden,
it's overgrown.

Everything in it is either
dying or already dead.

But for me, there is so much
potential here

to become self-sufficient.

When it comes to that bus,

I think I can use
it for something.

Oh, wow.

When you think about living
off the land and we saw

a deer scat right here
on this trail,

and if they live
in a property,

where there's tons of wildlife
that they can hunt for it,

we have to at least try to get
these homesteaders

more ready to provide
for themselves off the land

with everything
that lives here.

[narrator] With shelter,
a number one priority,

Marty's first challenge
is to source build materials

and erect a suitable structure
that can withstand

the region's temperature
extremes,

to combat the area's
crop-destroying pests

and provide Lucretia
with more space to grow

life-sustaining crops,

Misty hopes to repurpose
the family bus

to kick start a garden
overhaul,

and to capitalize
on the area's plentiful gain.

Matt will teach the family
to bow hunt.

In just seven days, the Raneys
and their build crew

must transform
the Jones-Thompson's land

into a safe and sustainable
homestead.

This place is gonna see
a transformation.

Big things are going
to happen here.

Make no mistake about it.

And you know
what the motivator is?

I'll show you.

We're gonna reunite
this family on this homestead.

High stakes for sure. Let's go
find the homesteaders.

[Misty] The stakes are high,
but if we pull it off,

the impact,
it's going to be huge.

[Marty] Listen, guys, I'm not
going to beat around the bush.

This homestead,
it's incomplete.

There's only one structure,
the bus.

And it's one of the reasons
your son is not here, right?

Hmm.

[Marty] So, we want
you to move out tonight

because we have plans
for the bus

that don't include
you living in it.

Okay.

-[Marty] Fair enough?
-[Lucretia] Right on. Okay.

All right.

The motivator
for us on this homestead

is reuniting this family.

That's going to be our mission
starting tomorrow morning.

Get a good night's rest
because I'm going to do

a lot less talking tomorrow.

All right? And a lot
more working.

-All right?
-All right.

[Misty] We'll see you
in the morning--

[Khalid] Thank you so much.
Absolutely. Thank you so much.

[Marty]
This country is beautiful.

[narrator] On the outskirts
of Farmville, Virginia,

two miles down the road
from the Jones-Thompson
homestead...

You're moved out of the bus.

We hit it as soon as
y'all left.

-Where are you sleeping
tonight?
-Our van.

-Really?
-Yeah.

Have you, you've done
that before?

Yeah. That's what we did
before we got on the bus.

[narrator] Marty, Khalid,
and neighbor Randall

follow a lead to a neighboring
farm in search of much-needed

building materials.

Okay, well, we're not going
too far,

but you're gonna take a right
right next to the church.

It's not every day
on a homestead where I ask

the homesteaders to move out.

We're not leaving
them living in a bus,

but we don't have any idea
of what we're going

to leave them in.

And that's our mission right
now to try to find the lumber,

some kind of beams, roofing,
whatever it takes to get

a better structure
on that homestead.

-[Khalid] Okay.
-That's the whole mission.

Wait till you see
what's up here.

Here's the good news.

Randall knows every farm.

He knows where all the old
homesteads are.

Hello, Dave and Deniece.

[Marty] Piles of lumber,
dilapidated buildings,

and has already told
me he has some possibilities.

-Dave.
-Dave.

-Deniece.
-Deniece, nice to meet you.

-This is your place?
-[Dave and Deniece] Yes.

-This place is stunning.
-[David] Oh, thank you.

[Marty] It's really stunning.

We, um, came a long ways
from Alaska to help

Khalid and his wife.

We rolled in under
their little homestead,

and we found them living
in a bus.

[Deniece] Wow.

[Marty] But they have
an eight-year-old son,

and the bus can get cramped.

-Mm-hmm.
-Mm-hmm.

[Khalid] We have dreams
of living in a more solid
structure,

but I don't have the building
skills.

I have all the drive, but
not a lot of the knowledge.

Normally, we show up
on a property

and there's usually enough
trees to build

some kind of structure
using local resources,

but their property
has been logged

this morning, he said.

Let's go check out
this property that has cabins

and lumber and barns, etc.

and see what we can,
um, procure.

You know, since I know
you're resourceful,

if you're looking for lumber,
there's a structure

right over here. Let's go
look at that one,

because you might
be able to repurpose it.

-Show me?
-[David] Yeah. Let's go.

[Marty] What's the history
on this building?

[David] It's a schoolhouse.

We're thinking it's probably
somewhere around 150 years old

to 200 years old.

[Marty] It's amazing.

[David] Yeah, it's awesome.

So, are you saying
we could possibly scavenge

something off of here?

[David] If you could use
it, I think we could part

with this to help a neighbor.

You can take the whole thing.

[David] I want to see
it get some use.

[Deniece] Yeah.

[Marty] It's up to Khalid.

Yeah. Yeah.

-[Deniece] Yeah?
-Yeah.

Are you sure?
[Deniece laughing]

Oh, my goodness.
Thank you so much, man.

Oh, wow.

[Deniece laughing]

-Thank you so much.
-Good.

Oh, thank you so much.

Wow, this is incredible.

To meet these neighbors,
to meet

these wonderful people,
and for them to do this,

it's mind blowing.

I'm speechless right now.

We all do what we can.

You know, I grew
up in Tennessee.

We didn't have running water
until I was 12 years old.

And so I know
what a hard life is like.

If this can be helpful at all,

that's... that's what
neighbors do.

That's what friends do.

This is unbelievable.

Thank you.

We were out there working
our butts off

and barely able to survive.

So it means a lot.
It means a whole lot.

[Marty] That said, it's not
gonna be easy

getting it out of here.

-This building wasn't really
designed to be moved.
-[Khalid] True.

So, I can already see
we're going to have
a challenge here.

We're not complaining.
Trust me.

We'll take it.

But I've got to get to work.

[Deniece] Yes, sir.

[Marty] You've just given
me a challenge.

[Misty]
Lucretia, good morning.

[Lucretia] Hey, how are you?

How, how is the move going?

It is going.
We're getting it done.

[Misty] A lot more stuff
than you thought?

[Lucretia]
Yes, way more stuff.

[narrator]
With the Jones-Thompson
bus packed,

Misty is ready to reveal
her idea to repurpose it.

I feel for you,
but we're here to help.

[Lucretia]
Moving out of the bus
all of a sudden

is pretty overwhelming.

[Misty] I want to really get
into a place

where you're not only growing
plants for your business,

but that you're actually
growing food that you can eat.

Yes. At this point,
we are trusting

that there's going
to be something brighter

on the horizon. I know
great changes are coming.

-[Misty] Obviously,
this garden isn't working.
-[Lucretia] Right.

[Misty]
So, we're going to change it.

I'm going to turn your bus
into a greenhouse.

Okay.

[Misty]
This bus is a structure

that just needs
to be modified.

So there's lots of
possibilities.

It's just pulling it off
is gonna be challenging.

So here's what I'm thinking.

If we remove
some of the paneling,

you could replace
it with plastic.

Actually turning
this into a greenhouse

where there's water
and there's drainage

will be a little bit tricky.

But I'm pretty excited
if you are.

I can't wait to help do it--

Yeah, let's do it.

...'cause learning how to do
that would be amazing.

-Okay.
-[Lucretia] Yeah.

[Misty] So the problem
with the bus

is it's in the wrong location.

[Lucretia] Okay.
[Misty] I'd love to move it.

See where your solar panels
are?

-[Lucretia] All day, yeah.
-[Misty] The best sun.
All day.

-Does the bus run?
-No.

-Not at all?
-Not at all.

It was moved with a tractor
into this place. Yeah.

-Rolled in this place?
-Never driven it.

Okay. So we're going
to try and hook up

a piece of equipment
onto this thing

and try and move it.

Let's finish moving
everything out?

-Okay. Yes.
-Sounds good?

-Okay. Let's get out of here.
-Yes. All right.

[Matt] All right, Randall,
we need to up our hunting game

on this homestead.

[narrator] In the heavily
wooded back half

of the homestead, Matt
searches for a spot

that will give the family
a stealthy vantage point

for hunts around a popular
game trail.

I got to ask you a question.

What do you think
about a deer stand?

I think that's a super idea.

-They're beginners, right?
-[Randall] Yeah.

And a sturdy platform
off the ground,

a place they can practice
sh**ting from year round

I think is an amazing
place to start.

These homesteaders live
in a place in Virginia

that is rich in wildlife.

The deer population
has exploded,

but knowing there's a deer
out there

and being able to put food
on the table,

two different things.

It's a tool like no other
for hunting.

Especially for somebody
who is just

starting out bow hunting.

Yeah. It keeps
you out of the deer's vision.

-Keeps you above
their scent line.
-Mm-hmm.

And it also enables
you to be nice and quiet

in the woods
because you're not

rustling around making noise.

Exactly.

And you could be still up
there and see

all kinds of wildlife.

So you like this idea
of a tree stand?

It's great.

Okay, well, we need to find
the tree.

Trees are starting to get
a little bigger around here.

[Randall] Yeah.

[Matt] So, we're getting
into the, the older growth.

[Randall]
Animals might like it.

[Matt] I know there's deer
here, so if you see

anything that looks good,
call it out.

So this spot looks really
good.

What do you think?

[Randall] Starting... Starting
to open up a little bit.

A little bit larger trees.

So, I mean, we've got acorns
all over the ground.

Look, this is exactly
what they're looking for.

Acorns are deer love.

Yeah, I mean, talk about bait,

I think we found our spot.

There's really good
trees here,

and it's actually, like, open.

Yes. We hit an amazing
spot to build a tree stand.

So you've got a sh**ting lane
here.

You have a sh**ting lane
here.

That way. And it kind of looks
like they might want to travel

through here anyway.

Oh, dear. This is like
a game trail super highway.

Now, we just have to find
the tree

that has the best
vantage point.

[Randall] That tree is strong.

Okay. This right here
looks like the tree, man.

It's on the highest ground

with the least amount of
growth around it.

It's in the right place.

And I think it's a white oak.

And that's the strongest
kind of oak.

It's awesome.

Okay, so I think this is it.

We've got our foundation.

We've found an amazing
location.

I want to look around
the property and see

if I can get any building
materials to build this thing.

It's gonna be wonderful.

To me, these platforms
here, this is like flooring.

[narrator] At the edge
of the clearing...

Any snakes?

[narrator] ...Matt and Randall
scavenge for materials

to build the new deer stand.

Look at how many pallets
there are.

There's a pallet over there.

There's a stack of pallets
here.

Whenever I come
on to a homestead,

I'm not looking to buy
a store-bought lumber

or having to pull a price tag
off of anything.

I mean, there's more than
enough pallets here

to at least build a platform.

I want to look around and see
what can be reused.

In my head, I kind of just
foresee some pallets

as a platform raised
off the ground,

braced against the tree

and kind of like
a little fort.

So let's just start separating
the good from the bad.

Get a nice stack of pallets
here and then

we'll bring 'em
down the trail.

I really love working
with the Raneys.

Matt's can-do attitude,
it's kind of inspiring.

Snake check.

This one's better than
the last one.

We'll replace
a couple of soggy parts,

but good enough for me.

This is what we're handed
on this homestead,

and we're gonna use it.

So when you're gonna build
with pallets,

we're going to pull
a lot of nails.

That's maybe a little bit
extra work,

but it's ready to use building
materials.

Not all the wood
is going to be usable.

Like, this wood on this end,

it's a little rotten,

but there is a lot of usable
wood.

I mean, this right here...

That's a good piece of wood.

Super solid, dry.
That's a keeper.

So once we finish
painstakingly

ripping nails out of pallets,

sawzall the nails,

and then build a floor,
finding some serious braces

to hold all that weight
up off the ground

is the next order of business.

And there we go.

We got a usable piece of wood

and we're just gonna keep
banging away.

[Misty] The blocks are gone.

Wow.

It's pretty amazing.

[narrator]
Over at the Jones-Thompson's
former home...

[Misty] Pretty amazing
to see a bulldozer

coming down the driveway.

[narrator]
...Misty and Lucretia

prepare to move the 10-ton
bus to a spot

with maximum
southern sun exposure.

[Misty] We want to hook
up to the bus

in this massive bulldozer,

and I'm going to see
if we can make

that hairpin corner
and then go up

and then roll back.

It's going to be interesting,

but you don't know
until you try.

Okay, here we go.
I'll grab the bulldozer.

Hey, we ready?

Okay. Here we go.

Okay. Here goes nothing.

[Misty laughing]

It moved!

Did she see that tree?

The tree?

We're trying to make
a hairpin turn

and not get hung up
in the trees.

Not like sideswipe stuff
with the bus.

[Lucretia] Clear!

Woo-hoo!

Okay, we did it. We did it.

Okay. So, we're gonna try
and roll it in.

I'm hoping the brakes work.

But we'll see.

There's been a lot of pressure
moving out of the bus.

It's pretty overwhelming.

We have one shot, folks.

[Lucretia] We don't have
anywhere to go

other than the van
at this time.

That's the only structure
we have.

That's what we've been
living in.

So I'm putting a lot of trust
in Misty and the Raneys

to make sure
that we aren't still living

in our van when they leave.

Turn.

You guys,
that looks pretty good.

Lucretia.

-[Lucretia] Hey.
-[Misty] Yoo-hoo!

[Lucretia laughing]

-Good job.
-Thank you.

Good job!

Okay, so it's pretty much
in the spot.

We managed, with us girls,
to get this bus in place.

-Yes.
-It went pretty smooth.

I can start building
a greenhouse.

In the morning, we'll start
building.

-Yay.
-Sound good?

[Lucretia] Yes. Appreciate it.

[Misty] We couldn't have done
it without you.

[laughing]

[Matt] Buddy,
are we hitting anything?

[Khalid] Not right now, no.

[narrator] Two miles west
of the Jones-Thompson
homestead...

Okay. Walking it in.

[Khalid] Okay.

[narrator] ...Marty and Khalid
prepare the historic

schoolhouse for transport.

Does it look like
it's going through straight?

[Khalid] Yeah. Yeah.

[Marty] Perfect.

-Young man, let's do it again.
-[Khalid] All right.

[Marty] Here's our challenge.

We're moving a building
that was never built

or designed to be picked up
and moved.

Here we go.

-Watch that bucket.
-[Khalid] Okay. Got it.

That's perfect, Marty.

We have no professional
jacks, no hydraulics,

nothing really,
but a chainsaw,

some trees from the property,
and an excavator.

So, we're in complete
cowboy mode.

What you're going to see
happen?

Pick this up.

Somebody's gonna
manually labor that under.

That one gets under there.

Woo.

Then, we're going
to do that one.

The question is, how do you
raise a building


a trailer

underneath it, set it back
down, and, hopefully,

move it safely
to the next location?

Here we go. Watch out.

The fastest way
that I could think

of was like two logs
under it...

Going up.

...catching
all of the weight...

Here I come.

...and lifting each corner
one at a time.

Watch your fingers.

Very good.

One more time.

We're moving a building
at least 150 years old.

If we destroy it, this family
is basically homeless.

The stakes are huge.

I believe we have this cabin
high enough to get

a trailer under it.

We reached 40 inches tall,
so we're at a point now

where the trailer
can back under it.

But don't think for a second
that we're out of the woods.

[whistling]
Punch it!

We're going to pick up
a house.

The real danger will be
when we try to move it.

[Khalid] I think
as a burgeoning homesteader,

there's a lot of skills
that I lack.

[Marty] Are we going to hit
anything right now?

[Khalid] Not right now.

Okay. Now you're going
to yell if we get,

something weird happens,
right?

[Khalid] Yes.

But Marty throws you
in there and he's like,

"Let's go."

[whistling]

Okay. We're all the way
through.

[Marty] Jump up there
and see if it's centered

with the door on that latch.

That's pretty center, Marty.

[Marty] Like it.

[Khalid] And I believe Marty
has the confidence in me.

He knows I'm eager to learn
and I really want to work.

[Marty] All right. So we need
to put these braces on.

And I want to expand,
like, my confidence

in terms of building
structures

and problem-solving.

This is an incredibly
necessary

part of this to just make sure
that the logs

are somewhat held together
because this is gonna

be a bumpy, sketchy ride.

We'll put some more bracing
on it all the way

around the house and, then,
we're going to strap it down

and get out of here.

Oh, yeah.

[Lucretia] It's a little
nerve-wracking,

but I have faith
in where it's going.

Rip it off here, and turn
the bus into a greenhouse.

[Khalid] There's a lot
on the line here.

[Marty]
I'm doing my own stunts.

Watch out. Oh, oh.

I mean, this thing
is gonna be hidden

when we get done with it.

[narrator] In the heavily
wooded back half

of the Jones-Thompson's
homestead...

So, we're building
a tree stand.

We are using some oak logs
as our bracing.

And these are gonna support
our palettes.

We did like temporary bracing,

but kind of looked out
of place.

So we'll replace that.

So you got logs cut right
here from the property,

using natural-looking wood,
just kind of makes this whole

foundation of the tree stand
invisible.

When it comes time for hunting
season, these deer

are never going to see
what's coming.

Looks amazing.

So cut this at 45-degree
angles.

Cut two ends at a 45.

And this oak, I mean,
it's definitely gonna support

the amount of weight
that we're putting up here.

Now, let's slap this baby in.

Okay.

Okay.

What do you think of this?

I think that's it right there.

All right. I'm going to do
the high one.

The last thing I want to do
is have this fort stand

crashing down,
especially when it starts

to get windy, so.

How's that look?

It's just like it grew
like that.

And that's the whole goal
here.

We want this thing
to be camouflaged

and just look exactly
like everything else here.

Trees, branches, trunks.

That's going to be sturdy.

All right. Now,
I'm gonna test it.

Oh, yeah.

That is cool.

Man, what a good
vantage point.

This is amazing.

And we're pretty much
good to go.

-[Marty] Young man?
-[Khalid] Yes, Marty.

[Marty] Coming to you, sir.

[narrator] Two miles west
of the Jones-Thompson
homestead...

[Marty] Don't hurt your cabin.

[narrator] ...Marty and Khalid
prep the 150-year-old

schoolhouse for a high stakes
journey to its new home.

[Marty] That goes all the way
through?

[Khalid] Almost.

[Marty] Okay.
Hang on one second.

There's a lot on the line,
man.

There's a lot on the line.

Best way to do
this for strength, sir,

is to notch it.

[Khalid] A bus that we lived
in is being converted

into a greenhouse.

[Marty] We're rolling over.

Thank you.

Right now, we're staying
in our van.

So this structure,

it has to get there
in one piece.

Not just for ourselves,
but for our son.

[indistinct chatter]

[Marty laughing]

Mom, really?

Go center, please.

As soon as you are happy
with that,

feel free to tighten up
the ratchet, please.

Okay. What Marty wants
me to do is to tight...

tighten this ratchet,

so that it can be fully
braced.

So that way
they have reinforcement

beams on the outside

they've screwed
into the building,

and then they have
this to prevent

the walls from collapsing.

Working with Marty
has been a wonderful
experience.

My life was filled
with a lot of turns and twists

as a seven-year-old
kid, right around the age

of Kiyoshi and my father
was separated from us.

He was incarcerated
for 12 years.

And not having him around,
you know, as a young child

really threw me through
a lot of emotions.

And then, becoming a father,
it became so important

for me to pass on legacies
of knowledge

and understanding
that he can use to grow.

That was the big motivation
for me moving out here

on the homestead.

How does it feel?

[Khalid] It feels solid to me.

I'm not trying to make up
for the past,

but I'm trying to ensure
that my son

has a stronger future
than I had coming up.

I think we're ready.

So let's check all of our
connections,

all of our fasteners,
tighten the chains and see

if we can get this thing out
of here.

All right. Fair enough?

-[Khalid] You got it.
-Oh, cool. Thank you.

-All right, back to work.
-You got it.

-[Misty] The bus is in place.
-[Lucretia] Mm-hmm.

-[Misty] Let's try and
transform into a greenhouse.
-[Lucretia] Yes.

[narrator]
Back on the Jones-Thompson
homestead...

So we'll have a nice,
decent-sized access,

build some kind of ramp.

And then, in here,
we have all this paneling

that needs to come off.

-Obviously, this lid
isn't transparent--
-[Lucretia] Right.

...we need to remove
these panels

and just cut into the steel
metal lid of the bus.

-Okay. Sounds good?
-[Lucretia] Yeah.

[Misty] I've never seen
or heard of a bus greenhouse.

Actually, pulling it off
is gonna be challenging.

[narrator] To transform
the 40-foot school bus

into a one-of-a-kind
greenhouse,

Misty will first remove
the top of the bus,

replacing the metal panels
that make up its ceiling

with transparent plastic
to allow sunlight to enter.

Then, those same metal panels,

along with other salvaged
materials,

will be repurposed to build
planter beds inside,

as well as an irrigation
and water-catchment system.

And there'll be this cribbing
wherever these screws

are at that will be able to
receive some type of plastics.

-[Lucretia] Mm-hmm.
-And there's a ton of screws
we've got to take out.

-Do you have a screw g*n?
-Yeah, I'll go get it.

-[Misty] Go grab it.
-All right.

-Meet you back here.
-[Lucretia] All right.

[Misty] Every single screw.

-[Lucretia] All right.
-[Misty] Cool. Ooh.

The fact that the structure
is here, you know, the walls,

the windows, the foundation,
it's all here.

They scored it for $400.

You cannot build a structure
right now

with today's lumber prices
for that dollar amounts.

[Lucretia] After we get
all the screws out,

we have to make
a lot of cuts and take

the top of the bus off.

I see now that that definitely
means we will not be using

this bus as a home anymore.

Okay. Good sign.
You can start to see light.

We have movement.

[Lucretia] It's a little
nerve-wracking, but again,

I really have a lot of faith
in where it's going.

Oh, yeah.

All right. I think we're free.

We'll just pull back
this middle panel,

rip it off here, and turn
the bus into a greenhouse.

Okay? So, here we go,
I'm pretty excited it's free.

Yeah. I'm ready.

Let's see if we can get
it off.

Oh, yeah. It's heavy.

-Look at the amount of sun
you get on your face.
-[Lucretia] Mm-hmm.

We are now turning
it into a greenhouse.

You're starting to see
it take shape right now.

Yeah, this is a better
purpose for this.

Yeah, it's official.

-We can't really go back now.
-Yeah, we're not going back.

-Yeah. No, plants will live
in here, and not people.
-Plants will live in here.

So, good job.

[Matt] So, here's the deal.

I have these two bows.

[narrator] While Marty makes
final preparations

for the cabin move,

Matt trains Khalid
on the skills

he'll need to hunt game
on their 10-acre property.

[Matt] This is a compound bow.

This one's a little heavier
duty.

This one's a little lighter...

Okay.

...so, this is going
to be your bow to practice

with while I'm here.

Wow, nice.

I'm teaching Khalid
how to sh**t a compound bow

instead of a hunting r*fle,

because right now in Virginia,
it's bow-hunting season,

and there is an overpopulation
of deer.

Have you ever held a compound
bow before?

No, I haven't.

[Matt] Khalid's hunting skills
are very beginner,

especially when it comes
to archery.

This thing looks crazy.

I'll tell you one thing.
It's pointing the wrong way.

Yes, it's.
Ah, there we go.

He's never held this thing
before. Everything's new.

But I see there's definitely
a desire, there's a will,

and there's a fire
for him to do this.

I mean, what is a compound
bow?

It's archery.

But cranked up to 11
with a serious

mechanical advantage.

These limbs right here,
it's really hard

when you pull it at first--

Mm-hmm.

...but when you get
to the end,

it gives you a break.

So you have like just a little
bit extra time to hold,

aim, and then take your shot.

Okay.

But also, you're talking
about a lot of speed,

a lot of power,
and, definitely,

a really good tool to use
for hunting.

Awesome.

I'm really attracted
to the concept of bow hunting.

I didn't grow up
in environments

where I learn that.

So let me show you.

-I'm going to sh**t
this at 20 yards.
-Okay.

But I did have older
relatives.

They used to talk
about hunting stories,

and it always fascinated me.

I got a nice little black dot.

[Khalid] Okay. Here you go.

[Randall] Dang.

-Nice shot.
-Yeah. Cool.

Now, here we go.

Just hold the bow
kind of down like this--

Okay.

[Matt] ...and then put
it inside.

-[Khalid] Okay.
-[Matt] Slide it forward.

Pull this.

Now, this is the part
where you're gonna have to use

some muscle.

One of our motivations
to be out here is to truly

be independent.

It's a necessity that I learn
how to bring food

to the table for my family
here at the homestead.

Pull it up and start
kind of pointing

it towards your target.

Pull across your chest
and, then, when you let

that arrow loose, bow
is going to do all the rest.

[Khalid] All right.

We won't be able to survive
out here on this homestead,

if I'm not able to learn
how to hunt.

So, I want you to pull
it back.

Go. Go, go, go, go.

Now, aim down a little bit.

Now, pull that trigger
when you're ready.

It's going to be weird.

[Randall] Sweet.

[Matt] Nice.

That was awesome, man.

[laughing]

That was really good, man.

You were kind of a little
bit wobbly, and I was like,

"I don't know what's going
to happen."

That's good.
That's really good.

Amazing. Just the power
and just the, the ability

to like know that I'm taking
this step.

Yeah. Yeah.

It was Awesome.

We're gonna be working
like crazy.

But in all of our free time
that we don't really have...

Right.

...I wanna practice
with you as much as I possibly

can while I'm here.

Absolutely.

And that right there for now
is your bow and just getting

used to that compound bow.

-[Khalid] Yeah.
-I think we have a potential
bow hunter on our hands.

Oh, yes.

-That will be awesome.
-Thanks.

Thank you so much.

Is that good?

[narrator]
Back at the old school bus...

[Misty] There or there,
which one looks like

center to you?

Just right about there.

The bus is kind of heating
up and like burning my leg.

It's pretty warm.

-[Misty] Yoo-hoo!
-Nice.

[Misty] What do you think?
Looks good, right?

[Lucretia]
Yeah, it looks great.

Let's see what it looks
like from the inside.

Okay.

Oh, yeah.

Yoo-woo-hoo!

It's already feeling
like a greenhouse.

[Misty] Yeah. And look at
the amount of light.

I mean, like, it's really
epic.

Yeah. This is awesome.

This looks really good.

Also, with these little cells,
you get that insulation,

which will help with the cool
temps and the hot temps.

[Lucretia] I love it.

-It feels like a greenhouse
already.
-[Misty] Yeah.

Having a greenhouse
means literally 12 months

out of the year,
there can be food growing,

which means we can be
a lot more self-sufficient.

Plants will be happy in here.

So far, I definitely think
things are going

in a direction to get Kiyoshi
to be here

because it is already
so different.

-This is going to allow you
to grow so many things.
-Mm-hmm.

It gives you a jumpstart
on the growing season

for the outdoor garden space,

but it also is allowing
you to grow

your medicinal herbs almost
through the year.

Mm-hmm.

And I'll be able to start
a lot of trees

that I've been wanting
to do, you know,

seeds that take years
to germinate

will be able to stay
in here and get going

and have even more plants
for the business.

Okay. So let's start designing
and building the inside.

-All right.
-Okay.

The bus is to a point where
it's time to move inside.

So we'll do an elevated
raised bed.

Then, all of the bus scraps
that we actually

cut out of the roof
will become the bed liners.

So, what I love about
this is we're not taking

anything to the landfill
and we're not buying anything.

And then, we've got
to figure out irrigation

and rain catchment
and drainage.

So we overbuilt
it because this wet soil

is going to get heavy.

[Lucretia] Mm-hmm.

There's a lot of unknowns,
but hopefully

in the next couple of days,
it all comes together.

All right.

Okay.

So this is the bottom
of the bed.

It will actually sit
at this elevation

of this little angle
iron piece.

Then, we'll get up nice
and high, so we can take

advantage of that
southern exposure

and get that sunlight.

So, let's cut some legs
and get this thing up.

-All right.
-Okay.

Perfect.

[narrator]
Back at the historic
schoolhouse cabin...

Mayberrys, you made it happen.

Thank you.

It's amazing. It's amazing.

Thank you so much.

[narrator]
...the Jones-Thompson
family's new home

depends on a challenging
final journey down a bumpy,

unpaved road.

You got two miles to go.

So does anybody know
why or how we ended up

with a police escort?

[Deniece] The sheriff,
he's happy to help.

[Marty] Wow.

-[Deniece] So, there you go.
-Everything's who you know.

Well, thank you again
for all of your help and--

We're glad.
We're just thrilled.

Clint, if you don't mind
driving, if you don't mind

being a co-pilot,
I might ride in the back

just to keep an eye
on things.

Let's hit it.
Thank you again.

[David]
Just going to be praying
that it makes it there.

-[Marty] Good point.
-The real danger starts now.

Clint, nothing drastic.
Nothing drastic.

Easy!

[Khalid] I don't know
what to feel, but I do feel

worry and concern.

This is pretty crazy.

[Khalid] You got it.
You're free and clear.

Need something to grip on to.

Now, the real adventure
begins.

This is just a dirt road.

This is crazy.

So, I'm on pins
and needles a little bit.

[Marty] No sudden stops.

Just try to miss
the big chuckles
and the party's over.

This is the home that
we're going to be staying in.

So if this doesn't work out,
that could be catastrophic.

[whistling]

[Marty] Watch out. Branches.

Whoa, whoa.

Danger.

[whistling]

[Marty] Watch out. Branches.

Whoa, whoa.

Keep going. Don't panic.

[Marty]
I'm going to go look at it.

-Holy moly.
Don't like the sound of that.
-Yeah.

Yeah.

There's a lot on the line
here.

We have an opportunity
to create a home

for ourselves and for our son,
a space that we can grow in.

[Marty]
I'm doing my own stunts.

That's pretty incredible
there.

That thing is just hanging
in there like that, no issue.

So far, no issue.

[Marty] A little bit,
about 20 feet.

It's pretty incredible.

[Marty whistling]

Oh, wow.

[Marty] Yeah.

Shut her down, Clint.

Get up here, you guys.

Whoa!

[Misty] What in the...

[laughter]

Dad, this is a lot bigger than
I thought it was gonna be.

[Marty]
What do you guys think?

-[Randall] This is way cooler
than anything I've ever seen.
-[Lucretia] Yeah.

It's going to be a great
dwelling

for a long, long time.

So if you guys don't mind,
you've got another assignment.

I haven't given you too many
assignments.

-One was move out of a bus?
-Right.

The second big assignment
is find yourself a place

for your new home.

Okay. On that note,

we've got some
catching up to do.

Yeah.

What do you think we just
let them have a moment

with their cabin, right?

-[Misty] Yeah. Okay.
-[Lucretia] All right.
Thank you.

-[Marty] Thank you.
-All right. Cool, cool, cool.

Wow.

This is huge.

This is gonna be a place
that we call home

for a very long time.

This is just going
to be perfect for us

in our homestead,
which is going to expand

year after year.

This is sweet.

It is nice, isn't it?

Yeah. I love the windows.

I love the history of it.

It feels warm.

[kisses]

I'm glad you're happy.

Kiyoshi can come
and we can welcome him back,

and he'll feel more at home.

-This makes more sense
than the bus.
-Yeah, it makes more sense.

Yeah. A lot more sense.

I think so, I think so.

So, let's be honest.

How's everybody feeling
about this homestead?

This homestead
is a work-in-progress.

We're getting really close
to finishing the bus,

but I want to blow out
this big outdoor garden space.

There's a lot of work to do,
and I'm, like,

running out of time.

I do feel good about the tree
stand, but on this homestead,

Lucretia has an apothecary
business and makes

all kinds of stuff from herbs.

And she was doing
it in that bus in a corner

of it while they were living
in it.

And I want to give her a place
where she can work

on the homestead.

So we got some good news
and bad news.

It's all about shelter,
water, and food.

Those are the three big boxes
that we want to check.

Food; you're probably
going to hit a home run.

Shelter; we got
him a 150-year-old cabin.

Building's there on a trailer.

But water, strikeout.

Zero.

Done.

Not one drop unless
it falls from the sky.

We've got to figure out water.
It's that simple.

It's the eleventh hour.

Keep up the good work.

The hits keep coming.

[narrator] With less than
three days

until the Raneys leave
the homestead...

I'm going to nudge
it back on the wheels.

[narrator]
...Marty and the build crew

race to move
the schoolhouse cabin

onto its new raised
foundation.

[Marty] Here we go.

Here we go, guys.

[narrator] Matt has one more
task before he can shift

focus to Lucretia's workshop.

[Khalid] Oh, wow.
I think you got a bullseye.

[narrator] He must train
Khalid on the fundamentals

of hunting from a tree stand.

That got really close.
All right.

Let's sh**t a grouping.

[Misty] Got a clamp
and some two-by-fours.

[narrator] And back
by the old school bus...

We have all of this paneling
that we took off

from inside the bus,

and we're going to use
it all for the bedliner.

[narrator]
...Misty and Lucretia
complete the garden beds

that will line its interior.

[Misty]
Let's see if we can bend

these couple of two-by-fours
and that's about it,

right there.

Ta-da.

All right. We got a nice bend,

which will create a nice
channel,

so that these raised beds
have drainage.

Right now, the bus
on purpose is slanting

downhill for drainage.

The water with these beds,

they're not going to fill up,
get heavy.

They're going to drain back
and out the side of the bus.

We're gonna use all of those
scraps that we cut

out of the lid as bedliners.

Wow, that looks amazing.

Created a trough with some
clamps and some two-by-fours.

Okay, done.

Let's see if this thing fits.

Let's go sideways
a little bit.

h*nky-tonk.

Step out of the way,
grab the back and push.

Okay, here we go.

One, two, three.

Over and down.

Woo. All right.

It's amazing. I love it.

We didn't have to buy
anything,

and this didn't end up
in a landfill.

I've never turned a bus
into a greenhouse.

I love the idea.

It's such a big, awesome
structure.

Okay.

Ta-da!

As soon as we ripped
that lid off and it just

opened up that much light
and it just

became this very big space.

It started getting me really
excited.

We're going to add
a little bit of gravel.

When it comes to trying
to grow food,

if we can pull this off
in the next couple of days,

this is actually going
to be the game changer.

Right on the bottom, get some
fabric cloth over the top

and then do the topsoil.

That way, when she goes
to water her plants,

the soil isn't filtering
into the gravel,

but just the water is.

And we've created drainage
inside for the raised beds.

That's actually really cool.

We're on our way.

All right. So this is a chunk
of that gray clay.

And if I were to make a bowl
out of this

and fill it full of water,

this thing would hold
water.

What does that mean?
That it would make
an amazing pond.

When we come
to a homestead,

we're thinking three
big things,

shelter, food and water.

I've got an idea to help
these homesteaders even more.

To dig a pond that
will fill up and contain
3,000 square feet

of rain catchment.

That's kind of weird.

Material's changing.

That's as deep as I can dig.

But you change into some
kind of sandy material.

The material is changing.
It's actually...

Oh, my God, it's wet.

It's actually wet.
Let's go down there.

Come on, come on, come on.

Oh, my God.

Water's coming in.
Water's coming in.

Water's coming in.
You see it?

Can you see it running?
Both sides over here?

Look, look, look.

On this side.

Both sides.

My God. It's rushing in.

Miracle.

It's a miracle.

Call it what you want, but...

That's water.

Boom. Done.

Unbelievable. I mean,
this is it. We hit it.

That's not a game changer,
that's a life changer.

There's a lot of work to do,
and we're out of time.

We're ready to work.

[Misty] It gives you hope
in mankind that there's people

like this that exist.

Who's this over here?

[Kiyoshi] I think something's
changed in the bus.

Has this homestead changed
for the good?

[Marty] Where's everybody at?

[whistling]

Misty?

Matt? Come here.

This is worth running for.
Follow me.

Quick.

[Misty] What? There's water?

[Marty] Yeah. Fresh water.
And look at it running in.

[Khalid] Look.

h*, h*, h*, h*, h*...

-What?
-Is it a spring?

Yes, that's the cleanest
water in Virginia.

I'll drink that right now.

Woo-hoo!

That was under there?

Did you ever think you'd hear
this sound on your homestead?

No. [laughs]

Is that cool?
Is that cool?

That's great.

That's a sign that this land
wants us to be here

and thrive as homesteaders.

It's water for life.

This is what we have on our
homestead.

So it's literally a hole,
you just stub in a culvert

or something right in here,
you have an old school well.

[Matt] A 100 years ago, people
dug these things by hand.

-[Lucretia] Yeah.
-That's crazy.

And then, they built a well
all the way up.

I mean, it doesn't get more
old school than this.

I just want to stand
here and watch it.

You've got 24 hours to make
this happen.

We've got 24 hours to make
it happen.

You got your work
cut out for you.

We can bring livestock
here now that there's water.

I think we gotta find
a culvert for that.

This just expands
on everything

that can happen here.

[Khalid] When you have water,
you have life.

Now, it can become
the homestead

that we really, really want.

Our prayers
have been answered.

Wow.

We chose the right spot.

The right spot chose us.

So grateful.

Wow.

I've walked through the bus
a little bit and I noticed

that there's a little space
in the front here.

[narrator]
Back at the old school bus...

-I'm following you.
-Okay.

Okay.

Okay.

So, explain to me
what you do for a living?

So I'm an herbalist.

I make infused oils, tinctures
with honey, incense as well.

And I need space to actually
work with the plants

that I gather, whether
I'm growing them

or whether I'm foraging
them, the space it is just

for that as opposed
to where we're living.

Now, there was a bed
right here.

The big vision of the land
is us being able to be here

close to our food source

and being close
to nature's systems,

but also being able to expand

my herbal medicine
and being able to work

with these plants
that are here.

Just pull this tip over
to the edge.

-Okay.
-We're just doing rough.

-Okay.
-What's it say?

Um, it's over nine feet.

-Okay.
-[Lucretia] Mm-hmm.

Nine feet...

by about eight.

Mm-hmm.

So, this right here,

you have 72 square feet
of space.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

-Does that sound like enough?
-It's huge. Oh, totally.

In my book, this feels
like a very big solve.

We can get rid of these
chairs, build shelving,

putting a table in here.

-I mean, there's a lot
we can do with this space.
-[Lucretia] Okay.

It would definitely
have to be cut off

from the greenhouse
or separated

from the greenhouse,
so that herbs could dry
in here.

Okay. Well, I think
we definitely

have enough room in here.

You're into this plan?
You like it?

-Yeah, I love it.
-[Matt] Okay.

[Matt]
Now a big part of this is,

is you're going to be
building it with me.

-[Lucretia] Good.
-Okay? Side by side.

You are gonna have tools
in your hands.

-You're gonna
have sawdust in your hair.
-Mm-hmm.

And it's going to get down
and dirty.

-Okay.
-Are you ready for this?

Yes. That's what I wanted.

All right, let's do it.

[machine whirring]

Oh, yeah.

Ooh.

-I'm gonna support this.
-Okay.

And I'm lining it up
with this one.

[Matt] Yes.
When you use a saw like this.

-Mm-hmm.
-You can get up there.

But you wouldn't
want to hold the blade

to the piece of wood...

-[Lucretia] Mm-hmm.
-...and then turn it on.

-[Lucretia] Mm-hmm.
-That's a no-no, using saws.

[Lucretia] Mm-hmm.

[Matt] So you get it
just a little bit away...

[machine whirring]

[Matt]
...and then you cut it.

Now you're gonna cut one.

Can you see
where it's touching?

-[Lucretia] Yeah, right there.
-[Matt] Yeah.

Now turn it on. Full blast.

[Lucretia]
Before the Raneys got here,

we did not have the skills
to build things.

Good. Keep going.

Amazing.

I feel like when I came
into this homesteading life,

I think we were seeing it

as kind of extended camping.

[Matt] What're those
measurements again?

Oh, 28.

Yeah, here we go.

[Lucretia] And that's
how we approached it,

because that's what we knew.

[Matt] So we'll do a 28er.

So you're gonna
cut this one too...

[Lucretia] But after working
with the Raneys this week,

both of our mentalities
have kind of been opened up.

[machine whirring]

[Matt] That was perfect.

Getting to work with them
on these different projects,

we've been learning
from them how to build things

and come up with ideas
that are going to be lasting.

[Matt] We're just getting
the framework in right now,

but we've got
a good solid stud

that we can hang
from the ceiling...

[Lucretia] Mm-hmm.

...and this will
definitely support
all our little bottles here.

-Nice.
-We've got the big stuff
coming in here and tools...

Mm-hmm.

...and then we have closet
and table to put it.

We're getting there.
You're getting more excited?

Yeah, I am.

I'm already
putting the jars away,
so, I'm ready.

-Awesome.
-Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

-Let's keep on working.
-Okay.

[birds chirping]

[narrator] Later that day...

[Misty] So I have ideas
on how to water the garden.

Here's the bus.

-[Lucretia] I get it,
I get it. That's the front.
-[Misty] Right.

-[laughs]
-[Misty] Good.

-My idea is to create
this zigzag water line.
-[Lucretia] Okay.

We put this bus at an angle
on purpose for drainage.

-The whole thing drains down
and away.
-Okay.

It'll also help
when it comes to irrigation.

So if we add a gutter
at a slant leading that way.

-Gutter.
-[Lucretia] Mm-hmm.

And we zigzag going this way

and then zigzag
again a drip line...

-[Lucretia] Mm-hmm.
-...on top of the beds.

We have created
a self-watering
irrigation system.

[narrator] Misty's gravity fed
irrigation system

starts with installing
a gutter
onto the already slanted bus

to collect rainwater
into a tank

on the rear of the structure.

From there,
a downward-angled pipe

will funnel the water

to the top
of the garden boxes,

where drip tubing
will irrigate the soil

and excess water
will drain into the gardens,

gravel beds
and out of the converted
greenhouse.

[Misty]
The bus, it's at a slant

so that we have drainage.

Everything flowing towards
the back of the bus

so that these beds don't act
as massive swimming pools

and the plants don't drown.

So now that the bus
is at a slant,

we need water to move uphill.

-How do you move water uphill?
-I'll tell you.

This gravity-fed
zigzag system.

I really like this plan

because as of right now,
I don't need anything.

-[Lucretia] Mm-hmm.
-And you don't need power.

You don't need pumps.

If you're okay with this
and you sign off on this,
I'm gonna go for it.

-Yeah, I like it.
-Okay.

-Yeah, it looks perfect.
-Okay, cool.

-Yeah, it makes sense. Yeah.
-Yoo!

[Misty]
It's supposed to rain tonight.

I would love starting now
to be able to attach gutters,

connect this irrigation system
and see it work.

All right, Lucretia,
it started raining.

-[Lucretia] Yeah.
-Let's try
and get these gutters hung...

-[Lucretia] Okay.
-...and start
collecting water.

[Lucretia] Seeing gutters
go on the greenhouse.

I'm really seeing
everything come together.

I'm excited for what's next.

-Oh, done.
-Yay.

-[Lucretia] It's in.
-It's in.

And look inside here.
What do you see?

[Lucretia] I see rain.

While we were living
in the bus,

I wouldn't have thought
of using it as a greenhouse

because it was the place
where we lived.

And so to see that happening

and the rain
already collecting

from the roof
is pretty amazing

and really going
in a great direction.

[Misty] We'll put gutters
on both sides.

We'll have the barrels
and you'll have

that zigzag water irrigation.

[Lucretia] Nice.

-[Misty] Good, right?
-[Lucretia] Yeah, it's great.

[Misty] It's really exciting.

[Marty]
We're just gonna drop it in,

hopefully without collapsing.

The more we clean out,
the more it caves in.

Danger! Whoa.

[Matt] Kiyoshi,
I have one more improvement.

-[Matt] You gonna fit?
-Yep.

[narrator]
With less than 48 hours

before their wheels up
from the homestead...

[Lucretia]
It's a beautiful piece
of wood.

[narrator] ...Matt, Lucretia
and the build crew

hurry to put
the finishing touches

on the new herbalists
workshop.

-[Lucretia] Oh, wow.
-[Matt] And it fits
in there snug.

[Lucretia] Wow.

[laughs] I love it.

-I can't wait to get to work.
-[Matt] Solid oak table.

This thing
was going to last forever.

It's tough.

Also,
we've got a drying string.

[Lucretia] Yeah. Yeah.

And extra square footage added

with some shelving here
and there.

We got a ton
of extra space here.

[Lucretia] It's amazing.

[Matt]
And really, this is kind of
just bare bones.

I know you're gonna add
your own touch
to this workspace,

but is this enough
to get started?

[Lucretia] Absolutely.

[Matt] You were saying
you got projects already.

[Lucretia]
So I've already got,

um, some infused honey

with medicinal plants
that someone has ordered.

So once I get to organize
the space again

and find where everything is,

I get to actually
put those together for them.

That's amazing.
So orders are stacking up.

-You need to get to work.
-Yes, very much.

[Matt] I heard Lucretia
infuses honey,

which is one of the most
amazing natural substances
on the planet,

so I have a surprise
that will actually help her,

but also benefit the homestead
in a huge way.

I can hear a lot of things
buzzing in there.

-Open the door Lucretia.
-[Lucretia] Okay.

[Matt] What do you know
about keeping bees?

Bringing bees
onto this homestead

means a lot more than
just honey in your tea

and on your bread
in the morning.

This side needs to go out.

Slowly lower it.

She'll have her own garden,
her own greenhouse

and her own bees making honey

from all the plants
on her property.

And it will be
an amazing ingredient

that really
pushes this herbalist workshop

to the next level.

Oh, dude!

That is so cool.

One of the first things
we put in on the homestead

was wildflower beds.

Because we wanted
to attract bees.

We knew we needed to bring
that life to the space.

Well...

We sourced some bees
from some local beekeepers,

and I got you some suits.

[Lucretia] Nice.

[Matt] And we wanted
to make it fun
for the whole family.

Yeah.

[Matt]
And so we got an extra small
for Kiyoshi.

-That's awesome.
-[Matt] Keeping bees
is not super hard.

[Lucretia] Okay.

[Matt]
You can do all of your feeding

and anything you need to do
inside the bus
by opening this up.

[Lucretia] Mm-hmm.

[Matt]
And then all you got to do,
just keep it locked.

No bees
are gonna come in here.

It's all sealed,
and they're just gonna go
outside.

-And as your plants grow...
-[Lucretia] Yeah.

...they're gonna come in
and out of this greenhouse.

[Lucretia] I mean,
this is just putting us

in a great position.

The sunshine coming in.
It's perfect.

I'm very excited
for your future.

[Lucretia] Thank you.

[Marty] I got the culvert
on the back.

[Lucretia] Oh, wow.

There's the new well, folks.

[narrator]
Beside the schoolhouse cabin,

Marty uses a tried
and true hack

to turn the Jones Thomson's
newfound spring

into a functioning well
using a 20 foot long
steel culvert.

[Marty] Hey, Clint, come back
and pick this culvert out,
please.

Let's hit it.

Take it down there.

[Khalid]
Looks like they're taking
this culvert pipe

and they're gonna
move it back there

where Marty was able to dig
and find some water.

And they're gonna make
a makeshift well.

It's pretty crazy to see.

[Marty]
Look at all that water.

There's a 100 gallons of water
down there, minimum.

Bad news is
if we backfill that pipe,

it could clog up with clay.

So we'll push this rock
into the hole.

This will be
in the bottom of the pipe.

Then it'll serve as a filter.

And Clay can't get in there.

Only water can come through.

And we just want to develop
this in a way

where we cannot
just find water,

but use water
for the next 150 years
or longer.

[machine whirring]

[Marty] Done. Khalid!

Randall. Hey. [whistles]

In a few seconds,
Clint's gonna drop it in

and then
he's gonna pound it in

with some rock,
hopefully without collapsing.

So, give ways, please.

All day long,
water has been
seeping in this hole

that we discovered
this morning.

Danger.

The banks are saturated.

They're caving in.

There's probably
a 1000 gallons of clay muck

that we're trying
to clean out.

But the more we clean out,
the more it caves in.

[whistles] Keep bailing.

It didn't get
the bucket loose.

[Marty]
We want to get to a point

where we can
get to the bottom,

throw in some nice clean rock,
pick up the culvert.

Stab it in there,
and then backfill.

Perfect!

Hook up the pipe.

-[Randall] All right, cool.
-[Marty] Quickly!

You're gonna see him
stab that pipe
right in that rock.

Drop it in there.

[Khalid]
Marty likes to cowboy it,

and he improvises
to figure out solutions

and to be able to pass on

what it is I'm learning
to my son, it's huge.

Yeah, Clint.

Whoo! Move down!

[man 1]
Yes, it looks awesome.

Done.

Good job.

Done.

Come on in.
The water's fine.

[Misty] Come on in. Hello.

[narrator]
By the old school bus...

[Misty]
Come in, come in, come in.

[narrator] ...with less than
36 hours left in the rescue,

Misty sends out
a call for help
to the local community

to help complete
the greenhouse.

[Misty]
Thanks, everybody, for coming.

There's just a lot of work
to do

and we've been pretty up
against it.

So if you guys want to help,
we'll take the help.

-[Deniece] We'd love to.
-We're... we're ready to work.

-Got some boy scouts.
-[Misty] Yes.

You guys are gonna be
on shovels.

Okay. So first things first.

Let's get the topsoil
in the bus.

-[Deniece] Sounds great.
-[David] Absolutely.

-[Misty] Ready to go?
-[Deniece] Awesome, awesome.

[all cheering]

[Misty] We got all ages.

Got some older ones,
some kids.

And they're just all here
to help.

Just get all the way to here.

So when buckets come,
everybody just find a spot

and we'll just shuttle.

It gives you hope in mankind

that there's people
like this that exist.

We got a bucket
coming already.

Oh, here comes.

-[woman 2] Oh, here we go.
-[man] Okay. Go ahead.

[woman 2] Yoo-hoo!

[indistinct chatter]

[Misty] Oh, you guys,
this is so cool that you came.

Thank you so much.

They don't expect
anything in return.

I'm sure
there's a thousand things

they need to be
doing themselves,

but they're just showing up
for their neighbor.

Okay, Lucretia, where do you
want these plants?

[Lucretia]
Thank you, that's sage.

[Misty] Yeah? Okay.
And head to the bus.

Who's planting?
Who's planting?

[Lucretia] Part of our point
of being here

is to be part of a community.

Oh, this is wonderful.

[woman 3] I got a camper.
Maybe we need to--

Turn it into a greenhouse?

I can help.

We didn't want to
live this way to be
separate from people,

but we wanted to be
around people
who are more like-minded

and wanted to live
this similar kind of life.

It feels really good to have
that kind of community action
going on.

Okay, so I would
love to put a fence
around this whole garden,

prevent things from jumping in
and from digging under.

I have a really big day.

I have to finish
this greenhouse.

I have to start this
outdoor garden space.

And honestly,
we're out of time.

-So it is about 20 feet
by 30 feet by 20 feet.
-[David] Okay.

And the fourth wall
is actually going to act
as a fence

-as well to save us time
at this point.
-[David] Okay.

[Misty] But good news,
Mr. Mayberry

is willing to take charge
of the whole situation.

I've got 39.6 here.

[Misty] I told him
this is what I want to do

and he just took over,

which will allow me
to kind of finish up
inside the bus.

[David] We'll put two posts
over there for a gate.

We could put two post
over here as well.

[Misty] So with your tractor,
this is gonna go really fast.

So thank you so much.
Thank you.

[David] Hey,
this is what neighbors do.

We take care of everybody
here in the neighborhood.

[Misty]
I'm so happy you're here.
Let's get this lined out.

-[David] Absolutely.
-[Misty] Okay.

[Marty] Khalid's back
with some precious cargo.

You guys want to go on a tour?

[Kiyoshi] Tour.

[laughs]

[Kiyoshi] Where's my bed?

We don't live
in the bus anymore.

[Kiyoshi] Tree house!

[Marty]
Has this homestead changed?



[Marty]
It looks like Khalid's back

with some precious cargo.

[narrator] It's the last day
of the rescue.

And after a week of hard work

on the Jones-Thompson
homestead...

[Marty] Come on, papa.

[narrator]
...Khalid and Lucretia

welcome their
eight-year-old son, Kiyoshi,

back to their
transformed property.

[Misty] Tie-dyed shirt
and tie-dyed pants.

[Lucretia] I'm very excited
to see Kiyoshi's reaction.

There's so many changes
that I just can't wait to see

what he says.

Who's this over here?

-Lucy Jones. I'm Luc's mom.
-Lucy, nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.
-We love your kids.

Your kids are amazing.

I think some things
changed in the bus.

A lot has changed.

You guys want to go on a tour?

-[Lucretia] Oh, yeah.
-[Kiyoshi] Tour!

-[Lucretia] Let's do it.
-[Marty] All right.
Who's leading this tour?

[Khalid]
Without a shadow of a doubt,

I think my son is gonna be
absolutely shocked.

It's going to be
a more enjoyable experience
for him.

He's going to be wowed
at the transformation,

that's for certain.

[Lucretia]
You ready? Look at this.

-Check it out.
-Look at this.

[laughs]

It looks like a garden.

It is.

It's an inside garden
where we can grow stuff
all year.

[Kiyoshi] What happened
to the top of the bus?

[Lucretia]
They took the top off.

You look out the back.

-There's rain catchment.
See the blue?
-[Lucy] Yes, I do.

[Lucretia] Through the window?
Isn't that cool?

And look underneath,
the storage,

like, all this space
under here.

Having a workspace
for my business

and having the ability
to grow food year round

is going to make
a lot of things easier.

[Kiyoshi]
Is that where the bees live?

[Lucretia] Check it out, man.

Look, you got a bee suit.

-[Kiyoshi] Cool.
-[Lucretia] See?

-That's so cool.
-[Lucretia]
It's even got a bee on it.

-It covers your face...
-Oh, yeah.

[Lucretia]
...so they can't get you.

We're getting closer
and closer to our dream
for this homestead.

The place
that we can live all together

and be happy here.

[Kiyoshi] Where's my bed?

You don't have one in here

because we don't live
in the bus anymore.

[Kiyoshi]
Oh, this is so cool.

[Misty] I'm pretty excited
for Lucretia.

With this green house,
there is serious
potential here

for her business
with her medicinal herbs.

I know she can grow
enough food
to feed their family,

and I am genuinely
so happy for her.

[Kiyoshi] We don't live
in the bus anymore.

-[Lucretia] I know.
-You don't live
in the bus anymore.

He said, "Where's my bed?"

I was like, "We don't live
in here anymore."

[narrator] One week ago,
the Jones-Thompsons

lived in the back
of a cramped,

converted school bus

without cultivating
homestead garden space.

Now, after moving
their living quarters
elsewhere

on the homestead,

the bus has become
an irrigated greenhouse,

complete
with a rainwater retention

and irrigation system
for year round growing.

[Lucy]
What in the world is that?

[Kiyoshi] Tree house!

[all laughing]

I always wanted a tree house.

You got a tree house, bro.

Let's go up in there.

Climb up there.
Just you three.

You can climb up there.

I want to climb up there.

Misty, you go up there, too.
Come on.

[Matt] I've already been up
there many times.

You think he's gonna like it?

Oh, he's gonna love it.

Yo, it looks so cool in here.

[Khalid]
Isn't it awesome, man?

We can sh**t bow
and arrows up here.

[Matt] This tree stand
has turned into a place

where the whole family
can come together,
enjoy the outdoors.

But also, we have seen
deer come through.

It's a place
that can literally
put food on the table,

and it's one of the most
useful structures and tools

I've ever built
on a homestead.

If a bunny comes here,
I'mma sh**t it
with my bow and arrow.

[laughter]

-[Marty] That is amazing.
-[laughter]

-He's already ready.
-Look at that target
over there.

-[Kiyoshi] Oh, so cool.
-[Khalid] That's a target
that Matt made.

So we can come up
here and practice.

So we can come up here
and listen for the animals,
we can watch stuff.

We can be sneaky
and look at the animals go.

[Kiyoshi] They won't even know
what's coming.

They won't even know
what's coming.

You got that right.

Now that we have a new hunting
stand/tree house,

we're gonna spend
a lot of time up there
sh**ting bow and arrows,

talking to them about deer
and the different
migratory paths.

So let me go down first.

-All right, let dad go first.
-...and then
you follow me down.

Yeah,
and watch how he does it.

[Khalid] It's like
we're both transforming
at the same time.

You know,
my growth as a homesteader

is gonna be his growth
as a homesteader.

I got you.

Okay, good, good, good.

As a father,
it's the ultimate honor

to be able to pass on
what I know to my son.

Also, we're learning together,
we're going to become

really good hunters
and we're gonna provide food

for our family
and for the community members

right here on our homestead.

[narrator] Seven days ago,
the Jones-Thompsons

had limited access
to food on their homestead.

Today, a tree house blind
and practiced
bow and arrow skills

set the family up
for hunting wild game,

providing them
with a much needed
homestead protein source.

I love my tree house.

[Khalid]
We can be hunters, man.

We can bring food home
for the family.

-Isn't that gonna be awesome?
-Yeah.

-[all laughing]
-[Khalid] Yeah.

[Marty] Okay.
Do you want to look
at that cabin?

-Yes.
-Let's go.

Me too.

Yeah, I want to see that.
I want to see that.

Yes, please.

[Kiyoshi] Amazing!

It looks giant.

Oh, my God.

[Khalid]
This cabin is 150 years old.

It was a schoolhouse.

So this is a very
historic cabin
from wonderful neighbors.

-[Lucy] I like this.
-Yeah, right?

Yeah...

[Khalid] Mm-hmm.
It's already warm in here.
Really warm.

Now you're gonna have to learn
how to make cookies

on top of the stove
instead of in the...

-[Khalid] Yeah, there you go.
-[Lucretia] Exactly.

I'm gonna,
I'm gonna figure it out.
Don't worry.

[Lucy] Now,
this isn't old time.
Look at this.

-You can even open
if you want some fresh air.
-Yeah. You sure can.

So has this homestead
changed for the good?

-100%.
-100%?

Yep. Changed 100% all right.

Is this a homestead
where an eight-year-old
boy would like to live?

Yes.
[Marty] Yes. Do you like it?

I love it so much.

-Really?
-Mm-hmm.

Well, I don't know
what we can do to follow that.

[narrator] One week ago,
the Jones-Thompsons

were living in the back
of a converted bus

braving freezing
Virginia temperatures.

Today,
this historic log cabin,

complete with wood stove,
provides enough shelter
and warmth

for an entire family
to call home.

In addition,
their once dry homestead

is now served
by a spring fed well

and a donated state-
of-the-art water storage tank.

Kiyoshi, you're happy
with all the fun little
improvements?

-Yes.
-I have one more improvement.

Hold that thought.

We got a little bit
of a present.

[all cheering]

[Khalid] Look at that.

You have a compound bow.
Isn't that cool?

Hold on.
Wait, wait, wait.

I didn't forget about you.

-Hold on.
-[Khalid] No way.

No way, Matt. Oh.

-[Kiyoshi] What is that?
-[Matt] So...

[Kiyoshi] It's for him?
That's so cool.

-This is your dad's bow.
-[Khalid] Wow.

We could be hunters together.

-[Khalid] Yeah,
we could sh**t together.
-Yeah, dude exactly.

[Kiyoshi]
That thing looks crazy.

Thank you, man.

[indistinct chatter]

I appreciate this, man.

We gonna bring
some meat back for mom?

-[Kiyoshi] Yes.
-Yeah, we are.

We are. We are.

[Misty] I have no gifts.

[laughs]

[Khalid] Well,
we have gifts for y'all.

Lucretia took some cedar.

[Lucretia] Cedar, lavender
and rosemary,

which we were planting
today...

-[Khalid] Yes.
-[Lucretia] ...in the garden
for all three of you.

[Khalid] Here's a,
here's a piece
of artwork for you.

I call them
my coloring blocks.

-[Matt] Oh, yeah.
-[Khalid] And this is for you.

Just to remember us by.

Marty,
this one is for you, sir.

-[Matt] I love it.
-[Khalid] Thank you so much.

[Matt] I will be hanging
this up in my house.

-I'm so happy. This is so--
-[Khalid] Yeah.

This pales in comparison
to what y'all have done
for our family.

Thank you, guys, so much.

[Lucretia] I know. I know.

I know.

It doesn't pale to comparison.

I mean, look at this,
this was what we wanted

to see this family united
on this property

with that boy smiling
and happy.

I just wanted them to be safe.

[Kiyoshi]
Well, now we're safe.

Makes you happy?

Okay, on that note,
we have to go.

-I know.
-And guess what?

Your family is the proud owner
of a schoolhouse.

[Khalid] Yes.

[Marty]
And school is in session.

[Matt] Absolutely.

Oh, God.

School is out for recess.

Thank you all so much.

-[Marty] Thank you.
-[Misty] Bye-bye. See you.

-[Lucretia] Say bye to them.
-[Kiyoshi] Bye.

[Lucretia] Marty, Misty,
Matt, thank you so much

for everything you did.

I'm so in awe
still of the greenhouse.

And I think by springtime
we're gonna see
a lot of growth.

[Khalid] And Matt,
thank you so much.

Can't wait to get
the opportunity for me and him

to use that hunting stand.

And as you can see, I've been
putting some practice in.

[Lucretia]
Marty, I really appreciate

everything that you did
to get this cabin here.

[Khalid]
We feel so at home here.