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Off-grid Hawaii dream: couple builds budget home & thriving food forest
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- Опубліковано 12 сер 2024
- Matt Holton and Cristina Pineda were living on Maui where the average home price is a million dollars when they heard about lots on the Big Island selling for about 20K. They bought an acre for 22K, and with no building experience, soon began to build their own home.
Near the rim of the Kīlauea volcano caldera, their rainforest community of Fern Forest remains affordable thanks to its lava zone 3 rating (1-5% of zone 3 has been covered since 1800). With no option for city water, everyone collects rainwater here and many homes are unpermitted and uninsured. “Here is a little place where people kind of let be and no one gives you much trouble for what you’re doing,” explains Matt.
After digging out a driveway and lining it in gravel, the couple moved an RV onto their property and began to build. They got some help from neighbors and Matt’s architect brother, but mostly they used books and the Internet to build themselves a seismically-safe and hurricane-resistant home.
They use limited solar (mostly just for charging their electric car and heating shower water) and rely instead on a bit of propane for their outdoor kitchen. They have a tiny fan, but mainly depend on the trade winds to blow through their home for cross ventilation. Instead of heating (it can drop as low at the 50s fahrenheit), they rely on warm jackets and down comforters.
They don’t bother with a refrigerator since a garden in a rainforest produces food with very little labor. They have at least 30 varieties of fruit trees and a diversity of vegetables like Samoan spinach (a bush) and lemongrass (great for rice). “It’s like a gardening paradise,” explains Matt about the lack of irrigation needed, “You just have to trim”.
“You kind of embrace living in the forest,” explains Matt who grew up on Maui. “You sleep deeper here, maybe it's the pace of life as well as just being surrounded by all the trees, there's a comfort as well as a simplicity and beauty to it that we like.” Cristina, who grew up in New Mexico, adds, “This is the dream that I never had.”
Matt's channel@Mauirunner
Cristina's channel @cristinapineda808
Matt's art holtongallery.blogspot.com/
On *faircompanies faircompanies.com/videos/coup...
Thank you for spending time with us, and all your great editing. Hope to see you soon in Hawai’i.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful story and home with us all. 🤙
Your home is really beautiful! What an incredible way to live!
You two are like angels living in paradise - thank you for sharing your home with all of us. I know two people that went to Big Island 12 years ago and never came back.
Wow! I love the big island and what you have done is just amazing and beautiful! Thank you for sharing… seeing this today , helps me believe that I can do more… you guys, start a UA-cam channel! I would love to follow you
Hi! My husband and I are looking into buying a plot in Kalapana. We also have a Tesla. Can you explain how you charge yours in more detail? I don’t want to give my Tesla up.
Just so people are informed Big Island lifestyle is not for everyone. It's affordable because it's in a lava zone. The jungle is continuous work with overgrowth where pigs run wild. There is one major road in and out. Hurricanes always seem to hit Big Island first and hardest which means most people are very much self-sufficient because public services are limited and not the most efficient. Lastly what people don't always talk about is the crime. There are a lot of fugitive sorts of people who hide in these areas. It can be a dream as long as you are prepared for all this and open to figuring out your own solutions. Everyone who lives there has reverence to Pele (regardless of religion) as Big Island is known to challenge your character. Some thrive and some get spit out.
Are the types of crimes mostly burglary?
Pele the footballer?
@barnabybourbon 😆 Or maybe the goddess of Volcanos and Fire? Of course only one of them was actually real.😂
Don’t forget the fire ants. 😣
I can’t hear the coqui.
Kirsten,
I love how you spotlight these incredible homes within unique environments because with that comes some of the most interesting people as well. With this couple, I loved their gardening and early planning of trees!
Love your content, thanks for making it!
Thanks for taking the time to comment. I feel really lucky so many people want to share their stories. I agree this spot was in a particularly unique environment. So many plants were new to me.
I literally wait for your videos to come up ... Ordinary people living extraordinary lives... The beauty in simplicity.
Kirsten, so fun to see this home! It is just a couple of miles from where I live in an off grid home, catching rainwater and sunlight for electricity. There are many such homes in this area. It is amazing when a person realizes how we can live a very rich life without all the things we think we need when we are on the mainland. Thank you for showcasing this incredible lifestyle!
Aloha neighbor 👋🏽
I live Kona and could never live in this wet damp cold high elevation … however, great respect for them and all they have created is so simple and beautiful!
@@wasabiginger6993why not ?
@@govegan562 probably the same reason I could never live in Kona. Too hot. Too dry. Preference I guess.
We live off-grid in Puna district, although lower in elevation than Matt and Cristina. It is a challenge; gardening, learning, growing...living simply. Not everyone here can or wants to do it, or there are those who don't want people around them doing it (worried about property values; acting like everyone should live on a useless manicured golf course-looking property), but perseverance and commitment make it all worthwhile when you can grow your own food in a place with the highest cost of living in the US.
Thank you, Kirsten! Mahalo nui loa, Matt and Cristina!
More food forest tours and urban homesteading please 😊
Yes, food forests or those edible gardens people have in the suburbs and cities.
this looks like heaven to me. thank you SO much for sharing this. I'm not off-grid, but that's my heart's desire. Thank you, also, for your channel. Hope in this crazy world.
We are close neighbors.
I too live against the Puna forest reserve just below you.
Back in the Big Island jungle for forty years now. I sold some but now I have 8 one acre lots side by side. No one lives farther back than I do... No one can. My land borders the forest reserve. I worked for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park spanning over 33 years. Since 1983 I have never hooked up to anyones anything... no bills in the mail for 40 years! One thing I would say is... gravity feed water is Da Kine!
We stayed in a hard side yurt near you for 2 months winter of 2017/18. Love that rainforest. How is the VOG these days?
@@tw6955 I am one of the closest people on earth to the Pu'u O'o vent.... what vog?.... almost constant trade winds. Have lived here for 40 years. Very rare was the day I got vog. I'm smart enough to live up hill and up wind.
@@anthonylutz118what are the upsides and downsides buying land here...i’m very interested
@@govegan562 As I have said, here for 40 years now. It is said that this area is the last affordable place in Hawaii to live. Cost of living is high generally speaking. What I can say is that Hawaii is not for everyone...but Hawaii has been very good to me.
Hit me back and I can expand on that.
Starting work now.
@@anthonylutz118 id love for you to expand...i love the idea of offgrid rainforest living
No experience building before this? What incredible talent.
even compared to some of the more lux and innovative housing situations i've seen before, i still honestly love it so much
Love these alternate life styles. Very creative and freeing
You know why this land is cheap, right? This area of the Big Island is where all of the Kilauea vents have opened up w/ lava flows. Gotta live in the moment, though. Home in the middle of a Hawaiian forest -- life's pretty sweet.
I am so glad I found you Kirsten. Every video is well worth watching and learning from. Thank you.
Wow, what a beautifully crafted house in nature outstanding genius of the man and lady who created a place I would live in it until I passed, thank you dear people for showing it.☮ I moved to Thailand 24 years ago from Boulder, CO and it looks like parts of Thailand an amazing job these two people did.💖
The best building material to build with in hawaii is Cindercrete.
Cindercrete is a mixture of cinder cement and water mixed and poured into a set of reusable forms walls are poured from 12"to 24" thick. Cindercrete is fireproof termite proof rust rot and mold proof non toxic and has a high R value and good sound attenuation solid. Cinder is the only local building material on the island
Take care Ray
Interesting to see beginning homesteaders in such a climate. Would be cool to do a video with people in the same area who are really experienced!
Fascinating. A whole different approach to affordable living.
Loved the gardens, the none structure in the way it all was planted, makes it so much more fun & beautiful & stress free, as you are just walking & collecting what you want to eat. The beautiful artwork, the home & great designs make me appreciate all the work put into this wonderful home. He made it all seem easy, the can do attitude is so typical of Island life, where self sufficiency is always better & much more rewarding. May God bless you in this lifestyle & in making this your forever home.
I loved it all, except for the kitchen stuff outside, although, we had it like that when i was a child in my Island... ☝️💓😅
So much variety in the plants, it's gorgeous.
Aloha Kirsten, nice to have u back in Hawaii! Matt & Cristina, you've done a fabulous job with ur property & home! Mahalo nui loa & Aloha nui to you all!
They have done well. And thank you for reminding us of life on the Big Island. It does not go smoothly for everyone. We met a woman who was trying to do the same thing. She had quite a harrowing story which left her living in her car as all the building materials she had gathered to make her home on the Big Island were stolen. I wonder how she is doing now. How do they charge the Tesla on 200w of Solar?
There are chargers at the hilo target
Cristina & Matt, this is fabulous, what a wonderful video about your beautiful home/gardens.
There's a deeper essence about you that i am honored & pleased to experience.
Judy Hall Stapes
Mahalo Judy ❤
Love your videos Kristen! Thanks for getting all this info about affordable housing out to the people. Your videos have given me a lot of great ideas
Such an incredible and well done video! I’m honored to call Matt and Cristina friends! They are incredible people!
What a great post!
It takes a particular type of adventurous spirit to live in this section of the Big Island and these folks definitely have it. I have had wonderful experiences visiting friends who live similarly on this island. Mahalo, Kirsten! ☮️👍🏼❤🌋🏝
what would be the downsides of living there ?
I would love to have this set up. Lots of people cook outside to keep heat, smoke and smells out of the dwelling. The outdoor shower is fabulous. You avoid mold and mildew inside. I think the house is stunning. They have a beautiful plot of land and have made everything so visually appealing. Just awesome. ❤️
I was there on the big island for a month last year and I still want to move there anyday!! Such a peaceful and lush environment!
I remember when i visited 40 years ago when I was a teenager. The best part was the fantastic pineapple, all the beautiful foliage and the huge waves. 🌊
Sure was amazing video ❤thanks for having us along 😀.
Greetings from England 🇬🇧 Simon and Beth ❤❤❤
Such a beautiful house and area. I do envy you the tropical climate and the possibilities it gives for growing stuff, but not the earthquakes, hurricanes and possible eruptions! 👍🏾😊
I love how you have included some footage of the inhabitants building the structures, not just featuring the people living in an already completed structure.
Yes, Kirsten and Family - great channel! Thank you for your work! ❤❤❤❤
Untreated wood, bamboo and anything else with a high cellulose content does not last long in Hawaii because of the Formosan termites. They will even eat books, magazines and cotton fabric. I know because I lived in Hawaii for more than 20 years and it was a constant battle to detect new termite infestations in our home and kill them. I hope this couple treated the wood and bamboo they used to build their home so the termites do not destroy their hard work. Periodically a nest of termites will swarm and fly to a new location. They can land on roofs and crawl through roof vents to get to the wooden rafters. Just treating the ground around the house is not all that effective against flying termites.
In the old days lumber was dumped overboard from sailing ships and floated to shore. The sea water "treated" the lumber with enough salt that the termites did not want to eat it. If this couple have to rebuild at some point, I recommend using steel studs for the framework, corrugated steel panels for walls and roof and installing metal doors and metal window frames. Insulation is not all that important in the subtropics if the windows are usually open to catch the trade winds.
It is also good to have furniture that is not made of wood. Plastic lawn chairs are good. So are glass-topped metal frame patio tables and stone or concrete benches. Anything not made of cellulose is of no interest to termites, but they can still gnaw through other materials (mortar, plasterboard, thin plastic...) looking for cellulose (learned this the hard way).
Finally a budget homestead video! 🎉a lot of the videos are people with big bucks. Cool but not doable for most.
Wonderful home and a
lot of great ideas. I have 3 acres in Fern Forest on Noe Kauhiwi rd. I hope to move there
next year. paying off the land now. Mahalo, Janine
From the drone shots the house appears to be quite small but the interior video shows it not at all cramped. I loved the garden just merging into the natural 'jungle' beyond.
They should add a clean out on their freshwater in-line. So the first few minutes of rain don't rinse dust into their main container.
Nice couple, great place!
Much Aloha for this. As someone who has been living on one of the other islands. Island life in general is NOT for everyone that has a dreamy image of it in their minds. Yes it is soooo beautiful tropically warm and diverse in recreational activities. That said if one has unlimited funds you can make island-living feel like the dream you want it to be. However if your someone that still needs to physically work to create income then moving to an island comes with many sacrifices that aren’t that aren’t advertised anywhere. I did my research before moving here and still felt extremely challenged the first 3 yrs of adjusting to all the changes. For me it has been the most amazing move I made in my life. Now the thought of leaving hurts my heart and My vision is to take my last breath here when ever that maybe.
I find it fascinating how this couple made it work for them. 🙏
Fences, dogs, cameras. That area is one of the most crime riddled on the big island. Sometimes they snatch the whole gate off. It’s home to many chop shops. The roads require an off-road vehicle and routine repairs. Big difference between upper and lower Puna. The Puna district is the size of the island of Oahu and only has 7 officers patrolling it. This is for the young and broke with nothing much to lose.
Per the usual, this video is very inspirational. thx!
I grew up in this area. It is DEFINITELY not for everyone. I saw so many people move from the mainland and they would leave in less than a year. You have to slow your life waaaaaaaay down. Island fever is very much a thing. And so much has gotten harder than when I lived there. So many more invasive species that have made it so much harder...and the damn pigs.
Just like living anywhere, learn as much as you can about the area. It might seem like a paradise at first glance. But really only if you embrace the lifestyle. The area doesnt and won't change. It is all on you.
omg i miss hawaii. this is very tempting
Wow I’m from Hawaii and we never get to experience that kind in f breezin kind of wet weather all the time , love how they live their lives in Maui mountain happy for you ohana
People who dream of living in Hawaii need to read these honest comments. It is not for everyone, life is extra difficult for all kinds of reasons, crime being one of the biggest along with driving times and prices. People who buy cheap land and build whatever also need to be reminded that at any point and time the county can come in and demand you build to code, in other words a legal home. I know I sleep better at night knowing my house is mine.
Another GREAT upload... Thank you!!
RAINFOREST LIFE
DEEP BRIGHT GREENS
COVERING THE GROUND
RAIN WATER COLLECTION
BEAUTY ALL AROUND
OFF-GRID LIVING
SIMPLISITY AT ITS BEST
INDEPENDENCE AND SECURITY
A HOME AND A NEST
A WORLD WITHIN A WORLD
A SHOWER TO CLEAN
MEASUREMENTS OF TIME
IN A CANVAS OF GREEN
LIFE IS SIMPLE
LIFE IS CLEAR
LIFE IS LIVING OFF-GRID
YEAR AFTER YEAR
Nice, I just completed 2 small homes in Royal Hawaiian Estates just up the road closer to Volcano town. Turnkey, off gridders in absolutely gorgeous jungle setting, the area is stunning.
Fantastic ! I love the Kona area.
If there were mandatory pockets of land that were set aside for off grid living, there's be no housing shortage.
Hi Kristen, you might have shared this before, how did you get in touch with folks like Matt and Cristina, and all the hosts for your videos? Given how offbeat the path is, you must have a way to track them down and able to interview them. We appreciate and love your work. Thanks for showing to us there are folks living outside the cookie cutter that most of us were told that's the "only" way to live.
UA-cam I would bet.
What a fulsome extemporaneous way to live! Marvelous.
Simple and very nice.
Dont think I could ever get used to sleeping with windows with no drapes though.
I live on Oahu and rented an AirBnB in Fern Forest, where this was filmed. They had no curtains there either, resulting in waking me up very early every morning. Since then I make sure to ask specifically if a place has curtains
Lovely,cozy home ; you have done a fabulous build , and applaud you for your efforts,
I live on the Big Island/HPP, and living mostly off my land; Enkoy my idyllic lifestyle, besides surrounded by lush greenery!
Nice place simple life. I love the place.
very inspiring. Congratulations. So relateable.
This was most inspiring!!
Wow. Self made heaven ❤
Beautiful.
beautiful. magical. thanks, that is a great story for humanity. 22K for 3 acres sounds right.
I know a lot of people who dream about this style of living, but have no idea what it actually entails. I lived off-grid in Hawaiian Acres, not far from here, for a summer and it was the worst.
I went here and stayed in a similar home on Pahoa. It reminded me of rural Appalachia where I grew up. You had some “yahoo village” people out there with trash everywhere in their yard. But it was beautiful. Wild pigs came and ate the avocados that fell in the yard each day. Rooster with early wake up calls. So many frog sounds. But it had a beauty. I considered moving there.
Indah sekali pemandanganya kawan
Love your place. Perfect. Thank you.
I ❤ their style
Fascinating!
I desire living like this .I never forget COVID 19 .where we had no freedom in the city. The lockdowns were getting me sick . Going to the supermarkets was a big distraction for me especially with the mask on,. Nausea was my name😢😢
So beautiful
He has a Kenyan Bracelet. He is one of us now! I love their house and art, just beautiful
WoW. GORGEOUS 😍 😍 House in Hawaii , is So Calm Cute Heaven Life , wonderful House , 🏠. GOD bless you all , Excellent Videos , 😊🎉🎉❤❤❤
Nice little house. Keep it small and simple in case Pele decides to erupt in your area again.
Awesome!
Very cool. All you really need.
bro absolutely amazing. Ill be your neighbor in a couple years
❤❤❤thanks for the insight ✨🌎
Thankyou for sharing your home
beautiful....
Love the house so beautiful
This is beyond awesome! For refrigeration just purchase 12 volt cooler/freezers that sip power from solar many sizes from large to small and most are on wheels what am switching to ,also don’t buy new solar panels buy used warranty tested panels from SanTan Solar 1/3 the cost or less than new panels
What about the sun? was it just a clouded day or is it mostly like that?
Thank you- I am planning to do this too. Thanks.
Such a very beautiful place and home.
Recorriendo el paraíso.
Very nice, you're living the life, I wish I could be doing that.
Although the life looks tempting, do understand that medical care on the Big Island is not the best, and as you age and suffer from more various diseases, you WILL be flown to Honolulu regularly for the health care available there, which is much better.
Really love the simplicity of all of this (not that it was simple to build or do). But just the simple practicality, functionality and low use of resources. It's inspiring.
There is something about an outdoor shower that is super uplifting and life affirming. And cooking outside is just better.
Was NOT expecting all the art before we saw inside, it was a really pleasant surprise and just made the house!
Thanks for another great video 💚
So fortunate to be in the right place at the right time -- to live like this. It's a dream come true.🍌🍌🌶🌶🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴💖💖💚💚💚💚💚💚
Its beautiful 👣🌻
Wow lush! Do they ever see the sun though?
Looks like Mountain View, or close to it. 💚
Fern forest right nearby
I live Kona and never live in this wet damp cold elevation … great respect for them and all they have created is beautiful!
This channel has been at about the top of my subs since I first watched about five years ago. Not all the videos interest me, but about half of them are like no other channel.
Lucky him. Didn't move to Maui.
Matt was born and raised on Maui, and we lived there for fourteen years. Love Maui ❤
@@cristinapineda808 Must've been a heartbreaking shock to see it gone in a flash. Weird thing is, here in California, that grass would have had to be mowed or plowed under as per a mandatory fire abatement law. I saw video from above of the flames. Never seen flames race so fast outside pools of gasoline or rocket fuel. There was no stopping that.
Seems safe 👀 But in my country (in the provinces), self-built homes are very common - also unpermitted. When huge storms come and their houses get destroyed they just simply rebuild it again. You have to have a lot of grit to make living in a remote area enjoyable.
The Lockheed Martin shirt is sending me lol, hippie death merchant is a new one
“The dream she never had” 😂😂😂
As others have mentioned this area is endlessly in the crime blottter and 716 homes were taken out by lava in this area in 2018.
Aloha--beautiful hale, built with much akamai.
Do miss the big I.
Aloha Kirsten … wondering where they do their wash? No wait, they just hang it out in all the rain they get … LOL … I live Kona and could never live where they do … too cold wet damp humid mold mildew of ewh … but HUGE RESPECT for all they created that is so simple, so beautiful and off the grid for very little money! Another wonderful video, thank you!
Laundromat in Volcano Village 🤙🏽
Super!
wieder mal...zum weinen schön...
🎸🎸🎸🎶🎶🎶
with greetz from germ?Any!