Live, Work, and Play Hard
Hawaiian Ranch is a collaboration between content creators and Infinite Reach, a Native Hawaiian and person with autism-led 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. As avid video gamers, we realized that the most random group of people can join together and take on some of the most difficult challenges in an online game – and if we can do that, why couldn’t we band together to overcome some of life’s most seemingly insurmountable hurdles?
Hawaiian Ranch is a ranch, a homestead, a content house, a business incubator, a laboratory, and a movement. We’re conducting a great experiment here and it’s an exercise in the power of community to overcome some of life’s greatest challenges, while at the same time, developing solutions to problems that regular-every-day-people will face in self-sufficiency, food insecurity, and our resilience to climate change.
As A Ranch…
One of the main functions of Hawaiian Ranch is to address self-sufficiency and food insecurity by producing food for partial subsistence and to bring to market. Our team of adventurers will become real life ranchers and farmers.
As A Homestead…
There’s a national housing crisis and many countless Americans struggle with securing adequate shelter and security. What does it take to adequately house people, without breaking the bank, and while still maintaining a high quality of life? Hawaiian Ranch will showcase a housing model that can work!
As A Content House…
Our adventurers will be documenting their experiences and tossing it up on social media; the comedy, the action, the drama, hopefully not any horror. Hawaiian Ranch is all about community-building and our community extends beyond the physical boundaries of the Ranch – we’re a global community and we all need to stand together.
As A Business Incubator…
Money still talks and it’s simply not enough to just be able to produce food for yourself. So, our adventurers will create a business from the fruits of their labor… figuratively or literally.
As A Laboratory…
Hawaiian Ranch is a prototype for housing, ranching/farming, entrepreneurship, human behavior, the sky is the limit. One of the big things on our mind is our resilience in the face of climate change and how that will affect our food, water, housing, the way we live. Our adventurers are also scientists.
As A Movement…
What if we can create a concept for a model community that eliminates homelessness, hunger, and unemployment? Does it change the way we build? Does it change the way we work? Does it change the focus of policymakers? Does it change the way we treat each other? We’re ready to find out.
Our Purpose
Hawaiian Ranch, as a project, is our way of giving back to our communities by doing something good and beneficial for them. We really want to develop solutions to food insecurity, job and economic opportunity scarcity, housing unaffordability, financial instability, the need for climate change resilience, and so much more – and it will take a team of awesome people to do that.
And if we can toss our experience onto social media for even the slightest chance at inspiring others across the world to tackle the major challenges impacting their own communities, then we’ve accomplished another awesome thing. Giving back and encouraging others to do the same is what Hawaiian Ranch is all about.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Exactly Is Hawaiian Ranch?
It’s an actual location in Hawaii where a group of people will have the opportunity to live and work.
These people will be chosen from across the USA and they will have to carve out an existence from a relatively undeveloped parcel of land. They’ll have some help starting off.
In taking on this challenge, these people will be developing functional models for food production, food security, self-sufficiency, climate resilience, and entrepreneurship to name a few.
Who Created Hawaiian Ranch?
Hawaiian Ranch was conceptualized by Zed Dread Fury (“ZDF”), a Native Hawaiian social media influencer in collaboration with Infinite Reach, a Hawaii-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
ZDF wanted to take the idea of a content house and prove that younger generations (Millennials and Gen Z) have the capacity to do amazing things for the benefit of our greater society, especially when free from the many socio-economic constraints that too often weigh down these individuals.
Is Hawaiian Ranch An Intentional Community?
Yes, sort of. Hawaiian Ranch might not fit the mold of many intentional communities out there, but in so much as a content house is a kind of intentional community, so too is Hawaiian Ranch.
The first group of people selected to establish the physical infrastructure (the homestead!) of Hawaiian Ranch will also be determining the governance structure and community rules that they will live by.
At the same time, these homesteaders will be working alongside Infinite Reach and the immediate community to accomplish specific project goals connected to rural/ag-tech/workforce development, food security, climate change resilience… all that good stuff.
What Are The Requirements To Apply?
There are three requirements:
- Applicants must be between 18 and 29 years of age;
- Applicants must be able and willing to work with others;
- Applicants must have a sense of adventure (however you want to interpret that).
Hawaiian Ranch has an age range requirement because a strategic goal of the project is to prove that younger, less established individuals, are more than capable of thriving and contributing to the benefit of their greater communities if only they didn’t have to bear the brunt of their current socio-economic hardships.
We understand that socio-economic hardships are not strictly limited to a specific age, however, this experiment focuses on the hardships impacting younger Millennials and older Gen Z.
How Are Applicants Chosen?
Our non-profit collaborator, Infinite Reach, will review applications and schedule interviews with applicants who meet the application requirements.
Interviews will take place over virtual communication. This is the vibe check, where Infinite Reach will determine which applicants are most suitable for the task ahead.
Finalists will be notified and picked up for the adventure.
How Many Homesteaders Will There Be?
Ideally, for the first “season” of our first Hawaiian Ranch location, between eight (8) and ten (10). There’s no rhyme or reason for this number other than it seems like a decent number with which to start. It will be entirely possible for us to increase the number of homesteaders as time progresses and the homestead is further developed.
What Will Homestead Life Be Like?
It’s hard to say at this point because it’s largely going to be a team decision.
We’re not throwing anyone into the wild to fend for themselves. Basic homestead infrastructure will be developed and a degree of life’s luxuries will be provided through the support of our extended community and our business partners.
Our team won’t have everything they need – some things have to be earned. They have to carve out a life for themselves and we have a point to prove about real life struggles, but we also want to have fun while doing it.
Will There Be Danger?
The safety of our team is an absolute priority. There have been and will continue to be extensive planning processes among team members to ensure everyone’s safety during this exercise. There are dangers in life that we can’t control – tripping over rocks is a real threat – but, we won’t be going out of the way to put our team in harm’s way. Whatever dangers can be anticipated, we’ll be sure to have a plan for it.
What Will Homesteaders Farm/Ranch?
The final group of selected individuals – the “homesteaders” – will be able to choose from a broad list of options.
While food security is an issue that our homesteaders will address, ranching doesn’t necessarily mean that they will be raising livestock for consumption – they could very well choose to raise goats as a grass cutting… chomping service, or an army of chickens for soil enrichment purposes.
The sky is the limit and we strive for innovation.
What Do Homesteaders Get From Hawaiian Ranch?
Whatever they make from it.
Our vision is that a group of young people looking to live in Hawaii and desiring to become a meaningful part of the community here will have the opportunity to join forces and make a life for themselves.
In addition to a place to live, a major facet of this project includes an exercise in not just communal living, but using combined resources (including social capital) to stand up a business with the possibility of generating substantial income – that business will belong to our homesteaders.
Invaluable experience, lifelong friendships, so much more possibilities…