Fostering Agricultural Resilience and Modern Skills (FARMS) Native Youth Camp | July 14-18, 2025
Flagstaff, Arizona – KARMA hosted their week-long Fostering Agricultural Resilience and Modern Skills (FARMS) Native Youth Camp from July 14-18, 2025. We recently concluded and are excited to reflect on the journey! We had the privilege of working with 8-10 talented Native youth from across northern Arizona, ranging from Holbrook, Flagstaff, Klagetoh, Hopi Nation, and Navajo Nation. The week was supported by five dedicated FARMS camp mentors—a diverse group of current and post college students, teachers, and professionals from various careers. The FARMS Native youth camp explored the powerful intersection of agriculture and modern media.
The 21st century’s online business model has altered the workforce landscape, particularly in media-related fields. It has prompted a rising demand for skills tailored to online platforms, social media, and e-commerce. FARMS conducted activities for youth to learn and engage with different strategies for marketing and communications. As we organized the week, we were intentional to include guest speakers who are Native entrepreneurs and business owners. Our participants were accompanied with exceptional role models that have skills in marketing, communications, and diverse digital media skills.
The camp explored many locations due to the objectives and space needed that could meet camp capacity both in size and infrastructure. A few days were at Twin Arrows Casino conference rooms. On Tuesday and Wednesday, these days were dedicated to field visits in which participants went to local farms and a sheep ranch to put their new skills into practice. We believe in a grassroots approach, and the project’s core focus was to support local growers and ranchers by connecting them with young talent. The students acted as clients, gathering interviews and assets to create new marketing materials. The end of the week closed in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Day 1: Foundations of Marketing
The week began at Twin Arrows Casino conference rooms where the space was set up for group projects using various equipment and programs; audio, video, graphic design. Corey Begay, KARMA FARMS Agricultural Marketing Specialist, gave a dynamic presentation that used major brands, like Nike and its Native American representation, to provide a glimpse into marketing strategies and audience engagement. Keanu Jones, KARMA Executive Development Associate, is a multidisciplinary artist with a focus on media arts such as filmmaking (documentary, short narrative, and promotional), photography, and graphic design.
In the afternoon, we were joined by Daniel Vandever, CEO of South of Sunrise Creative. A well-established, multifaceted individual, Daniel shared his journey from university marketing to becoming an independent publisher of children’s novels. He uses storytelling to blend technology, culture, and relevant Native experiences, serving as an inspiring role model for our participants. The day concluded with a hands-on session where students learned how to use professional-grade cameras and audio equipment, getting their first taste of setting up interviews and troubleshooting in a real-world scenario.
Day 2: Farms Visits
Tuesday morning the teams visited Beaver Farms and Ch’ishie Farms, both located near Leupp, Arizona. They captured the unique stories and histories of these operations, with one group successfully designing a new logo for Beaver Farms. At the Ch’ishie Farms locations our FARMS group was accompanied with Leupp Chapter youth development workers. The group was able to conduct a video interview and learn about plants and operations. Not only was it not just a farm but the continuation of Tyrone Thompson legacy in food sovereignty. The rest of the afternoon was spent at the Leupp Chapter, the teams began their first attempts at video editing and logo design.
Watch all the videos from the week here!
Day 3: Trenching to Farms and Ranches
Wednesday morning brought more adventures at two locations, KAE Ranch/Yummy Mutton LLC, Dilkon, Arizona and Sunset Gardens, Grand Falls, Arizona. One team created a short radio ad, while others focused on video interviews and capturing assets for web design. Sunset Gardens also provided a great learning experience, as students saw technological innovations like solar power and a hydroponic system, as well as creative solutions for water catchment.
The FARMS Native Youth Camp was also able to work with a group of nine youth workers at the Bird Springs Chapter House, there, the youth workers participated in a web design-focused workshop. Everyone gathered at the Bird Springs Chapter House for the rest of the afternoon, which included an inspirational presentation by Ryan Begay, a Native Navajo actor and media producer, who shared his story of breaking into the film industry and the importance of telling Native stories. Before the day ended, teams continued video editing and worked on logo design.
Day 4: Crunch Time!
Thursday was “crunch time” at Twin Arrows Casino conference rooms where the space was set up for group projects using various equipment and programs; audio, video, graphic design. The entire day was dedicated to working on all the captured assets for full production — pictures, videos, and audio interviews. It was a huge learning curve for many, as they navigated new software and complexities of post-processing.
Our final guest speaker of the week was Cherylee Francis, owner of CF Productions LLC, a local multimedia production company. She shared her own story and provided valuable insights into the technical aspects of the editing process, serving as another great role model for the participants. By the end of the day, some groups had finalized their projects, with mentors assisting to ensure all media was ready for the final showcase.
Day 5: The Showcase
The program concluded on Friday in Flagstaff, Arizona. The morning consisted of a visit to Northern Arizona University (NAU). After a breakfast where mentors shared their personal career and educational journeys, the participants were given tours of both the NAZ Today studio at the School of Communications building, and the Maker Lab at the Cline Library. The tours provided a behind-the-scenes look at professional media production which allowed insight to future educational opportunities.
The week culminated with a project showcase for family and community members. In the afternoon, participants accompanied by their mentors, presented the videos and logos they created. The turnout for the showcase was fantastic, family members proudly viewed the students’ hard work. To keep their creative momentum going, the FARMS Native Youth Camp awarded each camp participant a 12-month premium membership to Adobe Express; a resource that will allow continued skill building.
Throughout the week not only were multimedia skills the focus, but, the camp included two special factors. First, upon application the students were asked what they would like to learn from the camp and majority of applicants stated learning language, culture, farming, and media. The camp was blessed with multi-lingual individuals and affiliated terms were taught in Navajo, Hopi, and Spanish. Secondly, the camp organizers understand the importance of health and movement, the need to get away from the screen, thus, throughout the week Dr. Lynnette C. Gilmore, PT, DPT of IINÁ Physical Therapy introduced movement activities and coordinated with mentors for ice breakers and games.
For more information about programs like FARMS please contact Keanu at keanujonez@wiikarma.org. This project is funded by the Native American Agricultural Fund.
