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- By Zuni Youth Enrichment Project
ZUNI, NM — Summer is a busy time of year for the Zuni Youth Enrichment Project. Growing season is in full swing, which means the ZYEP food sovereignty team is dedicated to knowledge sharing through public workshops as well as through special activities embedded in the nonprofit youth project’s popular Wellness Week and Summer Camp youth programs.
These dynamic and culturally relevant initiatives are made possible with support from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Native American Agriculture Fund, New Mexico Department of Health Healthy Kids Healthy Communities, and Newman’s Own Foundation. These partners also support ZYEP’s annual garden program, which provides garden kits, rain barrels and ongoing support to registered families.
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Sixty-five community members of all ages attended the season’s first workshop on June 19 at Ho’n A:wan Park. Five stations offered educational and entertaining activities centered on soil health.
At station No. 1, families learned about mulching and moisture retention, while kids enjoyed planting sunflower seeds in pots they decorated at station No. 2. Then they moved on to the third station, which focused on cultural information.
“Kenzi Bowekaty, one of our food sovereignty leaders, set up a cornhole game to reinforce the dos and don’ts in a playful way,” explained Brittny Seowtewa, ZYEP’s food sovereignty coordinator. She also noted that Bowekaty gave Popsicles to all the children, since it was a hot evening.
“We almost ran out!” she said. “We weren’t anticipating so many kids. The kids, as well as the families, are interested in learning more.”
Zachary James, food sovereignty specialist, shared information about water conservation at station No. 4, setting up a little aquifer to help illustrate why it is so important to save water. Finally, at station No. 5, families each received a shade cloth to shelter their plants at home.
Khassandria Hattie, another ZYEP food sovereignty leader, created a poster that allowed attendees to leave feedback in the form of sticky notes. They shared what they most enjoyed about the programming, as well as what they wished to learn.
“This allows us to make adjustment to our food sovereignty programming based on our community’s feedback,” Seowtewa said.
The community’s input is important to ZYEP. A significant number of families asked to learn more about composting this season, so the team designed the second workshop to focus on composting and vermiculture.
Held on July 24, the workshop attracted approximately 40 attendees and offered five learning stations once again. The goal, Seowtewa said, was to demonstrate that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to start composting; instead, you use existing household items.
At station No. 1, each family received a 5-gallon bucket and learned how to start layering. Seowtewa showed them how to use brown matter like cardboard, pine needs and corn husks to lay the foundation for a good composting environment.
Bowekaty was in charge of the “green layer” at station No. 2. She demonstrated how to add vegetable and fruit scraps to the composting bucket, and children learned the dos and don’ts of composting through another creative game of cornhole.
After taking a coloring break at station No. 3 with 16-year-old intern Jaynie Lalio, kids and their families moved on to No. 4, where James shared information about good soil for fertilization. Using juniper tree soil, he added the next layer to each composting bucket.
Finally, at station No. 5, Hattie shared information about earthworms, and she gave families five earthworms per bucket. At every station, staff members shared handouts with further details and encouraged families to reach out with questions.
“Our big focus is on sustainability,” Seowtewa said. “We want to show how you can get started and keep going without big purchases. Anyone can do this, which is really empowering, especially for kids. We tell them to get creative and use recycled materials.”
All of ZYEP’s garden workshops are free and open to the public. The final two workshops of the 2024 growing season will take place on Aug. 21 and Sept. 25, after which ZYEP’s monthly Family Cook Nights will take over.
In addition to the summer workshops, the ZYEP food sovereignty team seamlessly integrates food sovereignty activities into the youth project’s summer programming. One of the seven mini-camp activities involved in the annual Wellness Week in June, for example, is called Shiwi Chefs; it gives children opportunities to engage with healthy foods and meal preparation.
“It was a really beautiful, heartfelt week for all of us,” Bowekaty said. “In our pre-event surveys, the kids told us they didn’t feel very confident about preparing traditional and healthy foods. Our goal was for them to change their minds and their answers — for them to feel confident in making and tasting these foods.”
“In our post-event surveys, we saw that the kids did change their minds!” Seowtewa said with a smile.
Wellness Week’s Shiwi Chefs got started on June 24 with an introduction to kitchen safety and sanitation. They practiced chopping as well, making a fruit salad with mint and citrus vinaigrette; and they made zucchini noodles with a spiralizer, pairing it with marinara sauce.
On June 25, the young chefs practiced contemporary cooking. They made black bean tacos with blue corn tortillas, taco filling, chopped vegetable toppings, zesty lime sauce and red hot sauce.
Shiwi Chefs welcomed professional baker Heather Seciwa on June 26 for a baking day. The kids cut and marinated strawberries, and made their own cakes and whipped cream, for homemade strawberry shortcake.
“They took home a large portion to share with their family and showcase what they had learned,” Seowtewa said.
Bowekaty led a traditional cooking day on June 27. They made tortillas the traditional Zuni way, stone-grinding the corn; they also made blue corn sweet tamales to enjoy with corn stew that had been prepared the previous evening.
“Kenzi did an amazing job leading that session,” Seowtewa said. “The kids really look up to her.”
“When it comes to these traditional foods, we don’t have written recipes,” Bowekaty said. “They are passed down through the generations, and you use your heart, mind and senses. I learned to make the blue corn sweet tamales at Summer Camp from the late Lyla Weahkee, who came to teach us. It’s the main food I incorporate into cultural days here in Zuni, and now her teachings are continuing through two generations.
“I want that for these kids, too,” she continued. “It’s a heartfelt tradition, and when I see our community leaders come here to teach our kids, and I hope the kids take away a lot. They can do this in their own homes.”
Two teen interns are supporting the food sovereignty team this summer: Jaynie Lalio, 16, funded through ZECDC; and Haley Malani, funded through ZYEP. Both are working 20 hours per week until Aug. 2.
“It’s their first in-depth experience with kids,” Seowtewa said. “It’s a big highlight for us, to step back and watch them do their thing. They are so full of energy, and they are so intentional with the kids.”
In addition to assisting with the summer programs and community workshops, the interns also support the food sovereignty team as they maintain and improve the community gardens in Zuni (H’on A:wan Park and Indian Health Service). Seowtewa noted they are doing a significant renovation at IHS this season, in partnership with Ancestral Lands-Zuni Crew.
“We had traditional gardens at the IHS North and South gardens, but a mole or gopher ate all the plants,” she explained. “So we created raised garden beds, about 3 feet high, to make it harder for pests. We’ve been creating layers in the beds as well, using branches, cardboard, burlap and soil.”
Carrots, peas and squash are growing well, and the Zuni area has received significant moisture. ZYEP’s large water-conservation pots were full at press time and ready for pumping and hauling to the gardens.
“We’re teaching the kids that if we all do our best and take care of our gardens, hopefully we will be blessed with abundance in harvest, rain and life,” Bowekaty said.
To learn more about the Zuni Youth Enrichment Project and its programs, and for information about making donations, partnering with ZYEP, and volunteering, call (505) 782-8000 or visit zyep.org. And, to stay up to date on the latest news and events, follow the nonprofit youth organization on Facebook (/zuniyouthenrichmentproject), Instagram (@zuniyouthenrichmentproject), YouTube (/ZuniYouth), and TikTok (/zyep09)
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