In week three of the 2026 Encampment summer program, Encampers met with local farmworkers to learn about their lives and share a meal. A vital part of the week was the continuation of the powerful youth-led workshops for their peers and staff. This week’s workshops were: Climate Justice, Education, Mental Health, and Immigration & Unfair Justice Systems. Encampers took a field trip to the African American Museum in Los Angeles that included side trips to the Hollywood sign, the Griffin Observatory, and an iconic statue of Kobe Bryant. With staff support, they worked on presentations for the annual InterGen Program which took place in the last weekend of the Encampment. The presentations were creative expressions of what they had been learning for the past several weeks. Older alums, board members, parents and supporters joined them both in person and virtually. The Encampment’s last day featured a trip to a Malibu beach.
Farmworker Interviews
Encampers and staff talked with four farmworkers at the Centro Mujer at our partner organization, the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE). The labor of these farmworkers helps sustain communities across California and the nation, and farmworkers like them are being targeted by the current administration. They shared stories about work, migration, family, sacrifice, resilience, and the realities of life in agricultural systems. Youth were challenged to consider how wider systems impact individual lives, how communities respond to adversity, and the responsibilities we have to one another in creating a more just society.
Some questions posed by Encampers:
- How long have you worked in the fields?
- How much is the typical pay?
- Why did you decide to come to the U.S.?
- How did you get here? What was it like to cross the border?
- How have things been with the current administration?
- Do you have any family here and back home?
- What is the hardest part of being an immigrant in this country?
- If you could do it over again, would you still come to this country?
- What is some advice you would give the young people of today?
For some Encampers, the opportunity to ask these questions directly to the individuals engaged in intensive farm labor was among the most effective. As one young person explained, “One of the experiences that affected me the most was listening to the stories of farmworkers and learning about the challenges they face every day. Their strength and resilience stayed with me long after we left.”
Meanwhile, the farmworker stories also surfaced for many of our young people their own family’s migrant and labor experiences. As one youth reflected, “The farmworker interviews were important to me because my abuelo in El Salvador works in the fields. It was very personal to me, and made me want to hear more about my abuelo’s experiences.”
Click for a video that Jayden made with some of his fellow Encampers and a staff member.
Field trip to the California African American Museum, Los Angeles
Encampers reported that they loved the museum visit; it was paced well, and allowed them to engage with art in an intentional way. One Encamper noted that the museum felt like a safe space. A number of Encampers mentioned how the Willie Birch art exhibit stood out to them. Birch is a Black New Orleans artist known for his 1980s creative work in papier-mâché. One Encamper said that the Birch art exhibit made them realize that art can be unconventional and weird. Encampers also enjoyed learning more about the history of Black music in America, and some gravitated to the Lady Java exhibit; they loved that queer culture was a part of the museum experience. One Encamper summarized, “The museum visit ignited my desire to come back to the camp dorms and do art and relax. Art isn’t something I make a lot of time for at home but making art at the Encampment helped me relax and do something healthy.”
Youth-Led Workshops
Ean, Daniel, Camila, and Hagaa led the Climate Justice workshop. They started off with an interactive activity debating these provocative questions:
- Would you rather live without running water for a week or without electricity for a month?
- Would you rather live in a place that is extremely hot or extremely cold all the time?
They provided context about how climate change affects people differently according to their societal status. For the next question, they divided into smaller groups.
Smaller groups were posed with the following discussion prompt: Your city is suffering from poor air quality, flooding and extreme heat. You have limited money to address these issues. Pick three different solutions. Click for a glimpse into the process.
Youth delved into short- and long-term solutions, asking what would you invest in first? The groups reported back several solutions: better climate education, plant more trees, flood protection, improve public transportation, create cooling centers and more.
Encouraging participants to take action, the larger group discussion focused on three statements and the responses were recorded on sticky notes:
- I can….
- My school can…
- My community can…
Bethany, Abbi, Leo, Julieta, and Annie facilitated a workshop about Immigration and Unfair Justice Systems. Participants were given large cut-out letters and asked to draw or write on the letter responding to “What does immigration mean to you?” Click for a glimpse into the process. Click to see the letters being put on the white board.
Youth facilitators also showed two video clips of President Trump calling immigrants animals and asked participants to respond by depicting their reactions and feelings on images drawn on the cut-out letters. The letters were later put on the board to spell out “Together We Can Fight Injustice.” Here is one clip, in case you would like to write down your own reactions. https://youtu.be/DcTMV4KHnuo?si=AxPiLxIohNwDodaH
The main activity was a full simulation of the immigration experience. The facilitators made up badge IDs with different countries and identities. Participants were told, “This is your name; this is why you are immigrating.” Each person had to go through the steps and processes. Annie was in charge of the medical evaluation and final approval interview. Leo and Abbi got into character as immigration officers.
“You had to memorize what was on your ID card and if you made a single mistake, you were thrown into detention. I was Yeshua George, coming from India with a H1B work visa. I memorized everything, but then they asked me, ‘Where is your visa?’ They had set me up! I was denied and placed in detention.” — Program Director Jesus Salcido
Other people, for instance, if they were supposed to come from Palestine, were denied immediately — people were treated better depending on what country they came from. Sometimes when people made it through, the officials would talk to them in a different language that they didn’t understand. Some people reported others who lied on their application and that deepened the learning. Jesse was in a scenario where one of his family was sick and he never got through to them. He said, “It made me realize what it is like not to be able to see loved ones at the end of life.” Another Encamper reported, “I was here from France — they hardly asked me anything and I got through really easily.”
For some Encampers, the activity was more than a simulation; it was a reminder of their own reality in coming to the US. Jasmim, from Brazil, remembered how hard it had been to get her visa to get to the Encampment. “The officials talked too fast and it was a tense interview—like they were trying to find something wrong…just to be at the Encampment.”
Jayden, Alexa, Jasmim, Beatrice, and Isaiah led the Education workshop. They asked participants to reflect on their educational experience: What made it hard? What made it easy?
Several people commented: “Sometimes, we are just handed a packet and it seems to be more about memorization vs. learning.”
Youth also discussed the fact that history is being removed from the education curriculum. They later divided into smaller groups to complete the following assignment. Each group was assigned different restrictions and given different pieces of information to illustrate the following scenario: Draw a sloth going to buy a birthday cake in a California bakery that has a window showing a sunset. The challenge was to arrive at the same drawing with only pieces of the information and some groups could not talk to each other. Some groups could talk to each other but didn’t have any drawing materials. Every group got a piece of the whole scenario and some groups got more hints than others from the facilitators. As a result of the inequitable distribution of information and guidance, there were varying degrees of success. For instance, one group only had a sloth-like animal, another just a sunset. While the results were funny, it also pointed to a more serious issue: Educational success largely depends on access to resources.
The session facilitators also gave a Kahoot phone quiz in real time. Jayden gave all the answers ahead of time, but everyone was talking while he was reading the answers, so only the people who were listening got the answers right. One Encamper said, “I realized that I was feeling competitive. I wanted to get the highest score — know more. It’s like trying to get the highest grades and class rank. Our economy is based on competition. “
Jasmim reflected that the actual process of preparing the session was a challenge to work together as facilitators with different perspectives about education. They had to work through disagreements and conflicts about what they were going to focus on, compromise about, and be realistic to manage time for each activity. They also had to respond to the energetic responses of participants when they were shown an impromptu video of a student being thrown out of class for complaining about “another freakin’ packet!” It had not been part of the plan they had worked through and decided to do.
Lastly, Krissy, Liv, Yahria, and Ski led the Mental Health session. It included a slideshow that provided instructions for the various components of the session. Components included:
- Creating postcards with affirmations on them and sharing them among the group
- Doing a dancing circle activity (created by Ski), where everyone had to pause and share one word about how they feel when the music stops playing
- Integrating other youth-led groups (e.g., gun violence, environmental justice) by inviting them to consider how mental health [issues] are deeply embedded in a wide array of topics
- Playing a game called “Two truths & a lie” about mental health to educate about mental health and debunk mental health myths
The youth leaders cultivated a safe space by inviting participants to take breaks as they needed. Krissy modeled leadership and courage by sharing her own mental health story.
Designing and co-facilitating the session left a lasting impression on the youth leaders:
“I appreciated the opportunity to help lead a workshop on mental health, a topic that I believe deserves more open and honest conversations. As I begin community college this fall, I plan to carry these lessons with me. I want to continue listening, learning, and finding ways to make a positive difference in my community.” —Skilynn, Mississippi
“As I move forward toward my goal of becoming a lawyer, I will carry these lessons with me. I want to continue advocating for my community, supporting mental health, and standing up for people whose voices are too often ignored.” — Yahria, New York
“When I return home to Chicago, I want to continue using my voice by advocating for teen mental health and encouraging my school administration and district to take these issues more seriously.” — Olivia, Illinois
2026 InterGen Program: Meeting the Moment
For the last weekend of the program, Encampers and staff invited alums of all ages, parents, board members, and supporters to join in person; there was also the option to join virtually for two sessions. The in-person program started on Friday evening with dinner and an opening circle.
Saturday morning, Encampers — individually or in groups — chose different creative ways to share what they have been learning. They included drawings, photographs, slide shows, video interviews with fellow Encampers, poetry, dancing, a theater piece, and monologues. Click for a photo montage of the InterGen weekend.
In-person participants shared meals, including a taco cart lunch, and intergenerational conversation. In the evening, everyone watched “The Last Class,”a documentary featuring former U.S. Labor Secretary and UC Berkeley professor emeritus Robert Reich. The documentary focused on the role of education in cultivating engaged and critical global citizens, which aligns with the Encampment’s approach, and EFC alums Imani Jimenez-Ireeta and Ola Hadi facilitated both small and large group discussions.
On Sunday morning, EFC alums Imani Jimenez-Ireeta and Ola Hadi, with Executive Director Faith Kares, led an interactive workshop for the in-person participants keying off the film from the night before. Reich has spoken about having courage in education — a concept that the Encampment makes real. Participants described courage with their five senses, which made for some wonderful images and stories about having courage in varied situations. In the ending circle, people spoke about they intended to do as they return home and their desired impact in the world.
Simultaneously, Program Director Jesus Salcido and a group of Encampers met virtually with alums, parents, board members, and supporters to learn each other’s Encampment stories and hopes for the future. Here are a few brief excerpts from members of the intergenerational EFC community when asked to share one message.
Message for 2026 Encampers:
- Rita: Stay connected by Zoom and create! Just 10 minutes each morning — dance or dance with your hand on paper.
- Dyanne: Be yourself and be persistent in whatever you do.
- Tracy: I’m so thrilled that some of you are going to keep working on nonprofits, since 70% of nonprofit organizations are getting less money this year. They’ve been defunded by the government, but it’s so important the work that they do, and you should get paid decently. (Her book is due out in November: Redesigning Nonprofits.)
- Janna: You are all idea gardens and it’s great that you are documenting your ideas and working with each other — stay in touch with each other.
- Anne: Stay in touch with us, too — remember that the Encampment is intergenerational.
- Chela: There are going to be hard times, but remember that it will change and get better — keep hope alive. As someone in her 90s once told me, you never know what’s right around the corner.
- Marc: Sometimes it’s tough to be yourself. It can cost not to compromise your own integrity — to stand up for justice to speak out when you see something unjust. It cost me friends, but I came away feeling good about it.
- Dror: Good luck for all those things you are planning to do. You are taking on challenging things — go for it! Take advantage of things like Substack and YouTube.
Message from current Encampers to older members of the community:
- Jasmim: Always have space to grow and learn.
- Julieta: Youth are the future, but we all share the future and making change together.
- Jayden: Give yourself and others a fair amount of grace. It’s everyone’s “first time living” so let go of as much conflict as you can.
- Teoo: Keep your ears open for advice. It will help you a lot and inspire you … Don’t listen to negativity — just keep pushing for what you want to do.
- Alexa: Meet the moment by meeting people where they are to make change.
An Encamper asked, “What was Al Black [EFC co-founder] like?” Dror, a friend of Al Black, replied: “Al Black was a fun guy!” Dror then asked the alums if their Encampments were fun and the intergenerational answer was a resounding, “Yes!”
InterGen Quotes
“One of the moments I’ll never forget was sharing my poem, ‘Why Me,’ during InterGen. It was hard for me to be that vulnerable, but the Encampment gave me the confidence to share my story.” — Leon, talking about his poem about police violence
“So often, the thoughts, dreams, and opinions of youth are overlooked. Participating in InterGen Weekend at the Encampment for Citizenship was such a wonderful opportunity to interact not only with my own daughter, but with an amazing cohort of interesting and impactful humans. I learned so much about others and, unexpectedly, so much about myself. It was inspiring to see how safe the campers felt expressing themselves freely during what is usually a difficult time of life to be seen and heard.” — Jaime, parent
“Teoo came through and owned the stage at InterGen. The energy was unreal. Can’t wait to see what next year’s participants bring to InterGen.”🎉 — Rodney, parent
“The last young woman had me bawling. She said some powerful things about being a leader and being vulnerable. They were so amazing. Those young folks filled all the soul bits.” 💕 — Regina, EFC Board Program Committee member & InterGen volunteer
Malibu Beach Day
Photo/videography for this week provided by EFC staff. Special thanks to Creative Arts & Activism Facilitator (visual arts) Lucy Jabbour for organizing and context. Kristie Diazconti and Rob Write stepped in at the last minute to provide invaluable professional coverage of some of the activities.
Thank you, as always, to Ruth Thaler-Carter (EFC alum 1970) for contributing her copyediting expertise. Any errors were made after her efforts to improve readability.
Support diverse youth leadership development. All donations are welcome! Click to DONATE ONLINE or send your gift to The Encampment, P.O. Box 1210, Aptos, CA 95001-1210. Our Federal EIN is 30-0694938.
You can help build support for the EFC’s work by sharing this post with your network!
You can also support EFC to build our social media presence. Follow and “like” EFC on:
Instagram and Facebook page: @the_encampment
Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2381986793/