In 2026, Student Action with Farmworkers’ Into the Fields interns worked with farmworkers from Eastern NC, Western NC, and South Carolina to create a visual alphabet focusing on the theme of farm work.
Method
- During two participatory workshops, 17 SAF interns convened two visits to farmworker camps with 8-15 workers each
- In small groups, they chose a letter of the alphabet and reflected on a word starting with that letter that represents farm work to them. They then photographed and printed an image to symbolizes the word and created a collage with their image and written reflections
- SAF interns compiled the workers’ and students’ collaged pages into zines at their mid-retreat workshop to take back to their second meeting. At this last meeting, they facilitated a discussion with participants about what they see in common, what the book says about farmworkers, and how to use these learnings to work together for better conditions and to educate people about farmworkers
- Students received an orientation training in the Literacy Through Photography documentary model, documentary ethics, and photography