Heritage Craft Camp, formerly The Fort Harrod Area Craft Camp, has been around for almost 50 years. Starting at the North Central 4-H camp then making its way eventually to the Leadership Development Center in Jabez, KY, Heritage Craft Camp has finally landed in Boyle County in 2021. It has gone through several changes since it’s beginning but the purpose has always been the same. The Kentucky Extension Homemakers Association (KEHA) used this program as a recruitment tool to encourage new members to join, start clubs, and teach heritage skills in each county.  

The origins of the Kentucky Extension Homemakers Association can be traced to the beginning of the 20th century. Today’s collection of charitable, skilled, and knowledgeable Homemaker groups grew out of the University of Kentucky’s Cooperative Extension Service’s early attempts to connect and educate rural women through home demonstration clubs or tomato clubs. Some early groups focused on canning or reading and reaching out to women on farms. Those humble beginnings have led to an extensive network of women sharing information that would make their domestic lives easier including home economics, new technologies and goods, agricultural skills, food conservation and preservation, and domestic skills. 

At Heritage Craft Camp, sewing is one of the most common skills shared. Sewing is a single focus task bringing many health benefits including steady heart rate, lower blood pressure, less perspiration over time, reduced stress, and an increase in dopamine. The creative process of sewing keeps the mind healthy and active so that your mind can stay sharper for longer. The creative thinking required during sewing encourages the growth of new brain cells.  Research by the American Home Sewing & Craft Association (AHSCA) indicate findings that show the act of sewing can reduce heart rate and lower blood pressure whether you are an experienced stitcher or a beginner. 

Heritage Craft Camp is a multi-day event which consists of hands on craft classes, leadership development, and relationship building. The combination of those characteristics is what has made Heritage Craft Camp stand the test of time. In the beginning, KEHA members and FCS Extension Agents worked together to coordinate classes that would be taught over 2 days in an overnight day camp setting. Teachers were often Extension Homemakers or Extension Agents. Over time other professionals in their fields were invited to come teach classes. Now we have past participants who have grown their skills and now teach classes as well. Not to mention have become and helped recruit Extension Homemaker members. Before the COVID 19 pandemic started in 2020, this event was held in person. Now this event is offered in a hybrid setting to accommodate for in person as well as virtual participation.  

To evaluate this program we have two types of evaluation. One is for each class offered. The class evaluation measures impact of each class, how well the teacher did, how or what skills the participants learned and other class specific things. Class evaluations help in planning for future classes and teachers. The other evaluation is the general evaluation that covers the whole event such as location, registration, food, and overall enjoyment of the program. This helps plan for easier registration, lunch options, and how to make the event run smoothly overall. 

Both class evaluations and the general evaluations were extremely positive this year. Most participants reported that they were glad the event was changed to a day camp instead of an overnight event. Several participants enjoyed having the virtual option to attend making it easier for them to access Heritage Craft Camp classes. Out of the 59 participants we received 41 evaluations.