Learn
Classroom
Customer research, pricing, food costing, basic bookkeeping, sales, hospitality, and food safety.
Initiative · Coming 2027
Methow Youth Enterprise Academy
A hands-on entrepreneurship program for valley youth, using local food and local markets as the classroom.
Methow Youth Enterprise Academy · Launching 2027
Learn business by building something you can sell.
Young people here grow up around farms, trades, tourism, and small shops, but there's almost no structured way to learn how to start and run a business. Most business education is in larger cities. The Academy fills that gap.
Methow farmers produce beef, pork, lamb, goat dairy, produce, fruit, and honey, yet few young people are taught how to turn that abundance into a viable enterprise. The Academy is a 10-month program, not a one-day workshop, focused on youth who have limited access to business education.
Who
Youth ages 14–18 (high school cohort) and young adults 18–24 who live or attend school in the Methow Valley / Okanogan County
Length
10 months, September to June, with two sessions a month plus farm field days
Size
12–16 participants in year one. Small on purpose, so each student runs a real project
Who can apply
No GPA cutoff. Commitment and a workable idea matter more
Build
Mini-enterprise
Each student or small team launches a product, pop-up, catering item, farm-stand product, or service, with seed funds for ingredients and supplies.
Mentors
Local farms & owners
Methow farmers, cooks, and business owners mentor students, with farm field days and production labs.
Showcase
Public market night
Students sell to the community in Twisp and present what they earned, spent, and learned.
Year-one goals
- 12–16 youth complete the Academy
- At least 8 student enterprises launched (product, pop-up, or service)
- At least 5 Methow farms or local producers engaged as suppliers or mentors
- A public showcase in Twisp, with dollars paid to local farms tracked and reported
By the end of year one, students can
- Cost a product and price it to a real margin
- Write a one-page business plan
- Keep a simple ledger and handle money
- Make a sales pitch and handle a complaint
Planned partners
We're planning to work with WSU Extension – Okanogan County, the Town of Twisp and Twisp Chamber, Methow Grown farms, and local schools.
Year one stays small, measurable, and tied to real customers. If it works, year two adds a second cohort and a short summer intensive.
Applications aren't open yet. Families, farms, and mentors who want to hear when they open can get in touch.