Arnold Clifford is keeping alive the dying Navajo skill of sheep shearing.

The farmer, who lives on a reservation in the US state of Arizona, continues to shear without electric clippers.

Wool and meat from Churro sheep have sustained the Navajo for centuries. And Clifford, who is also a botanist and teacher, says the animal has been granted mythical status as a result.

He is trying to keep the shearing skills he learned from his elders alive. By donating his wool to weavers he is also helping that ancient Navajo tradition thrive today.