Sacred Goat Harvest
A Two-Day Nose-to-Tail Immersion
Two days in the full cycle of one animal's life. We gather in ceremony, harvest a goat with reverence and a sharp knife, and learn to honor every part of it, from hide to bone broth. From slaughter to sausage.
Life nourishing life, nothing wasted, everything returned.
Most of us eat meat without ever being present for a death. We live in a society that likes to pretend the killing part never happens, the meat simply shows up on your plate. Together we will change that story. We invite you into that cycle with presence instead of fear or detachment.
We begin in circle, honoring this beautiful creature. We share about death and what it means to give death, and we make space for each person to say where they are emotionally. Grief, nerves, reverence and curiosity are all welcome here.
Then we work with our hands. You'll leave with real skill, and with a deeper relationship to your food, the land and yourself. You’ll learn humane slaughter, whole animal butchery, and a variety of unique, yet approachable cooking techniques. You’ll see what it means to use virtually every part of this sacred creature and eat of the animal both traditional, and modern preparations.
Basic Overview
When: Sat & Sun, Dec 5–6, 2026.
Where: Our homestead in North Boulder. (Upon sign up you’ll receive a welcome email within a few days with further instructions.)
Hours: 10 am – 5 pm each day
Group: Up to 6 people (If you’d like to reserve the entire weekend for a private group, message us privately friends@youenjoylife.us and we can discuss this option for a discounted rate).
Meals: Two each day, from the goat, cooked to the highest degree of honor and execution.
Cost: $650 Per Person, All Inclusive. (Deposit option of $150 are available to reserve your space at checkout).
*Cancellation/Refund Policy. Full refund if cancelled more than one week out. After one week this workshop is non-refundable. However if there is a wait list we will do what we can to get your ticket sold to someone else and give you a refund, though we can’t make any promises.
Day one · Saturday
Ceremony & harvest
Opening ceremony. Honoring the goat, sharing about death and giving death.
Humane slaughter demonstrated with a sharp knife: calm, clean and quick.
Skinning and fleshing the hide. We will not tan the hide, but speak of various ways to utilize it.
Full evisceration. Taking out the organs and saving the intestines and stomach.
Raw organ tasting, offered as part of the tradition.
A special meal cooked from the goat.
Quartering the carcass to hang overnight.
Day two · Sunday
Butchery & the nose-to-tail kitchen
Whole animal butchery. Breaking down each quarter into primals and cuts.
Grinding and sausage, stuffed into the intestines we saved.
Cooking in the stomach, an old method that uses the stomach as the vessel.
Bone broth from roasted bones.
Rendering high-quality tallow.
Traditional nose-to-tail cooking that uses the entire animal.
Closing meal, closing circle and packing up your take-home.
What’s included in the cost of the ceremonial harvest:
Two full days of hands-on instruction
One goat, raised with care on organic pasture by a local farmer
Four farm meals, cooked nose to tail
All tools and materials
Plus Take-Home Additions:
Participants will also receive:
✔ A jar of goat tallow for cooking or skincare ($15 value)
✔ 1lb of ground goat ($15 value)
✔ Homemade medicinal skincare product with goat tallow ($25 value)
What You’ll Experience:
✔ Guided Goat Harvest – Our instructors will perform the culling using the knife-only method, ensuring a swift, ethical process that minimizes stress.
✔ Hands-On Processing – Participants will assist in skinning, gutting, and quartering the goat. On the second day you’ll learn about whole animal butchery as well as further processing the meat and organs.
✔ Ceremony & Reflection – This process can be deeply emotional. We will hold space for reflection, presence, and gratitude as we honor the life given.
✔ Eating Nose-to-Tail – Experience the tradition of honoring the whole animal by preparing and eating parts often overlooked.
✔ Communal Goat Meal – Share a thoughtfully prepared meal, twice a day, made from the harvest.
✔ Take-Home Portion – Each participant will receive a variety of goat made products to take home.
Join us Dec 5th and 6th for a powerful two days on our homestead.
“I stopped eating meat about a decade ago out of concern for the way we treat the animals whose products end up in our grocery stores. I found our society’s disconnection from the living beings that we consumed disturbing, frustrating, and quite sad. It was important to me that if I were going to consume an animal, I could stand behind the humans or environment that supported that animals life. So I took Yoshua up on an offer to see what a more humane and connected process could look like, and I’m very glad I did. This course is an opportunity to experience playing a direct role in the natural cycle of life, death, and energetic transformation in a positive environment with a human who deeply respects his animals. It is intense, as taking a life should be, but I’m beyond grateful to have had this experience and taken away both a deeper connection to animals we tend to forget are sentient beings and practical skills for when I decide to raise and harvest animals myself. Would recommend for anyone, meat eater or not.”
The Ceremony: Honoring Life & Death
This is more than just a class—it’s a sacred experience. As we harvest this goat, we will take time to honor its life, recognizing the deep relationship between humans and the animals that nourish us.
You will be fully supported in this journey. We will gather together in reflection, discussion, and shared intention before the harvest. There will be space to share thoughts, emotions, and personal reflections around life and death, giving this moment the reverence it deserves.
Who is this course for?
This course is for anyone that is interested in connecting more deeply with how we bring food to our tables in the most respectful and local way possible. No matter where you are on your food journey, this course will bring new insights and expose all participants to the intimate and unbreakable bond between human and the living world, of which we are a part. Sacred slaughter is also for those that have not experienced death first hand and recognize that it is the defining feature of life, and therefore would like to engage with this fact for themselves. There are no prerequisites for this day other than an open mind and an open heart. The staff are trained and prepared to be with participants of all kinds. We hope you will join us.
Join us Dec 5th and 6th for a powerful two days on our homestead.
Meet Your Instructors
John Clay
John has spent his adult life deeply immersed in all aspects of the food world—from cooking to growing to butchering. He previously served as the head whole-animal butcher at Wyebrook Farm, a regenerative farm in Pennsylvania, and has managed permaculture and organic farms in Maine. John’s deep reverence for nature and passion for teaching others how to interact with food forms the foundation of his work.
Yoshua Greenfield
Yoshua is the founder of You Enjoy Life Homestead, an educational homestead in North Boulder dedicated to reconnecting people with traditional food systems, self-sufficiency, and sacred practices. With years of experience in fermentation, regenerative farming, and ceremonial animal harvesting, Yoshua invites people into a deeper relationship with the land, food, and the cycles of life and death.
