March 14 | Animal Harvest Class

from $50.00

March 14, 2026. 9am-2pm in Atascadero CA. Will follow-up with address.

Join Nic Moss for a half-day animal processing class where you will learn how to ethically kill and field dress a sheep. This knowledge can apply to all animal harvest situations domestic or wild (hunting/trapping.) All participants can be as involved as they’d like and will walk away with a thorough understanding of:

How to ethically kill with a knife
How to field dress and prepare an animal for butchering or cooking
Wow to use the entire animal for food and craft. This includes hide, hocks, skull, stomach, blood, organs, brain, bones and more.
Hands on experience doing all of the above
The anatomy of a ruminant animal
Discussion about how to do all of this with reverence for the animals life

This class is good for people who:

Have their own animals and want to learn how to process them before- or in-replace-of taking them to the butcher.
are curious about processing roadkill
are hunters wanting a better, or different understanding of field dressing
are wanting experience skinning for the process of hide tanning

We will not be butchering (breaking the animal down + packing for storage) or cooking the animal at large in this class however we will talk extensively about how to do that. We will also cook organ meats and possibly blood cornbread.

Kids over 10 are welcome with a parent. We really like bringing the kids and teens into this process and conversation.

Age:

March 14, 2026. 9am-2pm in Atascadero CA. Will follow-up with address.

How to ethically kill with a knife
How to field dress and prepare an animal for butchering or cooking
Wow to use the entire animal for food and craft. This includes hide, hocks, skull, stomach, blood, organs, brain, bones and more.
Hands on experience doing all of the above
The anatomy of a ruminant animal
Discussion about how to do all of this with reverence for the animals life

This class is good for people who:

Have their own animals and want to learn how to process them before- or in-replace-of taking them to the butcher.
are curious about processing roadkill
are hunters wanting a better, or different understanding of field dressing
are wanting experience skinning for the process of hide tanning

Kids over 10 are welcome with a parent. We really like bringing the kids and teens into this process and conversation.

Nic’s teaching style: Nic is a gentle, grounded teacher who enjoys expanding peoples outlook on animal processing by guiding them through a slow and thoughtful exploration of taking an animals life for food. His class is balanced between deep conversation on the topic and deepening the skills needed to do this on your own. He has been teaching this class for many years at primitive skills gatherings and is excited to bring a new perspective on this topic to our local community. Learn more about his background here.

Reflections from past students:
“Nic is a natural instructor — skilled, patient, and supportive of those learning. The experience is made special by his approach, which centers respect and honor for the animal throughout the process.” -Victoria

“Nic‘s teaching style is a patient expansive welcoming approach to an experience that many people have many different reactions to. He has an amazing respect for life and death and the process in between. Processing animals with Nic feels like he is doing the animals life justice by the way he holds space for the animal and the people facilitating the space.” - Lila

“Nic teaches this ancient skill with lots of compassion and heart. His connection with, love for and care of his animals is palpable and this comes through in his teaching style. I greatly appreciated that Nic gathered our group together both before and after the animal harvesting and processing. Sitting with the group beforehand allowed for us all to connect. We shared a bit about ourselves and any experiences we may have had with taking an animal's life, or why we felt called or drawn to the class. We were able to address any questions, nerves, or excitement that we may have been feeling. It felt very grounding to meet beforehand in this way. Our gathering after the animal harvesting allowed for us to process our unique individual experience and share that aloud with the group. Nic holds the process of taking an animal's life with much sacredness and honor, and allows space for participants to sink into the experience in their own way. I highly recommend anyone to take advantage of learning this craft from Nic!” - Lily