The Savage Retreat: A Weekend of Ancestral Living, Butchery & Real Food

As Christina and I fly back from Rogers, Arkansas, we’re reflecting on an incredible weekend—one that left us refreshed, inspired, and more committed than ever to ancestral living. Over the past four days, we immersed ourselves in fire-cooked feasts, hands-on butchering, cold plunges, and deep conversations at the first-ever Savage Retreat, hosted by our good friends Robert and Crystal Sikes. Surrounded by like-minded people from all over the country, we explored what it truly means to reclaim our food, our health, and our resilience.

Friday: Fire, Feast, and Ancestral Wisdom

The retreat kicked off with a feast—Robert grilled a spread of beautiful ribeye steaks, while I broiled lion’s mane mushrooms, poached fish, and demonstrated how to remove and prepare a pig’s head for head cheese. As the meal wrapped up, we gathered around the outdoor fire pit to dive deep into our ancestral dietary past, discussing practical ways to incorporate traditional food practices into our modern lives. Late that night, just before bed, we pulled the simmering pig’s head from the pot, and everyone gathered around to pick the meat and prepare it for the next day’s meal.

Saturday: Cold Plunges, Butchering, and Breaking Down the Food System

The morning started with a cold plunge and sauna session, followed by a hearty breakfast of eggs, meat, and bacon grease—simple, nutrient-dense fuel for the day ahead.

Next, we hit the trails for a winter hike through the Ozarks, identifying wild plants and discussing their uses for food and tools. We used the landscape itself as a classroom, diving into geology, ancestral foraging techniques, and how early humans interacted with their environment.

With our stomachs full and our minds ready for the next challenge, we took an unexpected detour—into the modern food system itself. Instead of just shopping, we went to the grocery store to dissect modern food marketing—breaking down ingredient labels, deceptive branding, and the industrial food system’s role in shaping what we eat. We only made it through the dairy and cheese aisles before being politely asked to leave—apparently, dissecting food marketing in real-time isn’t always welcomed in big-box stores. But the lesson was clear: understanding food beyond the packaging is critical in reclaiming control over what nourishes us.

leading the foraging walk

Rocks!

Rigel and Robert

Taking over grocery store

Flintknapping success

fintknapping view

Saturday Evening: From Stone Tools to Pig Butchery

Back at the cabin, it was time for the butchering and communal cooking session. Before we tackled the pig, everyone stepped outside for a hands-on stone tool-making demonstration—creating their own flake tools, just like our ancestors did 3.3 million years ago. With these tools in hand, we moved on to breaking down the pig.

With the entire group involved, we transformed the animal into a nourishing, nose-to-tail meal:

🔥 Pig skin braciole (my favorite dish)

🔥 Roasted pork belly

🔥 Italian sausage

🔥 A multi-species nose-to-tail breakfast sausage, blending elements from five different animals—the pork we butchered, elk liver from Robert’s recent hunt, beef tongue, venison heart, and lamb from Robert’s farm, all wrapped in lamb caul fat.

The atmosphere was electric—learning through doing, creating something meaningful, and experiencing ancestral eating in its most nourishing, ethical, and sustainable form.

Sausage

Braciole

Toast

Pig

Sunday: Cold Plunges and Strength in Community

The final morning began with another cold plunge, followed by a group workout at the gym.

The Savage Retreat was far more than a series of workshops—it was a deep immersion into ancestral living, bringing together people who are passionate about reclaiming food sovereignty, building resilience, and strengthening community through real food.

We’re incredibly grateful to Robert and Crystal for making this retreat happen and to everyone who attended. We cooked together, learned together, and shared food together—the essence of what truly nourishes us. This is exactly the kind of hands-on, community-driven experience we strive to create at Modern Stone Age. We left feeling more committed than ever to sharing this knowledge, and we can’t wait to bring more opportunities like this to our own community—because learning how to truly nourish ourselves is the most powerful thing we can do.

If you'd like a similar retreat on the Eastern Shore - leave a comment and let us know!

Savage retreat in Gym

Huge shoutout to Daniel Shroyer for lots of these great pics!