Wes Atkinson, a Colorado native, has twenty years of experience as a leader in the trophy hunting industry. After six years in the ministry as a young adult, Wes built a successful outfitting business and facilitated thousands of hunts across three continents, giving a wide variety of people the opportunity to connect to the outdoors. In 2015, Wes sold his company and signed a three-year non-compete, which launched a journey to discover other aspects of himself while consulting for outfitting companies and filming for outdoor television. In recent years, he has guided hunters in the backcountry, pushing the limits of his physical, mental, and emotional capacity to uncover his heart's purest calling. Supported by his natural talent as a hunter and his passion to explore the depths of the human experience, it is ultimately his love of animals and the outdoors that led him to create Sacred Harvest, a concept that merges hunting skills training, rites of passage, and fellowship while harvesting an animal for sustenance.
Joanna Kraft has been exploring the connection between humans and food for most of her adult life. After studying the economics of sustainable food production at university, she spent seven years as an organic vegetable farmer in the Pacific Northwest and New England while also learning the ins and outs of event production as a planner, florist, and caterer. With a passion for gathering people around a table, Joanna gravitated toward restaurant management after retiring her farming career with a vision of creating vibrant community events that highlight local flora and fauna. Joanna's personal path has included the integration of yoga and herbalism to support her healing, and she aims to weave these streams into her work, along with her musical and artistic expressions. Holding a nourishing container is Joanna's joy as clients find deeper connections with Earth, others, food, and their bodies.
Wes and Joanna first met in 2021 in Sedona, Arizona through a mutual friend. Six months after that initial meeting, they reunited and began to nurture a deep friendship that eventually turned to partnership. Through conversation, they discovered they shared a similar vision of bringing people together and reconnecting them with their food and Mother Nature in a grounded, holistic way. Investigation and relationship deepened, and Sacred Wyld began to take shape. Combining their complimentary skills and experience, this platform's intention is to gather community, ask relevant questions, and integrate our actions with the rhythms of nature.
"Because Wes and Joanna had taken care of several typical distractions that I would normally take on, such as cooking or setting up camp, I was able to focus on myself, on the intent of being there, and staying calm in the moment when I was ready to harvest the animal through meditation, visualization and prayer, and this definitely led to the success of the moment."
~ C. Smith
Listen to Wes speak about his hunting experience and philosophy on the Breaking Normal Podcast
Listen to our new podcast! Our clients tell intimate stories from their Sacred Harvest experiences.
Wes talks about his early days hunting in NW Colorado and his personal evolution on the Tangentially Speaking podcast
Get an in-depth look at previous Sacred Harvest events and read client testimonials on our blog!
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.