Second Harvest: The Retreat That’s Leading an Analog Rebellion
“I didn’t want to come to the retreat…”
The wildest thing about the Second Harvest retreat is that the people who initially resist, are the ones that gain the most.
“…but now I’ve fundamentally shifted my thinking. What I thought I wanted, no longer appeals to me. I don’t know what it is exactly, but it brought me closer to the things I value most.”
What we all want can’t be downloaded. It has to be lived. It has to be experienced in real in life.
Because of this, we are being rebelliously analog.
“The answer that found us is truly amazing and beautiful. It feels like it’s combining the best of who each of us, and is a way to serve humanity.”
As AI and digital tools take over more of our lives, we’re seeing a surprising trend: people are craving IRL human connection.
As recovering technophiles and tech investors ourselves, we’re responding to that desire and crafting a space for that to happen.
Our retreats are not about optimizing or productivity or updating your tech skills. They are about presence. Finding stillness. Having meaningful conversations. Real connections over meals, around the fire, and on long walks. And a few adventures that bump up against your comfort zone.
Fewer But Quality Experiences
This is not nostalgia. It’s a deliberate return to quality. We don’t reject technology. But we never use it in place of real connection. There is no substitution for the sensual experiences.
“What was most special to me, was the presence that you each brought and shared throughout the week. The loving, caring, curious, wise, playful, vulnerable, expansive presence that you modeled and helped each of us to trust you, and trust the process.”
Social media was an attempt to simulate human connection but it continues to leave us feeling more disconnected than we had before. With AI creeping into everything, we are betting that the next wave is something born out of our wiser instincts. Hospitality, intimacy, and calmness.
The first retreat was an experiment, but we have proven that high performers can still slow down and make far-reaching intentional changes.
“As far as my personal experience, I can say it was a wonderful week on so many levels. I don’t think I had much in the way of expectations, but I imagined I would probably meet some lovely people, be in a beautiful place, hopefully spend some time reflecting on what was next. What I actually got out of it was much deeper. I haven’t found a way to articulate it very well but it’s something about having a deeper understanding of how it feels to be in my authentic energy.”
This return to your core is not just good for the soul. It permeates every part of your life. Your relationships, your work, your faith and mostly how you become more of yourself.
We recognize the important tech changes around us but the future won’t be defined by speed or scale alone. It will be shaped by those who know how to go to the core of what it means to be human.
We built Second Harvest around the idea that people don’t need more tools. They need space. They need silence. They need something real to return to. That philosophy, grounded, analog, and beautifully defiant, runs through every part of the experience.
Living Without the Feed
The Second Harvest ethos is rooted in what we call “rebelliously analog. Living, tactile spaces, timeless design, and conversation that feels more like friendship than facilitation. Days here are loosely structured. Morning yoga and meditation in a shaded courtyard. A cycling loop into the hills, not for speed but for the quiet observation. A walking dialogue with a new friend. Everything is designed to pull people out of their roles and back into their senses.
Ask attendees why they came and you’ll hear the same words on repeat: overwhelmed, over-connected, overstimulated. Many describe the retreat not as an escape, but as a reset. The idea isn’t to abandon their lives but to approach them differently. With more humanity.
There’s a growing appetite for this. With AI automating everything from writing to scheduling, the only scarce resources left are time, attention, and meaning. Second Harvest doesn’t just protect those, it curates them. Restraint, analog aesthetics, and hospitality without pretense is now a luxury.
Our Next Retreat — Girona, Spain
Set in the stone-walled Palau Fugit boutique hotel, and nested in the Catalan city of Girona, Second Harvest is part retreat, part design lab, part life recalibration. It draws a quiet but magnetic crowd. Former executives, mid-career creatives, and thoughtful misfits who are no longer interested in scaling faster. They’re here for something else: clarity.
You won’t find agendas, slides or digital worksheets. What you will find are linen-bound journals, local foods, a crafted leather bag of surprises and the kind of coffee you can’t rush. The old palace spaces are intentionally composed — plaster walls, olive wood tables, stone sinks, a subterrainian spa and the occasional classic Land Rover trip to Costa Brava. It’s not precious. It’s intentional. You feel it the moment you arrive.
A New Definition of Growth
The most striking thing about Second Harvest may be what’s missing. No group therapy sessions. No transformation testimonials. No pressure to fix. We assume you’re already whole. That you are enough. You just might need a different context to remember that.
That belief shows up in the way our facilitators behave (like co-conspirators, not instructors), in the way meals are served (farm-style, unfussy, always local and delicious), and in the kinds of questions guests are encouraged to ask one another: What part of your life have you outgrown? Where are you still pretending? What’s ready to be harvested?
There are no easy answers. But that’s not the point.
It would be tempting to describe Second Harvest as a retreat for people who’ve succeeded by the world’s terms and are now ready to succeed by their own. But that feels too narrow. What it really is: a physical reminder that quality, presence, and meaning are still available — and maybe always have been.
And in an age where most brands are trying to shout louder, Second Harvest offers something far more rare.
It listens.
