The New York Times Student Journalism Institute

High style in a Stone Age destination.

Welcome to Ravens-Way Wild Journeys, a 42-acre retreat surrounded by mountains outside tiny Patagonia, Ariz.

Down a winding path from the entrance, the resort’s founders, Vincent Pinto and Claudia Campos-Pinto, husband and wife, have created a village of lovegrass and mesquite pole huts.

“We try to keep things rustic and beautiful,” said Pinto, an owner and teacher of survival skills at the off-the-grid resort. The couple purchased the land in 2008 and have since been cultivating it and removing non-native plants.

“Our ancestors all lived like this, so what can we learn from it?” Pinto said.

The resort’s huts, naturally waterproofed by lovegrass, and shelters built of branches are intended to take visitors back to the basics, Pinto said. He designed the compound to offer visitors plenty of opportunities to slow down. Large rocks along the trails serve as makeshift seats. In the resort’s orchard, Pinto has trained branches over the trails to force walkers to slow down.

Throughout the resort, Pinto and Campos-Pinto have built unobtrusive shelters intended to lure wild animals like coyotes, foxes and mountain lions. Depressions are dug out along the sides of nature walks, Pinto explains, so that the land can be not only a resort for humans, but also a sanctuary for wildlife.

Pinto said he’s not just looking for guests seeking a survivalist experience. “We want to cater to as many people as possible,” he said.

Those who don’t want to rough it can sleep in large, handmade canvas tents outfitted with rustic furniture, beds, heating and even miniature libraries. When guests wake up in the morning, hot showers await them and meals are catered.

But in keeping with the theme, the heating is by woodstove, the showers are solar-powered, and the food is made from as many local ingredients as possible. Sometimes the cuisine even includes acorns and barrel cactus, which Pinto teaches can also be used as lip balm.

Pinto has a deep knowledge of Arizona’s Sky Islands, a region in southeastern Arizona where a diversity of environments and climates come together. In a metal barn at the entrance to the resort that serves as his “nature science school,” Pinto teaches guests survival skills like how to make a gourd into a water jug and find edible cactus. Guests can also learn about herbal medicine and paint animal skulls with mineral paint.

Pinto said he and his wife want to demonstrate what nature has to offer a technological world.

“The reason I think people come,” he said, “is because we offer a palette of activities that range from relaxing to adventurous, and which help connect them with nature in a primitive way.”