Burners Without Borders's topics - tribe.net

Mississippi River Clean-Ups planned!

Karine — Tue, 20 May 2008 03:01:15 GMT

Clean up(s) & meet n', hoopin, hangin' out (et cetera, et cetera) & a blah blah blah...

St Louis, MO : Miss. Riverfront - Tuesday June 3rd. (Meet at Arch Parking lot at Noon)

New Orleans, LA : Friday June 6th (site and time to be determined)

Duluth, MN : Lake Superior Shoreline CleanUp. Saturday June 28th (site and time to be determined)

Mpls/ St Paul : Wednesday July 2nd (it'll most likely be along the Misses, site and time to be determined)

If you want to plan a river clean-up in your nieghborhood, feel free to post it here.
If you'd like to join in on one of these, PM me for more info & we'll get you in touch with yo' peeps.
Huzzah!

posted in Burners Without Borders - 4 replies

BWB Extends Peru Reconstruction thru August 16

carmen — Tue, 27 May 2008 18:53:56 GMT

Hello-

Burners without Borders is excited to announce the extension of the Peru Reconstruction Program. We will continue operating until August 16th. And as always we invite the Burner community to join our efforts. Come volunteer! It feels great to gift our skills and creativity to those affected most by the earthquake.

After six months of operations, our program is running strong and we feel more time is needed to succeed in the fulfilling everything we have set in motion since arriving last November. Over the last six months, our operations have made a huge impact due to the steady stream of volunteers as well as the generous financial support we have received from the larger community.

As of today our fundraising efforts and volunteer recruitment are paying off. We have welcomed 242 volunteers representing 31 countries and have gifted over 25,000 volunteer man-hours.

Take a quick look at what we’re up to at always keep up to date on our website www.burnerswithoutborders.org. And check out our blog to read about BWB's efforts through the words of the volunteers.

Here's the short list of what BWB has accomplished so far.

* We have just completed construction of the IEP Abraham Valdelomar school, a two room primary
facility have acquired funding for our second school construction
* Acquired funding to begin construction of a second school
* Completing the construction of a six room school
* Assisted multiple schools with education, mural work, reconstruction, and much more
* Completed the construction of three sanitation modules for families without access to water
* Providing 6 sanitation modules for a community of 120 families currently without any
facilities
* Acquired funding to construct 3 more sanitation units
* Demolished numerous condemned homes and prepped the sites for rebuild by clearing rubble,
digging foundations, pouring concrete slabs, and installing module homes
* Constantly responding to loads of local assistance requests of all scopes
* Hosting weekly counseling sessions to provide community members a listening ear
* Hosting nightly intercambio sessions providing local youth an opportunity to exchange of
language and culture
* Working directly with the community, other NGO's and local government on the sustainable
reconstruction planning
* Assisting with the formation of a local volunteer driven assistance organization to continue
our efforts when we are gone

If you are unable to volunteer this time around, please consider making a donation to our efforts so that we are able to make the biggest impact possible our last three months in Peru.

Thank you to everyone who has volunteered or contributed to the success of this program!

Carmen
Director
Burners without Borders

posted in Burners Without Borders - 0 replies

Nu-Mutaytor

Karine — Wed, 21 May 2008 16:22:27 GMT

(this is cut and paste from burnerswithoutborders.org)

BWB AND MUTAYTOR?

That's right. The band, Mutaytor, just came out with a new album, Yelling Theater in a Crowded Fire. The last song on the album, Sunrise, was inspired by the work of Burners without Borders. Mutaytor has made this song available for you to download here for 99 cents. All proceeds go to BWB.

A little about Sunrise from Atom of Mutaytor. "Sunrise is about having such faith that tomorrow will be better that we stay up all night to greet it. Sunrise is about making tomorrow better. Sunrise is about Burners without Borders, and artists like David Best, and the mad geniuses working out the math that makes tomorrows world inhabitable. It's a love song to this community and to our heros here. You're doing the right thing, and we support you."

Thank you, Mutaytor for so creatively supporting this community!

You can have a listen and Download Sunrise Here: http://www.burnerswithoutborders.org/mutaytor-and-bwob

posted in Burners Without Borders - 0 replies

Help others eat and learn

PoosieKat — Mon, 19 May 2008 18:52:30 GMT

Hello folks! Today I'm bringing you a way to help out those who are a little less fortunate than you may find yourself this day. A friend and fellow burner (Beth, the gal at the end of this e-mail...she SO rocks) works for The Campbell County Neighborhood Center of Northern Kentucky Community Action Commission and they've been trying out something new. They've changed their pantry to include more options, healthier food choices, and are looking to offer even MORE choices with some help. They're even starting up a series of classes that cover real-life skills, such as sewing, cooking, budgeting, and more. They rely on donations of all sorts, from the drop off to the monetary.

I'd also like to remind those no where near Kentucky (though you can always help from afar) that there are pantries similar to this one across the country helping those that need that little extra boost to make it by and that it's donations from people like us, that can make a HUGE difference in someone else's life. Every little bit helps.

Read more below, visit their site to make a donation, or to see what they've got going on. I think that they're on to something down there in Campbell County!

><><><><><><><><><><><><><

The food pantry at the Campbell County Neighborhood Center of Northern Kentucky Community Action Commission (www.nkcac.org) has undergone an amazing transformation. Over the last year, the pantry has changed from a traditional pantry to a client choice model based off of the food pyramid (www.mypyramid.gov).

As the Rainbow of Choice pantry, we are dedicated to helping our families become and stay healthy and self-reliant. On their first visit to the pantry, our families are given lots of healthy and easy recipes that they can make from the food we can provide. Also on the first visit (and at any other time it is requested), we have a one-on-one personalized nutritional counseling session with our families.

In addition to the changes with our pantry, we are also starting a new and revolutionary series of budgeting classes. For many families, it is hard to sit with a stranger and talk about debt, money, budgeting, and other personal matters. Instead of this, we have begun to plan Practical Budgeting. Practical Budgeting will be a series of classes based around real-life skills that help to lower bills and make a family more self-reliant. The classes are on cooking (with the help of a dietetics student at the University of Cincinnati), sewing, making homemade gifts, knitting, candy-making, and, of coarse, plain old budgeting. However, the lessons about budgeting and money will be incorporated into the more interesting skills classes.

While our organization is fairly large, the Campbell County Neighborhood Center consists of one paid worker and many volunteers. We have a very small budget that covers our operating expenses and rely on donations to have food and supplies for our families.

We are incredibly excited about the changes in our Center and are optimistic about all the good that they will do in our community. Right now, we are asking for small donations to get this work done.

Donations will be used in the following ways:

- To purchase a greater variety of food for the pantry, including vegetarian, diabetic, whole grain, and organic options.

- To purchase used sewing machines, crock pots, bread makers, and other small appliances for the Practical Budgeting class (ideally, we would raise enough to be able to send folks home with one small appliance per family).

- To purchase supplies such as sewing needles, thread, yarn, knitting needles, fabric, etc for the classes.

- To purchase small items as a “congratulations” for our families, such as movie tickets or tickets to the Newport Aquarium for a family where the parent has reached a substantial goal, such as receiving their GED or reaching one year of steady employment.

- To purchase household items such as laundry detergent, toilet paper, soap, deodorant, etc. These items are not donated very often but are in high demand from our families.

We are a tax-deductible organization and you can receive a receipt for tax purposes. To donate, all you need to do is visit our website (http://www.nkcac.org) . Go to the “donate now” button and make sure to put “Campbell County” in the “designation” line. If you would like to donate to one program in particular, make sure to include that in the designation line as well.

There is certainly no minimum to get involved and every little donation will help us to make these programs the best that they can possibly be.

If you have any ideas, suggestions, questions or comments feel free to email me at bandriacco@nkcac.org or give me a call at 859-431-4177.

Beth Andriacco

Campbell County Supervisor

Northern Kentucky Community Action Commission

437 W 9th St Newport, KY 41071

859-431-4177 ex. 23

Fax: 859-655-8671

posted in Burners Without Borders - 0 replies

Got weekend? Sling some solar...

Tom — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 03:43:18 GMT

Got some free time this weekend? Join Black Rock Solar in building a huge solar gift array for the Natchez Elementary School in Wadsworth! Here's all the details:

>>>>>

It seems like just yesterday we were finishing up the first Black Rock Solar work weekend. In fact, it was just yesterday.

Work weekend #1 was quite productive- 8 volunteers from the Reno area showed up to help us put our racking structure into the ground and lay some heavy cable in the ground. Thanks to all who came out to work with us.

We're moving along so well that we're ready to do another volunteer weekend for the next big step- placing the panels. This is where we can really use all the help we can get. We've got 240 4' x 6' panels to place, and they're about 100 pounds each. Should you not feel up to lifting heavy things for 2 days, we can also use help bolting the brackets to the structure and panels to the brackets. There's something for everyone.

The details have not really changed:

Where: The Natchez School in Wadsworth, #1 Highway 447, right there before Pyramid St. You can't miss it. Mostly because there's a big solar installation going in right next to the road.

Map: http://tiny.cc/625R0

When: 5/3 - 5/4, 8 am - 4 pm

What we're doing: Turning a field of metal sticks into a field of metal sticks with a bunch of solar panels on them, thus making our solar array look much more like a solar array.

What to bring: work gloves, shoes that are not sandals, clothes for cold weather, clothes for warm weather, clothes for something in between, water bottles, sun block, the usual stuff.

Where to sleep: If you're coming in from out of town and need a place to stay, we have a number of options. Tell me if you have a place to offer, I'll add you to the list of options.

Food: We'll feed you breakfast and lunch. If there are things you can't/won't eat, let me know and we will try to avoid them or make arrangements for you.

Contacts: corey@blackrocksolar.org. Let me know if you're going to make it. If you have any problems, you can reach me at 917-604-0628. Any questions, just ask.

-C.S., your friendly neighborhood solar volunteer coordinator

----------------------------------------------
Corey Sauer
Program Director
Black Rock Solar
415-865-3800 ext. 146
415-865-3820 (fax)
www.blackrocksolar.org

posted in Burners Without Borders - 0 replies

Local help in LA

Sonja — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 08:27:09 GMT

Just a word for those that can't always travel to far off places and still want to be of help locally. I work in a middle school in south central los angeles, Carver ms, was just in the news because of the shooting at a bus stop after school last month. The five kids that were are fine, thank God, and three adults also, I believe. It was gang related. Here's what we need help with in south LA.
1. BIg brothers and big sisters cannot seem to get volunteers to that area. ??????? Take a kid under your wing, take them to the beach, to the museum, out to lunch, do a craft, something. I can recommend some personally who are great kids that just need guidence and attention.
2. volunteers at a school. we are short on parents. we have too many kids and not enough adults, or tired adults, or what have you.
3. Wood craft rangers pays people to do after school arts and sports with kids in middle school. (I do mosaics).
4. Come help facilitate a science fair, or art project with a class, etc. this can be a one time deal for a week or few weeks.
5. Mural a wall with kids on a weekend.
6. plant a garden with kids.
7. your idea here.

I can say that I regularly hear all the stereotypes about "inner city kids" and really, they are just kids. Some of them are harder to reach than others because they are jaded. Niceness goes a LONG way. Some of them are perfect and don't need help. BUt this community, and others, needs the attention of the macro culture, at least be recognized as a neighborhood of hard working, creative, ingenuitive and fun people, and amazing kids who are largely bored out of their friggin minds and eager to do something.

I have direct ways people can help, and not just at my school, and not just in south la. Any public school needs help, i guarantee it.
If you have any other ideas and want to contact me for how to go about getting it done, please contact me.
http://www.bbbs.org/site/c.diJKKYPLJvH/b.1539751/k.BDB6/Home.htm the link for big brothers big sisters
Out ward bound LA, obla, does hiking and packing with at risk youth. (see my tribe page). they pay. They are spot on and hit the sieras and even hawaii.
There's more, but that's it for now.

Thanks,
Sonja

posted in Burners Without Borders - 9 replies

BWB in San Francisco Chronicle

Tom — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 05:56:34 GMT

Nice story ( and photo of Carmen!) in Sunday SF Chronicle:
http://tinyurl.com/5ehot7

posted in Burners Without Borders - 1 reply

Pearlington (the reunion)

Karine — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 19:26:51 GMT

I posted more info on my tribe home page,
but I wanted to put out a "Thanks!" to all of you guys who made the work weekend/ movie premier so much fun.

Those Texans know how to cook, dang it! (Did Le Chat get the BBQ sauce recipe he promised he'd get for me?!)

The whole weekend was great. THANK YOU.
And to those of you still down there working this week, may this be a "shout out" for extra hands!

posted in Burners Without Borders - 0 replies

Story on Peru project in Concious Choice magazine

Tom — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 02:06:00 GMT

Just posted:

http://seattle.consciouschoice.com/2008/03/tunein0803.html

posted in Burners Without Borders - 3 replies

INVITE, last week of March & early April in Mississippi

Karine — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:08:34 GMT

Hope you all can make it ~ I'm in for the weekend !

BURNING MAN/BURNERS WITHOUT BORDERS
COMMUNITY PICNIC/WORK TRIP
plus
“BURN ON THE BAYOU” FILM SCREENING
PEARLINGTON, MS 3/27 - 4/5

posted in Burners Without Borders - 0 replies

Storm clean-up in Kentucky

Karine — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 03:34:38 GMT

Shout out to the Kentucky contingency!
right outside of Lexington, KY...

Wolf Run Wildelife Refuge is calling for help-
their kennels and cages were destoyed in those awful high wind / tornado
& storms. They need help and a.s.a.p.!
PM me for "work weekend" detail !
(http://www.wolfrun.org/index.html)

posted in Burners Without Borders - 9 replies

BWB Peru Update

carmen — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 17:57:40 GMT

Hello BWB Family-

I have been on the ground here in Peru for 18 days now and want to keep everybody in the loop about progress. We are making a huge impact thanks to the support of our volunteers and our community back home. Thank You!

As the only grassroots organization here in Pisco, we doing what we do best, filling in the gaps of established organizations and acting as a conduit for money to come in from outside funders that would not otherwise be available to the people here. And this time around, we've got the attention of the big boys and girls including the U.N., UNICEF, the Director of Fur Sur (Peru's FEMA), the Mayor of Pisco and the Happy Hearts Fund.

What We've Been Up To:

It has been 5 months since the earthquake hit and very few people are receiving benefits from the government. Much like our experience in Mississippi, any benefits people do receive are only temporary solutions which create many permanent, complex problems.

One of these problems is the lack of proper sanitation. According to the doctors here, more people will die in the next year from improper waste disposal and the diseases associated with it than died in the actual earthquake. We can certainly attest to this with every volunteer here getting sick for at least a week due to all of the nastiness the flies and mosquitoes are spreading. We are here bridging the gap with ingenious solutions that will enable people to begin to reclaim their livelihoods and rebuild their communities.

We are very excited about a little project we lovingly call "The Shitter Project". This brilliant idea is the brainchild of Sam Bloch who was the first volunteer on the ground here in November. He came up with an innovative idea to provide a permanent cement cornerstone for residences that includes, a toilet, shower, and kitchen so that people may build permanent homes off of it while having the necessary plumbing to keep them safe and healthy. Currently the established organizations do not have a plan to address sanitation and are looking for a solution.

This project is so ingenious that the U.N. and the head of the Department of Sanitation is chomping at the bit to see how they could spin these out into the thousands. We are putting together a proposal that involves teaching Peruvians to build the forms and are then paid by the government to build the structure. This design could potentially be used all over the world to address the sanitation issues that emerge in the wake of a disaster. We pour the cement tomorrow and will keep everyone updated on the results.

And this is just one of our projects. Here are a few more.

Last week we hosted super model, Petra Nemcova, who is the President of The Happy Hearts Fund. We showed her around to school sites in shanty towns that have largely been forgotten in the aftermath of the earthquake. The meetings went really well, and it looks like they will be funding several of the projects complete with a sustainable business attached to these schools so they will be financially sustainable well into the future. Again, we will be helping Peruvians to work on these projects so that they may receive the benefit of the money coming in.

Debris removal came to a halt when the beautiful beaches here became full of rubble. There was a mine across a reservoir that was inaccessible due a destroyed bridge that linked the town to the mine. True to BWB form, we just happened to have five engineers here at the time and volunteers were able to build the bridge in two-fourteen hour days. The government was stunned and asked us how were able to accomplish this feat when it would have taken them over two months due to their own bureaucracy. Well, we don't believe in bureaucracy and somehow always have the right people with the right skills to get 'er done.

We are also partnering with UNICEF to build classrooms in Chincha, a town 1 hour north of Pisco, which received even less attention after the earthquake than Pisco did. The students are currently on Summer Break, and we hope to have the schools completed by March 15 when they return.

And there is a lot more. I will do a better job of sending out announcements, but please keep updated on our progress at www.burnerswithoutborders.org website. And look for our blog that will be up in a couple of days. I will post the URL on our front page.

Every dollar we raise goes to the projects here and due to the exchange rate, the dollar goes really far. If anyone has any fundraising ideas, shoot'em my way. We will be here at least until June and we want to make the biggest impact possible.

And I will leave you with this quote from Micky Mucus, one of our wonderful Pisco volunteers. An alternative Sacramento paper interviewed him and this is what he had to say. This is his first encounter with our fine Burner community.

It's [BWB] an incredible organization. they're not punk rockers, but they kind of have that ethic...It's like, you're expected to take initiative for yourself, for any ideas that you come up with--a kind of do-it yourself attitude."

Thanks for all of your well wishes and support. It means a lot. And oh, get down here if you can, we'd love to have you.

Carmen

posted in Burners Without Borders - 5 replies

Madre Grande/Southern California Update

evonne — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 18:01:17 GMT

Slowly the rains come, new life begins, things start to return to normal for most of us. For a few thousand who lost homes, not so much. Many are still displaced and you know what the government agencies provide: $1000 and a good luck pat on the back. Insurance is rarely much better, and dirty fire cleanup is rarely fun.

I blogged our BwB/AMO trip in early December at: http://inkenzo.vox.com/
There are ~100 photos, some of surviving structures, others of the wreckage now carted away. The monastery was clear and ready for new life when we last visited at the end of 2007.

At Madre Grande we saw just a bit of this firsthand; we spent a total of 5 days there in late 2007 and Tracey and the monks there can give you a much more accurate assessment of the current situation. A few from this community have been wandering down on weekends off to assist, although the rainy season leaves little to do on the outside buildings until spring.

Madre Grande has a unique parcel/zone situation which gives them "farm" status, a rare thing for an intentional spiritual community. They have an opportunity to do some amazing things with their property but it will take people with love and dedication to help manifest a new future in Dulzura.

The good news: they can host a CIRCUS! up to four times a year. Go agri*culture!
I heard that Kevin and Cirque Berzerk may have new tricks up their sleeve (no big surprise) and I can't wait to see what manifests for 2008.

posted in Burners Without Borders - 2 replies

Fernley flood--how you can help

Tom — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 06:35:39 GMT

Quick update:

Water is still high in some areas. Lots and lots of toxic, e-coli mud covers floods, carpets, stuff. Huge need for people to come help out. So far, ya'll have donated an absolutely jaw dropping $4100! This is just completely overwhelming, what an incredible gift. At a meeting in Fernley the mayor pointed out three groups of volunteers "The red cross, RSVP, and some burning man folks." And that's just w/two people in town--imagine what 30 could do!

At this point, we're asking for volunteers for a work weekend, this weekend, to come hit the job with as many hands as possible. With the break we got from the hotel, we can provide a place to sleep and three hot meals--if you can come work for a day, two, or more. We've also heard that not as many resources are going to be available for renters, so that's likely where we're going to focus attention.

Weather should be bad Thursday, and good from there on.

Interested? Email price_tom@hotmail.com.

another update tomorrow as warranted...again, thank you all so much. just overwhelming...

posted in Burners Without Borders - 14 replies

Heartsong's Great Adventures in Black Rock City

chaimama — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 01:06:58 GMT

For the past 8 years, I have been making tea for a living. I brew chai and I brew teas that are made with hot peppers and citrus. I brew and bottle the teas at the Heartsong Chai Hut in Ashland Oregon. This strange career has led to some very strange niches.

For example, several years ago, the Heartsong Crew began serving our teas at festivals. We quickly evolved this into a tea bar serving till the wee hours of morning. Heartsong’s reputation for providing hydration to thirsty, celebrating masses, drew in a loyal following. Then one day, at a party in Mt. Shasta, a group of rowdy people gathered on an outside porch to greet the sun. People were sipping my tea and we were speaking of the spice. I said, “Sometime somewhere someone will realize how beneficial the Pepper Brews will be to the people of Black Rock City and they will take me there.” One of the rowdies, took a sip, smiled and said, “Done! You are going to Burning Man.”

Sure enough, a month later I’m packing a makeshift brewery and heading out to the desert to brew my tea. Turns out I was brought to Temple Camp to brew for the Temple Crew. I set up my little kitchen and get to work hydrating and nourishing these hardworking folks. News of the “spicy shit” spread well beyond camp. This buzz about my brews changed my life. Working for years within the sterile and highly regulated industry of food manufacturing, this was the first time I felt recognized and celebrated as an artist.

Heartsong was invited back in 2006. We returned to BRC with the Temple Crew. This time we arrived the day the playa opened and brewed for the city builders. We brewed all sorts of teas for the Temple Crew, the Man Crew, DPW and the rest of the people building the city infrastructure. When the event officially began we opened our double decker mobile tea temple and served our brews to dusty, thirsty people on the Esplenade, out at the Temple and at Entheon Village. In the end, the Heartsong Crew spent just over a month on the playa, burning our Tea Temple on the Temple burn platform on Monday night. The highlight of my year was when Super Dave came to find me asking if he could have a private stash of Habanero Honey Brew. Super Dave is one of the guys on the playa that seems to make EVERYTHING come together. And here he was, standing in my camp, telling me how the “spicy shit” was sustaining his world!

In 2007, we returned to the playa, this time camping with the superstars of Burners Without Boarders. This year, all our brews were in kegs and on tap at our tea bar. This mobile tea bar served 500 gallons of tea in five days on the Esplenade. It weathered dust storms, was towed by a fleet of bicycles, served the Critical Tits ride, took a face-plant during a windstorm, hydrated the lamp lighters, witnessed the great light saber battle and survived an attack from the Beet People. We brought a crew of fifteen folks, ten of them playa virgins… what a wild ride!

People often ask me why Heartsong participates in Burning Man. The questioning is something along the lines of “Isn’t it a commerce free event? How do you make money?” It is difficult to explain why this journey to the desert is so important to my company and myself. While it is true that Heartsong doesn’t directly generate income at the Burning Man Festival, the networking opportunities we encounter there have proven to be incredibly beneficial in the long run. People that first experience Heartsong Brews on the playa, bond with us in an unusual way. These relationships continually lead to prosperous, co-created efforts off playa. While Heartsong’s Brews are currently distributed only in Oregon and Black Rock City, our customer base extends from BC Canada to Gerlach, Nevada to Los Angeles, California, thanks to the citizens of BRC. And now is when it gets exciting, as the distribution of our brews is expanding to include Washington and Northern California!

Most important to me is actively creating a space in Black Rock City that is nourishing, hydrating and alcohol free. I also appreciate the opportunity to bring people I love together to make this incredible offering! Burning Man is a gorgeous, empowering and one of a kind exercise for our team. This year we spent nine days on the playa together, working hard, playing hard and enjoying our time together. When we returned to Ashland, we had greatly enhanced our ability to communicate, listen, problem solve, co-create and appreciate one another.

In response to those who nay-say the presence of corporations on the playa I ask you to take a closer look. In deed, many hard-core burners are successful entrepreneurs. Who else would pay to take a working vacation? Feel free to complain about the unending ads for U-Haul and Ryder truck, the “eco” car parked next to the Green Man, or the pallets of Rockstar that appear out of nowhere with no one to pick up after them. But please be careful not to complain about the artists who represent themselves and who happen to be incorporated in efforts to make a living in the crazy other world that is 358 days a year.

In 2005, the Heartsong Herbal Brewing Company was a one-person company. She was on the playa brewing tea. In 2006 there were three of us. We took turns running the company and serving the city builders. And by 2007 Heartsong was a four-person company. We had just opened our microbrewery and café. We celebrated the successful launch of this facility by brewing 500 gallons of tea and taking it out to the playa. To keep the café open, we hired two recent high school graduates to run it while the four of us went out to serve BRC.

This is the spirit of Burning Man, gathering people together to share our collective skills with strangers for the sake of creative expression and celebration. We appreciate companies like ourselves that represent themselves humbly through participation in the city. We very much appreciate the opportunity to grow, to learn and to get schooled by the playa. Looking forward to 2008!

Elizabeth Bretko, Chai Mama
Heartsong Herbal Brewing Company

posted in Burners Without Borders - 0 replies

Call for Art, Art Outside 2008, Austin TX

earth2LL — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 06:37:12 GMT

Calling ALL Artists For The 4th Annual Art Outside Brouhaha! March 6th – 16th 2008.
To take part in AO|08 Go Here- http://www.artoutside.org/

Ladies and gentlemen of the art world, we are seeking any and all creative humans who use their skill and imagination in the creation of aesthetic objects, environments, or experiences that can be shared with others. That is, we are looking for those whose life is art, and everything they do is DIY. We are searching for those who are creating the Hand-Made Nation. We are calling !ALL! make-believers, dreamers and reality re-arrangers. We are searching hi and low for lowbrow-urban-contemporary-pop-surrealism, pop art, op art, hard-edge, lyrical abstraction, post minimalism, which might be interpreted by some to mean that we are looking only for painters, but that is most definitely not the case. For you see, of course, we need masters of typography, sketchers, illustrators, satirical stencilers, screen printing is way cool, and yes, you too, graffiti fools. Least we forget every culture jammer in the hood. Do you manipulate earth/land/sand/plants/junk into art? Then we have a home for you.

Now, we know some of you may be thinking “What about Dadas’ Dadaists, though?” To this we say, but of course we are calling all inspired by DADA- for where would art be without fluxists, productivism, neoplasticism, pittura, metafisica, arbeitsrat and bauhaus. Well, we are looking for all of “you” from then and now, if any of you still are around. And one may wonder… What about the cubists? We say, “But of course.” Conceptualists? Indeed. Installationists? Please! One might ask if we are seeking anything that might fall under postmodernist modernist who are not distracted by abstractionists and other IST’S. Of course there is always impressionism, post-minimalism, pre-contemporaryism, and expressionism. Are you working in symbolism or surrealism or any of the other -isms that we have not yet mentioned? Well come on out. But wait that’s not all, that could not possibly be all this call for ARTE is all about? Well, Dali you’re right,

This call goes out to all kinetic sculptors, fire sculptors, sound artists bending invisible waves, and video projectionists playing with light. We must invite the minds of the poets and their spoken slam voices, along with improv comedians who mimic the true history of time. Or was that the klown? How can we forget about the klowns! Mimes? Performers “performing” art, puppeteers with their puppets, musicians making sounds. Oh, and least we forget outsider artists wanting to be outside.

In short, we invite all the conceivable movements, modes, and theories of art known to wo/man kind. We say to you, the Artisans of the world who wish to unite because the world needs ART, because the world’s not right. It is time, Your window of opportunity is now. Our space is your blank canvas. Your dreams are our inspiration. You and your art are invited to take part in this epic artistic endeavor.

The world may be going to hell… So let’s make some art.

To take part in AO|08 Go Here- http://www.artoutside.org/ao08faq.htm

P.S. If we happened to have forgotten any form of ART in this call for art then we do deeply apologize. Please note that you too are invited.

To take part in AO08 Go Here www.artoutside.org
& befriend us on myspace....
http://www.myspace.com/austinenchantedforest
http://www.myspace.com/artoutside

and on tribe...
http://tribes.tribe.net/austinenchantedforest

and check out...
http://www.austinenchantedforest.com

Support our Benefit For VALENTINES, Feb 14th and 15th
@ the United States Art Authority

http://www.austinenchantedforest.com/valentines.html
http://www.austinenchantedforest.com/antivalentines.html

and to truly stay “in tha know” sign up for our lo-fi no spam mailing list
http://www.austinenchantedforest.com/email_list.html

posted in Burners Without Borders - 0 replies

Dial me in to the Peru effort

Acequia Carrie — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 19:49:24 GMT

Greetings,

I just found out about the relief effort and was wondering if there are going to be more meetings and if there is anyone going for xmas/nye. I'd love to get involved. I did some relief work for Katrina and the combo of Peru, BWB and relief work is awesome.

Peace,
Carrie
303-817-4928

posted in Burners Without Borders - 1 reply

Paging Spoon and/or other Beignet Chefs

Phoenix — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 21:30:21 GMT

Hi ya all, I'm producing Cafe du Monde's Beignets at Sea Of Dreams in SF on New Years. Some of you ate them on the Playa. Most of you unfortunately did not. Perhaps your luck will change this year.

I need to hire a person who loves to roll out Beignet dough all night long!

One or two peeps to split the shift. good pay, great benefits + all the beignets you can eat with your Chicory Coffee!

posted in Burners Without Borders - 0 replies

Peru

Karine — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 16:21:37 GMT

http://www.burnerswithoutborders.org/bwb-goes-to-peru-we-need-your-support

I am starting with a drill that I've got to donate and collecting tools and shipping locally.

posted in Burners Without Borders - 13 replies

BRSolar tribe now public

Zairian — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 05:51:12 GMT

So we got it all set up and some pictures loaded for ya'll, and now we'd like to invite you to come check it out, ask any questions you might have, learn about Solar power, whatever.

It looks like the BRSolar project is moving forward towards being an autonomous non-profit and carrying on projects elsewhere in Nevada and who knows eventually.

So if you've got any interest in Solar, pop in and ask away.
We might even know what we're talking about...

Zairian

posted in Burners Without Borders - 5 replies

Cascade Regional - December Update and Call to Arms!!

DragonFly! — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 03:56:45 GMT

The Cascade BWB group (Oregon and SW Washington) is officially up and running - well, maybe not running yet but definitely up off the couch and exercising vigorously. And isn’t it fun to find a real opportunity to use ‘vigorously’ in a sentence!

Our initial meet-n-greet meeting took place on Sunday 12/9. Attendance was a strong indicator of the success of PDX Santacon. But those who came had fun and those who didn’t are likely still in Rehab and just haven’t been allowed to use the phones yet. And one member was so inspired that she may actually be on her way to volunteer in Peru right now!

We ate, drank and talked about what we want to do now and in the future. The general consensus was that we want to establish a regular series of monthly and quarterly events, with monthly meetings to plan and socialize.

In the immediate future, everyone’s attention is naturally aimed at the flood victims in our area.

I’ve set aside the weekend of 12/29 – 12/30 as tentative-but-actually-pretty-sure dates for a BWB field trip to either Vernonia or Mist to help the residents there clean up. I’ll be making a scouting trip to those towns on Saturday 12/22 to make contacts and get everything arranged. I would do it this weekend but I’m in Reno right now and the Rebel Fleet is out of transporter range, making a quick trip to the Coast Range all but impossible.

Please mark your calendar for Thursday 12/27 when I plan to hold a meeting for all those interested in the work parties. We’ll go over the details then, and tell everyone where to meet up sat/sun morning for carpooling and caravanning to the worksite in burner-stylee. I’ll announce the place and time of the meeting as soon as somebody here volunteers their house, studio, or workshop for that purpose. Operators are standing by.

If you can’t make it to the meetings or work parties but still want to help out, please consider making a cash or materials donation. Depending on the work we do, we may end up renting (or borrowing) utility trailers and/or hauling stuff to the dump and these things cost $$$. If you’re out of town and you can lend your truck or trailer to a friend that would be great too! But regardless of what we do, all monies collected will be routed 100% to the residents of these towns.

As always, feel free to contact me directly with questions or ideas.

Hasta Pronto!

In Solidarity,

--
Agent DragonFly!
Cascade Regional Coordinator
Burners Without Borders

503.820.8849

posted in Burners Without Borders - 0 replies

craft your own constitutional amendment!

Countess — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 02:13:54 GMT

In preparation for next year's theme, let’s brainstorm about the America we want to construct. Having experienced life in Black Rock City, I bet you have some great ideas about ways to curb the Man, so that creative communities can thrive. Craft an amendment to the constitution, post it here, and get feedback from your fellow burners! Let's put our heads together and come up with solutions to the big problems facing our country and our world. Here are my ideas:

Amendment #1: The Steward of the United States
Our founding fathers believed that a balance of power keeps governments in check. I think that we need to address the imbalance that has crept into our government, by checking the power of the executive branch. I am suggesting that we break the President’s powers into two offices: one that addresses domestic concerns—still called the President—and one that addresses foreign policies—we can call her the Steward. In this way we could have a separate election for the Steward that focuses public attention squarely on US foreign policies and not allow the electorate to be manipulated by domestic issues when selecting the person who will be Commander-in-Chief. Imagine if the President could focus his or her attention on education, justice, public health and domestic commerce, while the Steward would focus on international relations, global environmental concerns and promoting world peace? How does that sound to you?

Amendment #2: United States Plus
A democracy is supposed to ensure that leaders are held accountable to the people they govern. I think that a global democratic system is necessary to ensure that the Empire of the United States serves the needs of all the people affected (and endangered) by its policies. I suggest that the Steward be made accountable to the entire Empire by holding elections in all places where the US military is present. Imagine if we gave one seat on the Electoral College to every country where our military is stationed for more than five years? How would this alter our leader’s approach to sovereign nations? A leader might think twice about invading Iraq, Southeast Asia or Central America, because US policies would eventually have to serve the needs of those voters abroad, as well as his or her constituents in the US.

***These are just two ideas to help promote better foreign policies. The intent is to force policymakers to acknowledge that we are all part of an interconnected web of life and to act within that framework. Terrorism is the wrong way to demonstrate this interconnectivity. Instead we must invent better systems of governance that check abuses of power. If you have other ideas I would love to hear them.

posted in Burners Without Borders - 0 replies

Theme Camp for BWB

inspeyere — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 23:58:18 GMT

What do you guys think about "South American Dream". We could bring back a bunch of Peruvians and stuff from Peru, maybe have a fund to sponsor some volunteers and shamans and artists and malabaristas to come up and experience the best North America has to offer...

Whattaya think? I'd be willing to write this up if the powers that be (just who's in charge here anyway) are down.

posted in Burners Without Borders - 0 replies

Work weekends in Gerlach (finally)

Zairian — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 04:31:01 GMT

For any interested that are work weekends coming up in Gerlach for the solar project.
If you're bored, crazy, or stupid and feel like working with cold metal in freezing tempatures, com'on out.
First one's this weekend, 7-9, then 14-16.

There may be more depending on what we get done. Crew has shrunk some, so we could use the extra hands.
Plus, you get to hang out with nikO...
If you're interested drop me a line so I can get a head count for Spoon.
Fuck yer night

Z

posted in Burners Without Borders - 4 replies

Work Hard, Play Hard

inspeyere — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 01:29:09 GMT

Here's a fun after work video from Pisco, with a piece of Eucalyptus I'd been vibrating cement with all day to pour a cistern for a school in Pisco. It got the job done.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYMmdw23Qfo

Enjoy!

More pictures at www.flickr.com/inspeyere

posted in Burners Without Borders - 0 replies

Burners Without Borders - Cascade Regional

DragonFly! — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 20:51:38 GMT

The first meeting of the BWB Cascade Regional is this Sunday (12/9) at 1pm. Free Pizza for all who attend!

This is an open invitation to anyone wishing to learn more about how we, as Portland Burners, can work together to help others in need here in Oregon and beyond.

Quite a few members of this tribe are veterans of BWB's efforts in Katrina-stricken areas and elsewhere, and I know many people are looking for ways to help those affected by the recent flooding here at home. And we all know that the demographics of BRC show that Puddletown represents on the playa more than any other city except SFO. Let's take some of this skill, energy, and talent and see what we can do!

This will be a general, organizational meeting. The main focus will be gathering names and numbers and discussing what we might like to do to help our neighbors in the coastal areas. I will publish the results for those unable to attend.

Note to Santacon revelers: Don't worry if you can't make it out for free pizza. We understand there is a high probability that many Santas will spend Sunday herding brain cells back into their assigned seats. Good luck with that. If your efforts fail, or if you arise Sunday morning on an unfamiliar couch or park bench, or if your bail bondsman doesn't answer your urgent pre-dawn calls for cash, fear not. Cascade BWB will never discriminate on the basis of your arrest record or alleged ties to Elfin organizations. Just call or drop me a line whenever you can and we'll talk.

Details:

Sunday afternoon (12/9)
1-2:30pm
It’s a Beautiful Pizza (3342 SE Belmont)
Free Pizza for all who attend!

In Solidarity,

---
DragonFly!
Cascade Regional Contact
Burners without Borders
503.820.8849

posted in Burners Without Borders - 0 replies

Blush worthy editorial from the Reno Gazette Journal today

Tom — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 03:15:07 GMT

Just came across this, total surprise editorial from the Reno paper re: the solar project a bunch of BWB folks ( Richard, Padewan, Starchild among others ) finished up this week in Lovelock, check it out here: www.blackrocksolar.org

posted in Burners Without Borders - 2 replies

LA meeting check-in

verbamour — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 06:44:21 GMT

Hiya Burners,

I was at the LA meeting tonight (bender of Bender's Bjurts http://bjurt.com ). It was great to meet you all. Let's drop some basic contact info now so we can better organize ourselves:

Who Where When What
bender, Orange County, now, structures, shelters, design, labor, organization

posted in Burners Without Borders - 29 replies

LA-BWB:: Volunteer for Africa

brooke118 — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 22:30:07 GMT

hey Los Angeles peeps--- here is a list of LA orgs working on Africa projects:: check them out-- get involved! (i work with NextAid, Empowerment Works, and CSAfrica)

peaceout-
b

Coalition for a Sustainable Africa - www.csafrica.org

NextAid -www.nextaid.org

Empowerment Works - www.empowermentworks.org

The Samburu Project - www.thesamburuproject.org

Tree Media Group - www.treemedia.com

Tunahaki Foundation - www.tunahaki.org

Earth Rights Institute - www.earthrights.net

Necessity Housing - www.necessityhousing.com

One Global Tribe - oneglobaltribe.org

Africa As One - www.africaasone.org

Artists for a New South Africa - www.ansafrica.org

Drop in the Bucket - www.dropinthebucket.org

Raising Malawi - www.raisingmalawi.org

Children of Uganda - www.childrenofuganda.org

Relief International - ri.org

International Medical Corps - www.imc-la.com

US Doctors for Africa - www.usdfa.org

AIDS Healthcare Foundation - www.AIDShealth.org

Architecture for Humanity - www.architectureforhumanity.org

The African Marketplace & Cultural Faire -www.africanmarketplace.org

Global Resource Alliance - www.globalresourcealliance.org

The Moses Kazibwe Memorial Fund for African Children -www.themosesfund.com

The Wild Foundation - www.wild.org

Vital International Foundation - www.vitalinternational.org

Dream Out Loud Films - www.dolfilms.org

African Millennium Foundation - 1amf.org

Operation Hope - www.operationhope.org

Planet Aid - www.planetaid.org

Bavubuka Foundation - www.bavubuka.com

4 the World - www.4theworld.com

Wheels for Humanity - www.wheelsforhumanity.org

Sankofa Center for African Dance + Culture - sankofacenter.org

Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation – www.pedaids.org

Make A Change - www.myspace.com/makeachangeproductions

Venice Arts - www.venice-arts.org

CompuTech for Humanity - www.computechforhumanity.org

Lady Mechanic Initiative - www.ladymechanicinitiative.org

African Diaspora Foundation - www.theadf.com

The Pan African Film Festival - www.paff.org

Youth for Human Rights - www.youthforhumanrights.org

African Community Resource Center -www.africancommunitycenter.org

Outreach to Africa - www.outreachtoafrica.org (?)

Tom's Shoes - tomsshoes.com

Hope Artists - hopeartists.org

Amy Biel Foundation Trust - www.amybiel.org

AIDS Research Alliance - www.aidsresearch.org

Mara Borehole Project - www.maraborehole.org

Oneworld Works - www.oneworldworks.org

Healing Bridges - www.healingbridges.org

PEPLA - www.pepla.org

Bridge for Africa - www.bridgeforafrica.org

Rainbow Humanitarian Caretaker Foundation - www.rainbowethiopia.org

Jessie's Place - jessiesplace.org

Partners in Malawi - www.partnersinmalawi.org

Free Wheelchair Mission - www.freewheelchairmission.org

Institute for Photographic Empowerment - joinipe.org

posted in Burners Without Borders - 0 replies

Madre Grande cleanup

evonne — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 17:28:23 GMT

Received an email from John @ Madre Grande. All six cats survived in the remaining building (the concrete structure) but most of the trees and buildings were wood or metal trailers and are now gone. There will be a lot of work to do in the coming months for burners and other community friends.

Madre Grande is a magical monastery high in the mountains southeast of San Diego, in the middle of the Harris Fire zone in Dulzura, CA (look on a map just north of Tecate, Mexico). This monastery has been home to a small group of esoteric teachers for decades and has been a vibrant community for many years, hosting gatherings of all types and teaching many in the ways of loving-kindness meditation. I had the hottest sweat lodges of my life poured there by native men and later was married there during Xara 2006.

Anyone who would like to travel at the end of November let me know; I'm looking to spend ~1 week there now and likely another week later as they work to clean up and rebuild their homes. If you have any questions about the Madre Grande community definitely get in touch with them through their website, www.madregrande.org

Thanks for caring enough to read and share this request with friends!

posted in Burners Without Borders - 14 replies

Hands-on Help for Heads Up

K-BusterFriendly — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 20:15:00 GMT

Heads Up (http://00467c9.netsolhost.com/home.htm) is going to be needing some help very soon with moving to a new location. They've got to breakdown their pipe corrals in to 24-foot sections and load them up on to something capable getting them a few miles down the road to their new location in the hills a bit Northwest of Agua Dulce, which is off of highway 14. Pat McCleary is the gentleman organizing this move and he tells me won't be ready for help until about the end of this week, which is great because it give us time to organize a work party.

The biggest need they'll have aside from hands to breakdown piper corrals is transportation: They need the use of a long stake bed truck or a truck with a flat bed trailer that can move these 24-foot long pipes.

As far as hands goes, it's pretty simple work with enough people. If you have free time over the next two to three weeks and would like to help out, please let me know when you're available.

FYI- I'll be using the LA-BWB google group to organize this operation. http://groups.google.com/group/burnerswithoutbordersla?lnk=li

Thanks,
BF

posted in Burners Without Borders - 9 replies

Oil Spill Clean ups Thursday, and this weekend

Tom — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 02:44:07 GMT

Steveo has taken the initiative to organize a cleanup tomorrow in the East Bay, details below.

*Action alert from Burners Without Borders*

In Brief:

Help clean the oil from San Francisco bay this week! Steve Ogden with BWB is putting together an oil spill clean up tomorrow in the East Bay. And plans are being hatched tonight to do one either Saturday or Sunday ( or both ) here in San Francisco this weekend. ( Times and locations announced on BWB announce list, and www.burnerswithoutborders.org )

Want to help? Then tomorrow, Thursday November 15th, at 2pm, join Steveo and friends near the Berkeley Marina, for a couple hours of clean up. www.burnerswithoutborders.org/glo...sday

Read the info below FIRST on safety and procedures, then contact Steveo directly at 415 816 3399. Steveo is also hoping to create a "how to clean up spilled oil" YouTube video, so if you know wildlife / hazardous materials experts, please get in touch with him at steveo@steveo.tv .

Want to organize a cleanup in your part of the Bay Area? Pick a time and place, email Tom Price price_tom@hotmail.com with all the details including your contact info, and he'll get the word out on the BWB homepage, and via the usual places. It will take a lot of efforts, large and small, to clean up this mess.

Background:

While thousands of people have been wanting to help clean up the spilled oil, the official response has either been "thanks, but we've got it," or "you need special training first," or "don't go, it's dangerous." Meanwhile, the oil continues to spread, and sink. It's actually a lot like the official responses to people wanting to help out after Hurricane Katrina, and like then it turns out most of the best help came from people outside official channels.

And with this oil spill it's becoming very clear that making a positive difference is something the average person can do, with a little common sense, and smart tools. Check out this story in this morning's SF Chronicle, about how a local activist is getting incredible results with mats made from hair. And how mushrooms are being added to the accumulated material, breaking it down organically. Quite a change from the official line of hazmatt suits and landfills, isn't it? From what we understand, this grassroots effort has even gotten the EPA to now start using these hairmats for cleanup.

We need to get out and join the hundreds of other bay area residents in cleaning up our San Francisco Bay.

Learn more on this great Tribe Phoenix created! tribes.tribe.net/sfoilspillactivists

Thanks for your interest, and before you head out to the beach, please READ THIS info about how to clean up the spill ( from an east bay activist, edited by Steveo:

Health Warnings:
• Bunker fuel, IFO 380 is a carcinogen and may cause skin irritation. Don’t touch it, eat it, smoke it, stick it in your ear, etc.
• If the breeze stops, or fumes become significant or cause any discomfort, you should probably leave.

Clothing Required:
• Gloves: Nitrile or rubber dish gloves. Double latex at least, plus spares.
• Ideal: a disposable painters suit and booties (it makes us look official at the very least)
• If no suit, disposable full length clothes. Shoes triple bagged in plastic, rubber banded above ankle.

Equipment Required:
• 18 plastic bags, 5 rubber bands.
• A one gallon plastic pot, which fits a bag with rubber band (one for a team of two is ideal)
• One kitty litter scoop ($1.29 at Safeway). Must have a flat edge blade. Laundry scoops and kids shovels work ok, but the kitty litter scoops let you shake out extra sand more easily. Go for the scoop with the smallest holes.
• One small flat stick.
• Paper towels.
• Caution tape and rebar
• Sign-in table and release forms

Where is the oil?
All over the East Bay shore. On the sand you'll see shiny black glops ranging from fist size on down. If people have stepped on the sand, these may be hard to see.

How is it done?:
Rock cleanup is for professionals. On the sand, tar drops can just be scooped up. If temperatures become warm enough to melt the tarballs, abandon efforts until they have resolidified.

Unless using small very heavy duty bags, double or triple bag it.

Section off a rectangle of beach area with caution tape, tideline to waters edge. This establishes a grid for groups to work side by side with efficiency. Teams of two, with a single bucket between will use less resources. The buckets will likely be come contaminated items.
Starting from hightide line, pick a clean area to stand, and clean a new one foot area in front of you with your scooper and stick. Shake gently to remove excess sand. The bucket helps to keep the bag edges clean -- with careful technique no oil should reach your gloves at any point. Your feet are a different matter -- you'll hit oil that's just below the sand.
Stay above the waterline, and keep dry and clean.

Is it legal?
The East Bay beaches are officially closed (and doubly so in Berkeley). But with no organized cleanup, it's time to act. When I have gone out Emeryville Police, Berkeley Fire Department and East Bay Park rangers have issued cautions, but declined to kick anyone who was well prepared out of the area.

Will I get all dirty?
Hope not. Do it right, and your gloves will stay perfectly clean. See: www.flickr.com/photos/gre...3100682545/

Warnings:
1) Unless there is a slight breeze, leave the beach due to fumes. 2) You will attract others who will step on the oil, just to see what you are doing. Encourage them to come back prepared. 3) Work in a grid: if you bounce around you'll push oil under the surface. 4) If you're working in a group, stick together, leaving enough beach for wildlife to approach if needed. Carry the oiled wildlife network number with you. 5) This stuff is amazingly heavy. Double bag, triple bag. Expect to get up to 10 pounds of oil per hour.

What do I do with the stuff?
There are giant specially lined dumpsters at the Berkeley Marina, near the Adventure Playground. Do NOT put it in a trash can. The stuff spreads like wildfire -- keep it clean, and pat any stray dots with sand. Should any part of your clothing become oiled it should be disposed of as hazardous household waste, NOT put in the trash.

What about wildlife?
Report oiled birds at 877-823-6926 and provide the location (be very specific), the species, number of birds seen, whether dead or alive, and percentage of oiling.

posted in Burners Without Borders - 0 replies

Is there an L.A. BWB meeting wed. Nov 14

Beth — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 04:52:13 GMT

Hey y'all......
Is there still a meeting scheduled Wed. evening Nov 14 @ 7:30 @ the Brewery??

posted in Burners Without Borders - 0 replies

San Francisco oil spill tribe for activists!

phoenixfirestarter — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 04:41:00 GMT

I'm spending a lot of time on tribe blogging in different areas on this subject, so instead of filling up your pages with SF oil spill clean-up information I created a tribe where we can share all of the information we gather (stringy and hard to find as it is).

Here it is: tribes.tribe.net/sfoilspillactivists

I encourage you to check it out. I encourage you to volunteer if you can.

thanks!

-phoenix

posted in Burners Without Borders - 1 reply

BWB-oil spoll, Peru Earthquake, and more--meeting this Thursday!

Tom — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 23:34:16 GMT

From Carmen:

Hello-

I hope to see you all at the next BWB Salon. (Info. below) We have a
lot to talk about and a lot of opportunities to participate in ways
that will have a real impact.

So, how do we want to tackle this disgusting oil spill in our Bay?
A lot of people have asked me and I have a call into Rudy at the
National Park Service to find out how groups might be most effective.
For instance, we could brainstorm a longish-term plan that might
inspire others to commit to a sustainable clean up plan

-I am going to L.A. tomorrow to collaborate with some amazing people
who are helping us develop a network that will do nothing less than
change the face of how people network.

-And we have raised over $6,000 for the Peru construction project and
Burners are going down to help out.

You won't want to miss this one.

What: Burners without Borders Salon
When: November 14 at 7:30pm.
Where: Hosted by Nicole Maron
2211-B Mission Street, San Francisco
Call 415.846.2936
Bring-Your own food and drink! Nicole has been gracious enough to
let us use her beautiful space and there are plenty of good burrito
joints in her neighborhood.

I hope to see you all there.

Carmen
415-368-3704

posted in Burners Without Borders - 0 replies

SF Bay oil spill

aslkdjr — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 20:17:12 GMT

Hi everyone:

I was devastated to hear about the oil spill in SF Bay a few days ago (as I'm sure many of you were) and would love to get involved with any planned BWB response to this disaster. I would also be willing to coordinate a response if you need someone to do that. I am contacting the local agencies who are responding and will explore the possibilities for volunteering in this effort.

Burning Man has a long-time connection with the beach in San Francisco, so let's take care of our home.

I

posted in Burners Without Borders - 6 replies

midwest burner here

solo_yo — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 19:27:41 GMT

Zay( our regional contact) just posted the info about peru.
I was wondering where to send tools, and to whom would i direct a specific question about what is needed.
I got some info about the need for cordless tools, off of the website, but couldn't find a mailing address.
We wanna know how we can help. thanks, kimberley

posted in Burners Without Borders - 5 replies

LA Activist Tribe

brooke118 — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 20:56:36 GMT

hello friends--

just wanted to direct you to this Los Angeles Artist-Activist tribe::

http://tribes.tribe.net/laactivists

i try to post any LA events, action, etc.. that I know of...
please join us!!

;)

posted in Burners Without Borders - 0 replies

Rebuilding: Bjurts at Madre Grande discussion on SD Burners

verbamour — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 20:47:06 GMT

I have started a discussion on the SD Burners site to coordinate part of the rebuilding effort at Madre Grande, namely, the construction of bjurts (a yurt-like structure, see http://bjurt.com). Here is a link to that thread:
http://sdburners.tribe.net/thread/ae468121-e31d-4df2-8697-628156d0c1e0?newpostingid=7ea3974c-3975-4072-ace0-f4930dd0eca6#7ea3974c-3975-4072-ace0-f4930dd0eca6

and here is a copy of the first post of the thread:
Greetings fellow burners,

I talked to Tracey at MG yesterday, and she is very interested in getting a few bjurts (http://bjurt.com). She is bringing it up at the meeting today, so I should know more in a few hours.

But for now, let's start with the logistics:

We don't yet know when we can get back into MG, but the most likely work weekends would be either 11/17 (the weekend before Thanksgiving) or 12/1 (the weekend after). If possible, we want to get these made before the rains start (if it's going to rain this year).

The goal is to build 5-10 bjurts, place up 5 on-site and the rest to other locals in need.

The main on-site resource will be ash, so we would have to bring everything else. There may not even be porta-potties, so we may be using camp toilets (I can bring a mini-bjurt to give privacy).

While this list is preliminary, here are a few things I think we need:
Event coordinator - Carl and I are working closely on the overall bjurt effort, but it would be handy to have someone run the camp (placement, food, water, public relations (talking to the cops)).

Generators

Extension cords

Drills and 1/4" hardened steel drill bits (I have one drill press and one bit, but we should have more to drill in parallel)

Pliers, hammers, wrenches (crescent and socket), files, and other assorted hand tools (I will bring some, but we need more)

Camping toilets (if porta-potties are not in place)

Shade, eating, and sleeping structures (I can bring shade structures (I have lighter structures than the bjurts as long as the winds are low) and we can sleep in the bjurts Saturday night)

Tables, chairs, cook stuff (I can bring a portable BBQ)

Tarps (we have enough billboard vinyl for almost 10 bjurts, but for the roof, silver tarps would block the sun better and may be easier to fit)

3/4" EMT conduit (I (Athena in LA, actually) am working on getting this donated, but it may not come in time)

Pins and clips (I have enough of these for the initial build, but I am going to try to get Fastenal to donate some)

Happy, hardworking people (10-20, the more we have, the faster it will go)

That's all I can think of for now. Please reply to suggest other things we might need or to let us all know what you can volunteer.

We will make this happen,
-bender

posted in Burners Without Borders - 1 reply

Volunteer in San Diego

marcy — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 21:42:34 GMT

So Cal Fires on Twitter: blog.wired.com/monkeybite...a-fire.html

Listen to the San Diego Police and Fire Scanners: www.scansandiego.net/cgi-bin/index.pl

To Volunteer in San Diego Call: (619) 250-5128

Flickr mapped photos "San Diego Fire" www.flickr.com/map/

posted in Burners Without Borders - 4 replies

This weekend in San Diego and also in LA - Toy Donations

KLEAR — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 21:42:07 GMT

We've got 3 locations tomorrow night [Saturday, Oct 27th] in San Diego and LA, where toys can be dropped off to donate to the children who have lost all their toys in the San Diego Fires.

On Saturday, October 27th we'll be accepting toy donations at Space Island.

Think laughter, think joy, think about what might
grant a child a brief moment of refuge from this
crazy world.

Be creative.

Let's do our best to bring them joy.

In the San Diego area donations will be accepted on:

October 27th at Pirates of the Pacific Halloween Yacht Party

and Liquid "O"s--Bound at the Stake event.

posted in Burners Without Borders - 0 replies

Notes from the First LA meeting

twistedcat — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 17:07:02 GMT

let me know if I missed (or screwed up) anything vital...

BWB notes
* The Countess is doing a study of how the BM ethos gets implemented in reality camp; recording meeting
* 24 min film about what BWB did in Mississippi
* Athena is willing to head stuff up
* Madre Grande, monastery and home of Xara Dulzura, is gone
* a lot of people want to help out w/ the fires
* TwistedCat has connections with insurance companies, let’s look into collaborating
* The fires are going to happen year after year, let's plan for it
* Bender has 100 yurts to donate (octagonal size of costco carport) (low buck weigh in). Makes fasteners. Donate to fire efforts and charitable efforts. Needs pipe and cover and labor. Spatch's dad is donating $ for one set of struts, still needs cover for the structure. Suggests we need an umbrella org. Athena has contacts for product placement and home depot, will follow up.
* Suggestion that we rebuild Madre Grande.
* Shelter is needed for evacuees and for firefighters from other areas
* There is a list on the internet of all the homes that have burned down
* Someone suggested focusing closer to home than SD. Pointed out that being displaced, they need support. Talk about stuff in Santa Clarita Valley that needs help.
* There was mention of letting LE and fire know that we are there and qualified to help (ahead of time). Was there a precedence set in Mississippi? No, we were under the radar. There was no one there to enforce the rules. Hands On worked with us down there, but Red Cross wasn't interested. BWB has raised $ thru BRAF before. Need fiscal NFP sponsorship (a NFP to channel monies through until BWB gets around to setting up their own NFP status).
* We're all connected as humans. How do we become responsive rather than reactive?
* Discussion of allying with other NFPs
* Mariah used to work for moveon.org and can be a valuable resource.
* We need to set up infrastructure. Network. Etc. Website. Pooled resources. Make it “Our Space” vs MySpace. NY is aching for stuff to do, how do we network with them? Meta organization. Need people w/ skills to set that up. Create a presentation to take to Corporations and Foundations.
* Corporations are not evil
* There are other foundations wanting to fund new models of community
* Evonne is an awesome NFP project mgr
* Get into the mindset of social capital meeting venture capital
* Start with the ideas of gifting and see where it goes; it worked amazingly well in Mississippi.
* There is a burnerswithoutborders tribe to which everyone interested should subscribe - http://tribes.tribe.net/bwb
* Sign up on website as well
* A sign up sheet or two was circulated, but the above are more certain methods of getting involved.
* Giveback.net launching alpha in November – social networking with a conscience
* Sara Corbett (please say your name) businesses and greening your resources. She is doing conference in Nov re: green businesses. How do I connect them to BWB? Do we know of people in the BM community who are green developers etc? How do we have some of the rebuilding efforts be green? Athena says to reuse (Habitat For Humanity and Reuse are both companies/organizations that do this) demolition materials to rebuild. They look for projects. Habitat for Humanity needs volunteers. Reuse just stockpiles the materials from demolition.
* We need a website to connect volunteers with projects
* livingeco.com for companies doing this sort of thing (burner owned) - Abrahm
* Anna Marie - la is spread out. Can we have tasks forces based on regions?
* Rick – there is a group in Gigsville meeting to build from scratch wind turbines, see if they want to help and to see if people in BWB want to be part of the turbine builds. The group discusses things as a part of the Gigs-Project list on google.
* Madre Grande had to leave their pets behind and would like help looking for them once they are allowed back in
* Carmen can be reached at carmen@burningman.com
* tvfreeburningman (owned by al gore) might be able to help with the website
* There will be another general meeting month from now at Abundant Sugar 11/14 at 7:30pm
* Specific projects: Madre Grande (Evonne), Materials (Athena), Santa Clarita Valley (playswmatches)

posted in Burners Without Borders - 1 reply

Burn on the Bayou

verbamour — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 16:43:03 GMT

Greetings borderless burners,

I really enjoyed the screening of "Burn on the Bayou" at the LA meeting on Wednesday, but I forgot to ask if I could buy or have a copy.

This piece should be used to a) raise general awareness by showing it to everybody, or 2) make money through sales, or iii) both.

At any rate, I'd like a copy for myself and I'd be willing to pay.

What's a burner to do?

Thanks,
-bender

posted in Burners Without Borders - 0 replies

Los Angeles is burning...

HighCastle — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 09:02:05 GMT

Hi folks. I'm new to this tribe, but I was wondering if anybody is planning an operation in Southern California after the fires die down? I'm in northern cal, and I'm thinking of taking a week next month to head south and see what I can do to help. If you folks mean to head that way i'd like to chip in toward your efforts. I'd also be interested in your input about the scope of this event... I'm still waiting to see how bad it gets.

Also, I'm trying to come up with a list of gear that folks down there are going to need for\during the cleanup effort. Basics like water and nonperishable foods are obvious, depending on the state of the infrastructure after the crisis subsides. Maybe the plumbing will be fine, so the water may be unnecessary. Here's my list so far -- add to it if you can think of anything else.

Work gloves (a lot of them)
Dust masks and industrial respirators
Indoor air filters (the hepa\allergy variety you can pick up at the mall)
shovels (for digging out the ash)
Medical supplies of all kinds, including burn cream
old clothes & sweatshirts (it does actually get kind of chilly in socal during the winter)
generators, extension cords, and fuel canisters

so..... what else?

Cheers
Dave

posted in Burners Without Borders - 9 replies

Burners Without Borders on LivingECHO.com

Abram — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 01:50:40 GMT

Hello Fellow Burners,

I'm new to the Burners without borders group. I went to the meeting last night and was really inspired by the movie and by the group itself. I had an idea to do some sort of a plant drive and begin gather donations for helping in reforesting the affected areas created by the recent California Fires. This can be on going effort because we all know that the fires are going to continue coming.

http://www.livingecho.com/companies/burnerswithoutborders/

So I'm looking for suggestions and feedback....and also some help. I'm in touch with Tree People and we're going to come up with a few possible options on how Burners without Borders can be of most use and I'll present those ideas as they come along.

Thanks,

Abram

posted in Burners Without Borders - 0 replies

Mobile Home Help - SCV

impboy — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 00:39:28 GMT

Come on guys - this should be a natural for us! :-)

Taken from the Volunteers in SCV website...

Heads Up Therapy on Horseback

The Heads Up Therapy ranch was bured very badly as staff and volunteers were evacuating from the ranch. Jim Tindell (ranch manager) received burns during the evacuation in attempting to save the horses. He is doing well at a local burn center where he has had the first of several planned surgeries. Jim's wife Terry and their two children are okay and they have relatives to stay with. The buildings at the ranch, including the mobile home where the Tindells lived have been lost.

Heads Up is working with Dee Gadbury at the SCV-Newhall Optimist Club to collect funds and things that the family needs. We know the Tindell's will need a new mobile home for the family. Please contact Dee Gadbury at (661) 252-7313 and you may also check for updates at www.headsuptherapy.com/president.htm.

Stray Sheep 100

Dave Rentz, is the founder of Stray Sheep an organization dedicated to helping those to deal with the heart behind gangs, graffiti, crime and the drugs tearing lives in our community apart. Dave has worked closely with the city to address these issues as well. Now... Dave is in need of our help. He lived in a mobile trailer located on a property that was evacuated due to the fires. The mobile trailer was not in good condition but he was able to move it to safety with the help of Jay from The Gentle Barn, a local nonprofit. Dave's "home sweet home" is temporarily stranded on the corner of Soledad and Sierra Highway. Dave is in need of someone who has skills with repairing mobile homes (89 Fleetwood Travel Trailer). You may contact Dave at (661) 993-6343 for more information.

posted in Burners Without Borders - 1 reply

Give back Halloween

Athena — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 07:06:27 GMT

The meeting in LA was great tonight and one idea we had was to go down to Qualcom this weekend and have a Decompression from the fires for those who have been evacuated. Qualcom Decom.

So if you have an art you can teach or a craft you want to share, lets gift the joys of this holiday to those who are in need of a huge distraction. Some ideas were paper mache' masks, hooping lessons, drumming lessons, lots of extra fabric to make costumes, tons of candy for a little impromptu trick or treating, lots of cirque arts like stilters and jugglers or a day of fun. If you do any of these and want to participate please reply to this post and let me know. Or if you have something else you can contribute and have the time, please I love all ideas.

The other idea I had was for a large projection screen and projector to show a family movie.
We only have two days to make this happen, so think hard and let your creative juices flow.

I will find out where is the best place to go and where we will all meet. So watch this post for more info.

Thanks
Athena
athena@athenademos.tv

posted in Burners Without Borders - 1 reply

Santa Clarita Area Relief and Recovery

K-BusterFriendly — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 22:08:22 GMT

With the exception of the Ranch Fire burning West of the I-5, all the fires in Northern LA County have been contained and people are now returning to their homes. So, there's a shift in what people may need as this disaster transitions from evacuation to relief and recovery.

As some know, I took a bunch of names of people at last night's LA-BWB meeting for those interested in helping out in SC Valley area. I've checked in with the SCV chapter of the American Red Cross (the disaster professionals) to let them know that the club exists and they should be contacting me as soon as they got a picture of the next step.

I'm still looking at other ways that we can help out in in the SCV area, though.

posted in Burners Without Borders - 1 reply

California Fires Assessment

robmillernow — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 06:25:13 GMT

Great meeting. I found this tonight:
http://tinyurl.com/yrsllf

Which links to this list of Local Assistance Centers that open TOMORROW (10/24):
http://tinyurl.com/yvmlo6
Maybe someone could contact them and see what we can do.

And this:
http://www.californiavolunteers.org/disaster_prep.asp
Haven't dug too deep into that one.

I'll keep digging -- more later.

posted in Burners Without Borders - 2 replies

on the playa 08

chaimama — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 01:17:41 GMT

yo ya'll, big planz in the werks for 08, the glowing goddess...american beauty..... or someting like that, right?

anyhoooo... would just love it if those of us who are here on tribe and into building something badass on the playa would tribe me personally and let me know where you are and what your availability is.... talents, tools, cash, ideas.... all of this is what makes it go POP!
we been loosely talkin' bout werk parties throughout the "year" at the ranch in gerlach and i'm wondering how accessible that is for people.

let's dial it in bwb style ma homies!

posted in Burners Without Borders - 0 replies

Taking it off the playa

TwizzlerNinja — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 23:20:05 GMT

Hey everyone!

We had our first, and highly successful, park cleanup today! We had 10 people total come out to help, and I can't even tell you how much trash we picked up. We were at it for about four hours, and finally just called it a day. There is still plenty of work to be done, and next time we know to BRING MORE BAGS! There are trash cans throughout the park, and thank goodness, because we had to keep emptying our bags to make room for more MOOP.

I uploaded about 8 pictures of the crew in action to my profile. We did a lot of good today, and I'm really proud of my community for coming together and making a difference. Do you know, we had several people say "Thank you for what you are doing" as they walked by? And not only that, but had an older gentleman come over and ask if we had any extra bags, because he and his friends wanted to help. Then he came back and said to me "You know, I really apprecieate what you're doing here. There's so many people in the world that just don't care, and we need more people that are willing to just pitch in. This area really needs the help, and I'm glad to see someone stepping up to the plate." (Ok I paraphrased that a bit, but that was the jist of it.) Talk about your warm fuzzies.

We're already planning on making this a monthly thing, and hitting different parks in the area that need it.

Enjoy the pictures! We had an AMAZING day!

posted in Burners Without Borders - 2 replies

Because It's funny :

Karine — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 07:18:59 GMT

You may choose to watch this: The show is called Lucy, the Daughter of the Devil

http://www.adultswim.com/video/index.html

frickin hilarious!
I think it's going to be on Adult swim this Sunday.

posted in Burners Without Borders - 3 replies