The Temple of Community crew would like to thank everyone involved with Sembazuru. The memorial was a grand success and appreciated by many Burning Man attendees. We were touched by the amount of participation and genuine love through out the project and sincerely hope it was everything you wanted it to be. Thank you for your donations, hard work and input.

The project itself went smoothly. We engineered it without real blueprints. A drawing was made by Skirblah and handed off to Gothalot for the engineering and build. We went from Skirblah’s concept sketches and some minor changes were made along the way to incorporate logistics, finances and structure integrity. We originally were looking at a 45 foot or more height with a 20 foot square platform. Our first concern became cost. The second concern was size and ability to get it in a truck partially put together. This would have required a flat bed semi. With the budget we had something of that size did not work. Thus we scaled it down to a 10 foot square platform and a 32 foot high Crane. This enabled us to get head , tail and wing pieces up without the use of a hoist or crane on the build itself and transport it at a reasonable cost. Hinge assemblies were fabricated in Steamboat Ed’s workshop enabling the pieces to pivot upwards. Some pieces took 6 or more people and some careful rope work to lift up into position.

The pre fabricate and set up on location in Santa Rosa helped logistics immensely. We were able to sort out potential problems ahead of time and this made the build at the Burning Man event much easier and allowed for any unforeseen mishaps or delays. Wind-storms being the biggest set back out there in the Black Rock desert.

Sembazuru went up relatively easy out there in Black Rock City. There is not much to report. We all did our jobs and we only went a day off schedule albeit it was our contingency day. The Gateway part of the project designed by Rhino went up fast albeit a few design changes. The community was able to participate in Sembazuru throughout its construction and after it completion by Wednesday. There were many offerings and memorials placed at the Temple throughout the week until its burn.

Overall summation by Gothalot –
As far as the design went we pretty much built what we said we’d build. It came out just as we expected which in itself is no small feat. It was always an organic work in progress and you always have to take into consideration that what goes on paper is always what you end up with. We did a good job at remaining true to the artists renderings. The crew worked together in all phases to create something that would hold up in possible Gail force winds, serve the communities needs and be aesthetically pleasing to view.
Was the project a success? Yes, Id say it was. There are a few things I would do differently.
Finances; First, I would make sure it was well funded. As the chief instigator of the project my spouse and I were financially libel. This means if there are still bills to pay we were the ones who had to see that happens no mater what is left in the Temples coffers. We ended up about $500.00 in the negative. To me that’s not a huge sum to go over budget considering the scale of the project so, I’d consider it a success. There were the challenges of the other Temples being built at Burning Man in 2008. We found out after we’d started. One has to consider at some point; do you stop the project because you have competition for temple donations, or do you continue and take the risk and debt that could incur. After review with key temple organizers it was determined to continue. The scale was not the same of the larger temples and possible losses were not huge. Risk assessment I guess is what you’d call it. Keeping good accounts is heavily advised and HAVE a budget. Keep all receipts. Sometimes donators want to see that monies are going where they are supposed to be going and they have that right unless you say otherwise. We kept good records and after an informal accounting we found we were just $30.00 shy of receipts. Probably the ones I put in my trousers and didn’t give to Butterfly, the accounts mistress. It happens, as long as its small its not a big deal. I also recommend NOT using Pay Pal. We were definitely a not for profit art piece. This said we still needed to get the non profit status from the federal and state agencies. This would have saved us some grief. Pay Pal froze monies donated and it was a gigantic effort to get them out in time to allocate funds towards the end of the build. Anything over a few grand and the flags at Pay Pal come up. Also be aware if you are using a personal account that the monies deposits will get taxed as income on your tax returns most likely. Consult a tax professional about those matters as I am not one and my advice will have irregularities.
Secondly, the day and time of the burn. Choose wisely. We chose as a group to do a dawn burn the night after the Man burns. We felt it a poignant time. Letting go, and starting anew. We felt that if people wanted to see it and really wanted to attend they would. Now I’m not so sure. People are rather tanked up and in another head space after the Man and you need a full day to get over that I think. Hence why the traditional 12:00 BM sponsored temple is the following night. We also had issues about other temples burn times and wanted to be sure we didn’t divide the community into choosing one Temple over the other.
The Burn itself, Went relatively well. Our crew was exhausted and also did the fire parameter duty that morning. If I was to do it all over I would have had a fresh new group dedicated solely to that function so that the bulk of the crew could have enjoyed the burn more relaxed and able to appreciate their hard work. It is difficult when you are so tired and people are wanting to burn themselves in the fire, constantly challenging parameter crew to get closer and closer. I also would have like to have seen Sembazuru burn more efficiently. I did not take that extra step to douse fuel on the beams that were the thickest. Chalk it up to my own experience of burning things. I thought I had that covered as a kid blowing models up but hey, ya cant win them all. Basically we engineered it to stay up and hold people. In a sense we built it TOO good.
Burn platform clean up. The decomposed granite (burn platform) took half a day. We had the right tools, a magnetic rake, wheel barrel, shovels and rakes. The operation was performed by two people. I recommend enlisting the whole of anyone’s crew to this. It can go by a lot faster with all of the crew there. Make it clear to your crew that no one bugs out until that is finished. Its been known to happen to a few burn crews where people do not stay to the end. Our burn was clean so it was a relatively easy op for two and I did not ask the whole crew to help. I recommend your whole crew as part of the bonding experience and seeing something to its definite end. A cathartic adventure. I was blessed to have the company of a crew member and it became one of my most precious moments on Playa.
Team and Project management went smooth. If you choose the right people from the beginning then you save yourself a world of grief. For me its choosing people that I think in my experience will compliment each other. Finding people that have a wide range of interests, likes and strengths with a common goal and love of the project. Too similar interests and you can get ego conflict and dramas you just wont have time to deal with. Not enough similar interests and you get disconnection and little common ground amongst individuals thus preventing a bonding that needs to occur during the project. Its like the emotional glue. It’s a balanced combination and often its hit or miss. This year we hit it on really well. It is also very useful to allocate responsibilities and define them clearly. Give EVERYONE a key job and position. Its not so you can blame, its so that each individual has a sense of place in the community and within the project. Its so very important and I cant stress that enough. A good sense of self and a purpose goes a long way.
In closing the experience was priceless to everyone. It was a lot of hard work and not for the feint. We did it because we want to give to our community that has given so much to us already. We celebrated the passing of life, We re-gifted a new day.

This year we called the event Working Man. With a smile on our faces of course.

There are no plans for a 2009 temple. 2010 however is completely another story. We will be putting forth a proposal for 2010 in the next 6-8 months. Stay tuned!

Again, thank you from the bottom of our hearts from all of The Temple of Community crew for allowing us to bring to you such a special and inspiring art memorial.

Regards, Gothalot