BWB Colombia
Our story begins with a dream: bringing the Burning Man values back to Colombia and mobilizing our social network to make a difference locally. In 2021, we organized our first informal burn in Colombia, called TropicOfosho, and donated funds to a child rights NGO. A few months later, we reached out to BWB Headquarters, gathered over 50 volunteers, and got 2 projects running! Puro FUEGO!
Project 1 “Ikigai Explorers”: We believe finding a life talent that inspires you to get out of bed every day is fundamental to happiness. As Burners, we want to orient this search by taking into account what the world and our local community needs. Bi-monthly, we bring our IKIGAI magic to a cohort of 30 12-to-14-y-old underprivileged kids from a tough Bogota neighborhood (Patio Bonito), and introduce them to creative career paths with the potential to open their minds and lift them out of poverty. So far, we have given classes on music composition, photography, cinematography, the recycling and waste management industry, cartoon design and in electronic engineering! All based on the talents, industry connections and passions of our volunteers. In a second phase, the kids will pick their favorite program. For 5 weeks, the volunteers will engage the kid to develop a project related to the career theme in question. At the end, the teams will compete and present their work to a jury of reputed local experts. They will help us shine a light on the initiative by taking on a “godparent” role, help us identify talent, and build bridges.
Project 2 “Bee Safe”: Our objective is to establish a meliponary (collection of 10 beehives) for educational purposes in the Laguna Verde Rural School, in the municipality of Zipacón (Cundinamarca region of Colombia). This region in particular has been suffering from the loss of forests and conserved areas, due to the establishment of livestock and crops with medium and intensive use of agrochemicals. It has become increasingly necessary to implement education strategies with community outreach, focused on the conservation of strategic ecosystems and biodiversity. Through the meliponary we will spread a message of conservation, working with native stingless honey bees (abejas sin aguijón). We plan on promoting their conservation, raise awareness of how crucial they are to our planet’s fragile ecosystem, and bring together the students, their families, the teachers and the local community around this theme.
Colombianos living in the US, don’t you miss la tierrita? Your remote support would be a game changer for us. Why don’t you reach out to our group on Instagram @burnerswithoutbordersbogota and help us make a difference? We need skills, donations and piropos!
Burners planning to visit Colombia? We can show you a goooood time friends! Let’s connect and party in Bogota!
PROJECTS
