Report Back: BWB at Decompression (Oakland Edition)
November 4, 2025
On October 18th, 2025, Burners Without Borders joined the Bay Area Decompression – Oakland Edition at The Loom Courtyard for a day of creativity, collaboration, and civic imagination. The event offered an opportunity to share our mission, highlight twenty years of key learnings, and connect with local community partners.
A Living Laboratory of Civic Imagination
Throughout the day, the BWB space buzzed with conversation, connection, and creativity. Visitors stopped by to learn about BWB’s work around the world — including Fly Ranch, LAGI (Land Art Generator Initiative), the Ripple Project and on playa sustainability initiaves like BLAST(Burner Leadership Achieving Sustainable Theme Camps), RAT, and the Playa Wide Compost Program, all on the edge of regenerative design, art, and indigenous-led approaches to sustainability.
Our team hosted hands-on activations that turned conversation into participation:
Screen Printing Station – Participants created wearable art using images from BRC 2025.
Mesh Networking Demos –BWB San Francisco showcased open-source Meshtastic technology and distributed $1,000 worth of mesh nodes to attendees exploring off-grid communication.
Community Conversations – Hundreds of people stopped by to share and listen as we wove new connections across the civic landscape.
A solar-powered robot was a small experiment in innovation through play — art powered by the sun. It reminded us that sustainability can be simple, joyful, and human. Sometimes the most powerful innovations don’t shout; they quietly draw circles in the sunlight, inviting us to look closer
Ignite Talks: The BWB Speaker Salon
In the afternoon, BWB hosted a one-hour series of lightning talks that brought together community innovators exploring new models of resilience and regeneration. The session featured voices from across the BWB network who are bridging art, technology, service and sustainability.
BWB San Francisco — Mesh Networks: Demonstrated the potential of off-grid communication tools like Meshtastic, showing how decentralized networks can support both emergency response and Burner connectivity.
John Paul (aka Sputnik) — Rotary Club & Burners Without Borders: Explored the shared values between Rotary and Burning Man, revealing how global service organizations and creative movements can work hand-in-hand.
Jonah Lion — A.L.O.H.A.B.U.R.N : Shares the story of recovery and regeneration following the Lahaina fires.. The community is building an Aloha Village—576 homes designed with and for affected ʻohana—alongside the Ola I Ka Wai / Water is Life Project, restoring Maui’s watersheds and ecosystems to prevent future fires. The initiative also envisions a community-owned eco-cultural village that fosters education, skills training, and regenerative livelihoods. At its heart, Maui Burn’s mission is to perpetuate the culture of Aloha through land restoration, creativity, and community-led resilience.
Kat Nadel — Black Rock Compost! Highlighted how regenerative systems like composting can close waste loops at events and inspire broader ecological responsibility.
Each presenter had ten minutes to share their work, creating a fast-paced hour filled with learning and inspiration. The talks were recorded for future sharing, helping us document and distribute the evolving story of civic innovation within the BWB network.
Nonprofit Mixer: Building Relationships That Last
A 5pm we hosted an intimate Nonprofit Mixer, creating space for local organizations to share resources, explore collaboration, and connect in a relaxed, informal setting. Meeting these attendees was important, but having these attendees are actively shaping the Bay Area’s cultural and social impact landscape meet each other was the real intention behind this gathering.
One attendee shared:
“Such a great community you’re cultivating. I made some great connections there!”
The mixer generated multiple follow-up opportunities and inspired a shared contact sheet to help participants stay in touch.
Rising Sparks: The Next Generation
As the sun set, the courtyard came alive again with the Rising Sparks Takeover, a creative activation led by emerging Burners. This moment marked a symbolic handoff — opening the space for the next generation of civic-minded leaders to step forward, experiment, and reimagine what community leadership can look like in the next 20 years of Burners Without Borders.
Looking Ahead
Bay Area Decompression reminded us that Burning Man isn’t one week in the desert — it’s how we meet one another in our own communities all year long.
If you’d like to stay connected or join future gatherings:
Want to Bring BWB to Your Next Community Gathering?
There’s a toolkit for that! This toolkit offers a simple, adaptable foundation that local leaders can customize, helping them showcase BWB’s values while sparking dialogue, collaboration, and action within their own communities.
Fostering a more Connected, Creative & Resilient World
