Summer Newsletter 2024
August 3, 2024
Welcome to the BWB Summer Newsletter
Burners Without Borders is getting a new look! We’re busy preparing for our 20th anniversary next year at Black Rock City in 2025—and we’ve already started to roll out some changes. We’re envisioning the future as well as reflecting on almost two decades of incredible community-driven impact.
In this edition, catch up on the highlights from our 2024 Spring Summit, meet the winners of our Civic Ignition Grants, and explore exciting new projects. We’re also thrilled to showcase our new website, this refreshed newsletter design, and introduce our new Program Manager, Ryan Rising, who brings a wealth of experience and passion to our team.
As always, we invite you to join us for upcoming events, to stay connected with our community, and consider supporting BWB with a donation. Let’s continue to inspire and support one another in building the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible.
We’ve launched a new BWB Website!
We are thrilled to announce our new BWB website.
The team has been working hard to bring you a fresh online experience that we hope you’ll love. Explore updated features, user-friendly interface, and exciting content. Check it out here and let us know your feedback!
Ryan Rising joins BWB as the new Program Manager
Ryan previously directed the Permaculture Action Network from 2014 to 2023 where they organized days of action “on the road to Burning Man” with BWB building regenerative farms.
Ryan teaches ecological design and community organizing globally, leveraging 20 years of experience in collaborative group projects within social movements. These projects include food systems, housing, water catchment, renewable energy, indigenous solidarity, transformative justice, and other sustainable alternatives. While specializing in regenerative design and ecological restoration, Ryan is passionate about social transformation, training numerous projects and organizations in collective decision making, group facilitation, mediation, conflict resolution, and strategic project management.
Ryan’s journey with Burning Man began in 2012 at the Transfer Station. After working in dumpsters and composting, Ryan returned in 2014 to teach permaculture at Recycle Camp and later shared insights at the BWB Camp Speaker Series. Ryan is excited to invite inhabitants of BRC and Regional Burns across the world to make their communities more like Burning Man by creating grounded projects based on the ten principles.
2024 BWB Spring Summit at Fly Ranch Report
The 2024 BWB Spring Summit, our 8th event annual event at Fly Ranch, centered on “Participating in the Parable.” With guidance from the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, participants explored how stories and landscapes shape cultures and futures. This gathering is grounded in three principles:
Serve: Activities included building an innovative biochar effigy and soil testing for future agricultural projects at Fly Ranch.
Learn: Workshops and sessions ranged from future storytelling to mycelium art creation, promoting peer-to-peer learning and creativity.
Celebrate: A collaboratively built effigy paired with a solar-powered dance party created meaningful rituals that fostered deep connections.
Want to learn more? Read the full 2024 BWB Spring Summit article here.
A New Type of Burn: The Biochar Effigy
This year, a second effigy burn on Friday night was introduced with a unique twist—this effigy was designed to create biochar, a form of charcoal that enriches soil and sequesters carbon. Micheal Wittman and Ray Cirino led the demonstration, sharing their passion and expertise.
The fire was set from the top and burned until it was time to knock it down, it was then doused with water and wood vinegar. The next day, attendees learned how to process the biochar, which will be used in fertilizing community gardens, enhancing soil health and promoting regenerative agriculture at Fly Ranch and beyond. We’re excited to share more about this project and to encourage other Regional Burns to turn their burns into regenerative projects!
Civic Ignition Grant Winners (ELS, BoNZA, SERT and MRS)
Since February four regions have run our Civic Ignition Grant Program, held at locally organized leadership gatherings. These workshops received a total of 32 submission for a total financial ask of $41,664 and over 75 community members participated in the decision making process.
Check out these inspired projects that received funding:
European Leadship Summit (ELS)
‘Temple of Re:creation’ is a collaborative land art project aimed at providing a sanctuary for women affected by the war in Ukraine. This initiative seeks to empower and heal communities through an art residency, land art construction, and documentation.
South Eastern Regional Roundtable (SERT)
The Intersection, a printed book of stories and poems from a weekly writing group that meets at the 12 Baskets Cafe in Asheville, North Carolina. The cafe serves high-quality surplus foods with inclusivity, abundance, and dignity to address hunger, housing, and poverty.
South Eastern Regional Roundtable (SERT)
The Neurospicy Creators Space will open an inclusive, sensory-friendly environment to create art, aimed at removing barriers such as cost and insurance limitations, and designed specifically for the neurodivergent community in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Burners of New Zealand and Australia (BoNZA)
Margi the Pizza Oven is beautiful portable pizza oven that brings happiness and pizza to the community. Margi was built by volunteers in 2021 and has been bringing people together over food (specifically, delicious pizza) ever since.
Burners of New Zealand and Australia (BoNZA)
Preserving Our Regional Burn Cultures & Communities. This project will capture, document, and chronicle our regional Burner cultures and present a distinctive voice about our communities by way of story telling and podcasting.
Art in Hand has a vision of creating portable art supply kits that can be used to engage the public in art-making. These kits will offer an easy and reproducible way to create personal connections with people with developmental disabilities and mobility limitations.
The Pyramid Lake Spiritual Healing Center led by Dean Barlese, a Northern Paiute spiritual elder, is a vital hub for spiritual guidance and cultural preservation within the Indigenous community. Our goal is to create a walkable community medicine garden. We’d like to invite guests to tend to the garden, learn, and visit with Dean
The Burner Gear Giveback The Burner Gera Giveback is a donation drive that will be set up at the Burner Express port at the Reno-Tahoe airport. We will be collecting camping gear from Burners to distribute to the unhoused in Reno, NV. Distribution is done in the colder winter months when gear is needed most.
The Civic Ignition Grant Program started in 2013 inspired by the BWB Chicago Community Grant Salon.
To learn about open opportunities, and read about past Civic Ignition cycles, visit the Grant News & Updates on our website.
Join BWB in Black Rock City: Esplanade & 3:45
Our camp in Black Rock City (BWB-BRC) is a physical manifestation of our mission and our community in the Black Rock Desert. We host a speaker series, a maker space, and evening conversations around the fire-pit, and support the participant-facing BRC sustainability teams like BLAST, RAT, and The Green Corridor. Do you want to contribute to our programming schedule?
BWB Speaker Series| 1pm – 4pm Tue: Global Community / Future Storytelling
Wed: Bioregionalism + Indigenous Wisdom
Thur: Tactical Sustainability
Join us at 4:30pm on Tuesday for a Ride Around The BWB World! Bike+Art Tour! This tour is to spotlight non-U.S. art installations, emphasizing the global reach and cultural diversity within the Burning Man community. We believe this tour will provide participants with a unique opportunity to explore not only the artistic expressions but also the inspiring community-building efforts happening across different countries. Meet at BWB Camp.
Sign Up for BLAST 2024 – Camp Sustainability Accreditation (Deadline 8/2)
Join the third edition of BLAST – Burner Leadership Achieving Sustainable Theme Camps!
We score camps sustainability ratings on: Power, Water, Waste, Shelter, Food, and Transportation. To get started, sign up for BLAST and identify a Sustainability Lead for your camp.
If you have any questions or need further information, please don’t hesitate to reach out at: greenthemecamps@burningman.org
BWB-CC recently celebrated 10 years of service to their community and their beach! They have focused much of their effort on an area called “The Bowl,” which, through their efforts, has been transformed. Congratulations on your achievement @lizcreme and friends!
BWB-SF met online for a think tank and brainstorm discussion on possible projects and next steps for the Bay Area BWB Chapter. If you would like to join future meetings please be sure to join our What’s App group!
BWB-Vancouver registered as a team with Darkness Into Light and Foam Fest, and continues with their flagship project Christmas Isn’t Over.
They walked with Darkness Into Light Vancouver to raise awareness for mental health and funds for The Crisis Centre of BC. Additionally, they participated in Foam Fest, a Make-A-Wish Foundation Canada fundraiser.
Burner Gear Giveback Reno, Nevada
Join the camping gear drive aimed at Black Rock City participants who would otherwise be throwing away camping gear. All donations will be cleaned and distributed to unhoused people and families living in Reno during winter.
Donation Drive: September 8/30-9/2
Drop-off locations: Burner Express in Reno, NV during
Donations Accepted: Tents (in usable condition, with all parts), Sleeping bags, Shade cloth, Tarps. Bike Wagons, Hygiene items (must be unopened/unused), Unopened shelf-stable snacks, First Aid Supplies
Redefining Creativity in Tzununa, Guatemala
Noise, in Tzununa, Guatemala, is a revolutionary space embracing anarchism to foster freedom, collaboration, and empowerment. Offering diverse tools for woodworking, metalworking, electronics, and digital fabrication, it’s more than just a maker space. Through workshops, skill-sharing sessions, and collaborative projects, members drive positive change and learn together. Committed to accessibility and inclusivity, Noise operates on a pay-what-you-can model and ensures a safe, welcoming environment. We are now welcoming volunteers, join our Discord server to learn more!
CxM Burn Night Set | BWB Spring Summit 2024
BWB community member Charles Michel offered his talents and played this set at our 2024 BWB Spring Summit during the Saturday night effigy burn. We hope you love it as much as we do!
WATCH: Update from the Pyramid Lake Museum’s garden and haba build. The haba was funded by a 2022 BWB Community Micro-Grant and built by BWB volunteers from the 2023 Spring Summit and Ripple Team. Filmed by Whiterok Pictures.
Learn about projects from our April BWB Worldwide call and learn how you can get involved. Never miss a video by subscribing to the BWB YouTube Channel
The Germinator
Charlotte De Casabianca from BWB Colombia and David Castro from the Ancestral Foundation give us updates on their project in Colombia. They explain how the project started and how you can get involved.
Pyramid Lake Spiritual Healing Center
Cherub shares about his project in Nixon, Nevada. He provides the background and purpose of the the Center as well as the ways people can get involved in preserving and sustaining Paiute spiritual heritage.
BWB exists because of YOU
Over the years, your participation and generous support have enabled this creative community to accomplish so much around the world.
BWB is known for helping real people solve real problems. The unique gifts this community brings to the international stage are quickly transforming what people think is possible.
To continue doing this important work, we need your help. Consider donating to the continued success of BWB. Any amount that you can give will go a long way in helping us to reach our goals.
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