Monday, April 25, 2011

Scout Rendezvous May 8

Scout Rendezvous is a meet up for anyone who wants to plug into the scouting process. If you've not been before, please read Scouting 101 so you can prepared to contribute to the process.

Per old family paranoia requests about the feds obtaining the directions, some people are asking that you call the Northwest tribes lightline for directions to the Rendezvous (503) 727-2498 of 541-915-1295 where you'll get another number and a top secret security clearance to obtain the info (I'm just kidding on the security clearance) and  I've taken down the directions that had been included in this post)

This is not a gathering, campout or drum circle.  As with all things gathering related, no experience is necessary. Even if you don't have time to go scouting, but you do have time to make the Rendezvous, please come out and take the opportunity to learn from family who have lots of experience scouting.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Recent Article Talking about 1981 Washington Gathering

Susan Sayler is an author living in San Diego.  This year she wrote an essay on post scarity cultural and anarchy that spends a lot of time dwelling on her experience at the Washington Gathering in 1981.  While some of her observations may slightly misrepresent things, I truly believe that she writes about what she experienced.  To check it out, click here.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Sunday, April 17, 2011

So you want to focalize a kitchen?

In my humble opinion, the gathering needs more kitchens like it needs more dogs, but for some  reason, everyone wants to focalize a kitchen. Seems to me that being part of the kitchen provides an amazing growing, learning experience on working collectively and provide safe and healthy food in the woods.

However.....

The reality of focalizing a kitchen goes something like this.

Unless you're serving main circle (dinner circle), Main Supply won't provide food for cooking. This means you provide the free food in the woods. While some kitchens have a donation can on the counter for after people have been fed, in reality most of the cost of food is born by those running the kitchen. You'll need to provide pots and pans for cooking, 5-gallon water buckets for dish washing, filtered drinking water for you and your crew and hopefully for all gatherers. You'll need to chop wood, haul water and wash dishes in addition to cooking. You'll need to make sure you provide sanitary cooking and serving facilities, keep sick people out of your kitchen, deal with late night movies and work your ass off.

If you've never plugged in with a kitchen at a gathering before, you might think about joining your energy with a well established kitchen to get a sense of how hard cooking in the woods can be before you strike off on your own.

If you're ambitious enough to serve main circle, make sure to be at kitchen council so your kitchen gets some of the supplies (often around 11 AM near Info). But keep in mind that even those kitchens serving main circle only get a portion of the food they serve from main supply.

Sure late night zuzu cooking is fun, but it also is hard to work around all the tripping hippies -- especially those who need baby sitting at 2 AM.

You'll also need to have some serious shitter movies going down. Not only for your crew but for anyone who is attracted to your camp. This can mean digging a new shitter every day from July 1 to 3 when the gathering population swells.

When the gathering is over, you get to disappear your kitchen so no one knows it was ever there. You get to haul your trash out, bury your compost and fill in your shitters.

What do you get for focalizing a kitchen?

More personal growth than you ever imagined possible in a couple of weeks. More stress than you can imagine and more people smoking you out that you could ever wish for if you're kitchen is dank. You get to move your kitchen three times because the US Forest Service keeps changing the rule on how close to surface water the kitchen can be - play it safe and go 500 feet if you want to avoid the move your kitchen game.

You get people bugging you at all hours of the day and night because they're hungry or thirsty. You get random dogs digging through your supply tent and eating the food you just hiked three miles on your back. If you leave your kitchen unsupervised by trusted kitchen crew, you come back to a kitchen missing pots or oranges or a tarp.

The wonderful tarps you strung over your kitchen collapse from rain in the middle of the evening meal. And above all, you get to have a complete temper tantrum when your nerves snap because no one wants to help wash dishes or dig the next shitter.  Of course, you can plug into an existing kitchen and learn from experienced family how a great kitchen works. (Try the Ovens, Kiddie Village, Musical Veggies, Granola Funk, Instant Soup, Tea Time, Warriors of the Light and BARF to name but a few of the great kitchens. Ask at Info when you get to the gathering).  Most kitchens welcome new people who are willing to work.

It's a wonderful magical crazy ride and worth every second if you last. But please, please, please read the Kitchen Mini Manual so you don't get your family sick due to lack of proper hygiene.

If you've every plugged into a kitchen, please share your words of wisdom.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Looking out for the health of our family

When we gather, we form a small city of dreamers, spiritualists, visionaries and others committed to living in community and harmony with the land for at least a short time. One of the key tenets of the gathering is that we provide and care for each other. Everything is free.
Every meal, every visit with a doctor, nurse or herbalist. Every massage, every musical performance and every circle.
While everything is shared for free this doesn't mean that there aren't expenses incurred by sharing what we have with each other. The expenses are covered by anyone who chooses contribute to the gathering by donating dollar$$ or bringing supplies

Today's topic is healing and wellness. Every year the gathering treats thousands of small injuries and generally a good number of larger ones. From Herbalists, Medics and Acupuncturists to Registered Nurses and Medical Doctors, my friends work them selves ragged trying to make sure that each and every person at the gathering gets the necessary medical care and the type of care the patient prefers.

The list of health care issues dealt with at a gathering is endless, but includes things such as sprained ankles, broken legs, heart attacks, people falling out of trees, major cuts, upset tummies, stress and anxiety, burns, mental health challenges, injured dogs, child birth, and the list goes on and on.

How to help

If you are a practitioner of the healing arts, we need your help on the land to help our family be healthy.

If you have a chronic medical condition and will need support to attend the gathering without stressing your medical condition, email CALM ASAP and start a dialogue We don't have a full hospital in the woods, but generally experienced CALM family can work with you to create a management plan so that your health is not comprised at the gathering and to make sure your needs can be met.

Volunteer to do labor at CALM.

If you want to plug into CALM, please check out the CALM website. There are many ways to plug in and this includes opportunities for people with no healing experience.

Providing Supplies

While all services are freely shared, many of the supplies aren't. Here's a good page listing supplies that are always in demand. 

If you can't help out by bringing supplies by June 25 or so, donating green energy now will allow folks to obtain good discounts on bulk supplies. Click here to donate $$. Of course, cash donations at the gathering are always welcome as well and can be given to your favorite CALM volunteer, but unless you plan on being at the gathering by the Summer Solstice, it would be more helpful to donate ahead of time. The sister who is volunteering her PayPal account is a hard working medic at the gatherings and I've known her personally for almost twenty years.

Together we can help keep our family healthy and insure the injured receive the care they deserve.