タイキャラバンから〜
This is a (long) letter I wrote to someone who will be coming to the gathering,
but who has never been to a rainbow before. Basically, it's
a "welcome" letter, describing the basics of how a rainbow gathering works.
If you've never been to a gathering before, I recommend reading this. Even if
you have been, it might be a good reminder, and keep in mind that this will be
a World Rainbow Gathering, which can be in some ways very different from US
National Gatherings or European gatherings, so if that is what you are used
to, please read on:
Rainbow is a gathering, not a "festival", and as such, it's just a group of
people getting together in the nature for a little while with no real agenda.
Rainbow is Non-Political, and totally non-commercial, there is no "market", no
buying or selling.
Everything is communal (well, personal stuff is personal, we dont expect folk
to sign over their bank accounts and forfeit their back packs at the
door ;) ), there are no charges or fees; entrance, camping, workshops, meals,
and the chaishops and snackshops are all shared freely.
There are two meals provided daily, around mid-morning and evening, which are
prepared in a communal kitchen and served in a circle - everyone comes
together to sit in a big circle to eat. As well as the meals, there are
usually a few chaishops, where one can get tea of various sorts and snacks,
and depending on the size of the gathering, a range of kitchens.
All the 'work' that is done, cooking, serving, collecting firewood and water,
cleaning, digging shit-pits, etc, is done by volunteers, basically whomever
feels like doing it at the time, which means YOU!
All the money to provide all this wonder and amazement is communal and comes
from the MAGIC HAT. Basically, after each meal, some people (again, whomever
feels like doing it at the time) will get up and make a parade around the
circle, singing and dancing, with a hat to collect donations in. The magic
hat is "focalised" (a "focaliser" is what we call a person who volunteers to
organise something, from big things like main kitchen to little things like
making tea) again, by people who volunteer to do it.
Magic hat focalisers count the money, keep it somewhere safe, pay bills and
keep a kind of accounts ledger (though the depth of this record-keeping
depends on the person at the time). Usually there are at least 2 or 3 people
doing this as a team, and often another person who is completely unrelated to
the "accounting" keeps the physical cash safe.
The donations are just that. no one is taking note of how much who puts in.
Some put a lot, some put none. Everyone puts what they can, whether it be cash
or just energy, and everyone contributes what they can, whether it be loads of
hard manual labour digging and building, cooking, focalising, or just playing
music (for most people, it's a balanced combination of all of these, seasoned
with a dose of 'just hanging out'!)
There are all kinds of workshops offered, ususally from a kind of alternative
perspective. They can be anything from various forms of massage, meditation,
dancing, music, drumming, art, spiritual stuff... to practical natural living
like herb walks, basket weaving, crochet, tipi building, sweat logdes...
basically, if anyone has a skill or talent or information they want to share,
they call a workshop. Even YOU.
None of the workshop holders are pre-organised or paid or co-ordinated in any
way. It is like everything else in Rainbow - someone felt like doing it at
the time. Basically, someone will stand up in the food circle (what we call
meals) and announce that they are doing a workshop on (XYZ) and will meet in
place (ZYX) when the sun is "over there", anyone who likes to join, come on
over and bring a blanket. Or something like that ;)
Since there is little co-ordination, some days there can be about 20 workshops
all happening at once (and all of them really interesting), and all seemingly
under the same tree [roll eyes] but it usually gets resolved easily.
HYGIENE is really important at Rainbow Gatherings. A large group of people
camping without electricity or running water for a month or more
(especially in the tropics) can be a wonderland for bacterias, parasites and
diseases.
Keeping hands clean is VITAL. After you use the shitpit, Before entering the
kitchen, Before serving food, Before eating, WASH YOUR HANDS! and scrub your
nails too. Keep your own spoon/fork/bowl/cup and keep them clean.
Dont let anyone touch your plate when they are serving you food, and if you
are serving, dont ever touch anyone's plate, even from the underneath, and
even if someone else tells you to. Its a great way of spreading diseases, as
you can't be sure that another person's plate is clean, and you cant be sure
that another person isn't carrying parasites, even if they aren't sick. Also,
as we eat sitting on the ground, people put their plates on the ground, and
they get dirty. Especially underneath!
There is a very strong emphasis on protecting the environment, and every
rainbow gathering cleans up the site and leaves it "as we found it" or
better. We keep a strict policy of NO SOAP IN THE WATER, even "ecologic"
soaps, if one must use soaps for washing, take a bucket of water at least 100
feet away from the water source and wash there. You can use ASH from the fire
to wash plates and utensils, and even your own body if you rinse well
afterwards.
Likewise, rainbow is an ALCOHOL-FREE and DRUG-FREE event, and the main kitchen
is vegetarian. The point of being drug free can extend quite far in some
circles, including tobacco, caffeine, and sugar. Best to check first when
sitting with new friends. Keep in mind on the drug issue that this is
Thailand, a country that carries STRICT penalties for drug use, and you will
land in jail for a very long time and have to pay a lot of money if caught.
not only that, you very likely will cause the authorities to make all kinds of
problems for the rest of the gathering too.
(on that note, the last World Rainbow Gathering was in Turkey, another country
with very strict anti-drug and anti-nudity laws. In that gathering we were
very respectful of the local customs, and had a beautiful gathering WITHOUT
drugs and nudity)
Also, electronic devices are preferred to be left behind, a lot of people take
offence at any form of cameras or recording (its an issue to deal with every
time; the "official" line is NO ELECTRONIC DEVICES including cameras and
flashlights) but, as the future rolls out before us, cameras and flashlights
(and even cell phones, Oh MY!) are becoming more common. The best is just not
to bring out your camera, but if you must, keep it low-key and ASK everyone
present before hand! be respectful.
Everyone carries out their own trash. there is no trash collection for
personal trash, so pack out what you pack in! this includes CIGARETTE BUTTS!
they do NOT belong on the ground!! Also, some folk are sensitive about their
fires, and insist that only clean wood be burnt in them. best to ask before
you put anything in the fire, even paper or ciggy butts, even your feet!
A side note of the no electronic stuff is that it extends to music. there are
no stages or performers in rainbow (though a talent show of sorts is often
organised), and all the music is accoustic, played together and shared.
Generally, around the central fire in the evening musicians come and play and
drum while people dance. its very organic and free-from.
Um, this went on really long, sorry about that, anyway, if you have any more
questions, just ask!
Ela Majikfaerie
This is a (long) letter I wrote to someone who will be coming to the gathering,
but who has never been to a rainbow before. Basically, it's
a "welcome" letter, describing the basics of how a rainbow gathering works.
If you've never been to a gathering before, I recommend reading this. Even if
you have been, it might be a good reminder, and keep in mind that this will be
a World Rainbow Gathering, which can be in some ways very different from US
National Gatherings or European gatherings, so if that is what you are used
to, please read on:
Rainbow is a gathering, not a "festival", and as such, it's just a group of
people getting together in the nature for a little while with no real agenda.
Rainbow is Non-Political, and totally non-commercial, there is no "market", no
buying or selling.
Everything is communal (well, personal stuff is personal, we dont expect folk
to sign over their bank accounts and forfeit their back packs at the
door ;) ), there are no charges or fees; entrance, camping, workshops, meals,
and the chaishops and snackshops are all shared freely.
There are two meals provided daily, around mid-morning and evening, which are
prepared in a communal kitchen and served in a circle - everyone comes
together to sit in a big circle to eat. As well as the meals, there are
usually a few chaishops, where one can get tea of various sorts and snacks,
and depending on the size of the gathering, a range of kitchens.
All the 'work' that is done, cooking, serving, collecting firewood and water,
cleaning, digging shit-pits, etc, is done by volunteers, basically whomever
feels like doing it at the time, which means YOU!
All the money to provide all this wonder and amazement is communal and comes
from the MAGIC HAT. Basically, after each meal, some people (again, whomever
feels like doing it at the time) will get up and make a parade around the
circle, singing and dancing, with a hat to collect donations in. The magic
hat is "focalised" (a "focaliser" is what we call a person who volunteers to
organise something, from big things like main kitchen to little things like
making tea) again, by people who volunteer to do it.
Magic hat focalisers count the money, keep it somewhere safe, pay bills and
keep a kind of accounts ledger (though the depth of this record-keeping
depends on the person at the time). Usually there are at least 2 or 3 people
doing this as a team, and often another person who is completely unrelated to
the "accounting" keeps the physical cash safe.
The donations are just that. no one is taking note of how much who puts in.
Some put a lot, some put none. Everyone puts what they can, whether it be cash
or just energy, and everyone contributes what they can, whether it be loads of
hard manual labour digging and building, cooking, focalising, or just playing
music (for most people, it's a balanced combination of all of these, seasoned
with a dose of 'just hanging out'!)
There are all kinds of workshops offered, ususally from a kind of alternative
perspective. They can be anything from various forms of massage, meditation,
dancing, music, drumming, art, spiritual stuff... to practical natural living
like herb walks, basket weaving, crochet, tipi building, sweat logdes...
basically, if anyone has a skill or talent or information they want to share,
they call a workshop. Even YOU.
None of the workshop holders are pre-organised or paid or co-ordinated in any
way. It is like everything else in Rainbow - someone felt like doing it at
the time. Basically, someone will stand up in the food circle (what we call
meals) and announce that they are doing a workshop on (XYZ) and will meet in
place (ZYX) when the sun is "over there", anyone who likes to join, come on
over and bring a blanket. Or something like that ;)
Since there is little co-ordination, some days there can be about 20 workshops
all happening at once (and all of them really interesting), and all seemingly
under the same tree [roll eyes] but it usually gets resolved easily.
HYGIENE is really important at Rainbow Gatherings. A large group of people
camping without electricity or running water for a month or more
(especially in the tropics) can be a wonderland for bacterias, parasites and
diseases.
Keeping hands clean is VITAL. After you use the shitpit, Before entering the
kitchen, Before serving food, Before eating, WASH YOUR HANDS! and scrub your
nails too. Keep your own spoon/fork/bowl/cup and keep them clean.
Dont let anyone touch your plate when they are serving you food, and if you
are serving, dont ever touch anyone's plate, even from the underneath, and
even if someone else tells you to. Its a great way of spreading diseases, as
you can't be sure that another person's plate is clean, and you cant be sure
that another person isn't carrying parasites, even if they aren't sick. Also,
as we eat sitting on the ground, people put their plates on the ground, and
they get dirty. Especially underneath!
There is a very strong emphasis on protecting the environment, and every
rainbow gathering cleans up the site and leaves it "as we found it" or
better. We keep a strict policy of NO SOAP IN THE WATER, even "ecologic"
soaps, if one must use soaps for washing, take a bucket of water at least 100
feet away from the water source and wash there. You can use ASH from the fire
to wash plates and utensils, and even your own body if you rinse well
afterwards.
Likewise, rainbow is an ALCOHOL-FREE and DRUG-FREE event, and the main kitchen
is vegetarian. The point of being drug free can extend quite far in some
circles, including tobacco, caffeine, and sugar. Best to check first when
sitting with new friends. Keep in mind on the drug issue that this is
Thailand, a country that carries STRICT penalties for drug use, and you will
land in jail for a very long time and have to pay a lot of money if caught.
not only that, you very likely will cause the authorities to make all kinds of
problems for the rest of the gathering too.
(on that note, the last World Rainbow Gathering was in Turkey, another country
with very strict anti-drug and anti-nudity laws. In that gathering we were
very respectful of the local customs, and had a beautiful gathering WITHOUT
drugs and nudity)
Also, electronic devices are preferred to be left behind, a lot of people take
offence at any form of cameras or recording (its an issue to deal with every
time; the "official" line is NO ELECTRONIC DEVICES including cameras and
flashlights) but, as the future rolls out before us, cameras and flashlights
(and even cell phones, Oh MY!) are becoming more common. The best is just not
to bring out your camera, but if you must, keep it low-key and ASK everyone
present before hand! be respectful.
Everyone carries out their own trash. there is no trash collection for
personal trash, so pack out what you pack in! this includes CIGARETTE BUTTS!
they do NOT belong on the ground!! Also, some folk are sensitive about their
fires, and insist that only clean wood be burnt in them. best to ask before
you put anything in the fire, even paper or ciggy butts, even your feet!
A side note of the no electronic stuff is that it extends to music. there are
no stages or performers in rainbow (though a talent show of sorts is often
organised), and all the music is accoustic, played together and shared.
Generally, around the central fire in the evening musicians come and play and
drum while people dance. its very organic and free-from.
Um, this went on really long, sorry about that, anyway, if you have any more
questions, just ask!
Ela Majikfaerie
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