A newbie prepares for AfrikaBurn 2012

Posted by Sarah Duff on 19 April 2012

I have decided, at the last minute, to attend my first AfrikaBurn event this weekend.

If you don’t know what AfrikaBurn is, here’s the event’s mission statement: ‘AfrikaBurn is a participant-created movement, an experiment in inclusive community building, decommodification, creativity, self-reliance and radical self-expression. It is a chance to invent the world anew.’ Not your typical festival, then.

Inspired by the famous Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert that attracts around 50 000 people, AfrikaBurn takes place in the Karoo desert, with nothing much around. A village of tents (Tankwa Town) springs up around art installations and sculptures for the six-day event.

The whole deal is that you don’t go to AfrikaBurn to party and be entertained – you go to participate in a community art movement. There’s no money exchanged (you have to take literally everything you need, from water and food to rubbish bags and coffee), and people offer things for free, like yoga lessons (I’m packing my mat for sunrise sessions). It sounds like a lot of hippy love to me, and I’m liking it.

In an effort to prepare myself for what is apparently quite an intense experience, I’m reading FAQs on the AfrikaBurn site, and perusing the 10-page survival manual, which is rather extensive.

It’s hard to really know what to expect – the road to the festival ‘eats tyres for breakfast’ (feeling a little anxious about my trusty Clio), you have to ask everyone for permission to take their photograph because a lot of them are going to be naked (haven’t been to a nudist beach since I was 10 so that’s going to be exciting), there are lists of instructions on what is and isn’t appropriate to burn, and guidelines for setting up a theme camp (such as a massage centre or bakery – rather like the sound of both of those).

Luckily I’m joining a big crew of experienced ‘burners’ who are totally organised with a Google spreadsheet, dress-up box, huge decorated tent, tea shrine and planned daily menu (looking forward to the dhal with pickles and risotto).

I’m ready to have my mind blown.

 

Check out this video of last year’s AfrikaBurn (this made me really excited)

 

Do any AfrikaBurn veterans have good advice for a newbie?

What were your favourite bits of AfrikaBurn 2011?

For more on AfrikaBurn go to www.afrikaburn.com.

Photo by ZA Photos

 

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