need a basic instruction of build a camp for first timer

iansupertramp · Post by **iansupertramp** » Wed Mar 30, 2016 10:10 am

Hi there,

I'm new to BM and i'll with a whole bunch of people who also new to burning man, we are thinking of build a camp, and they leave this job to me(exciting but a lot of pressure) for build a camp, though everyone will participate in this, but none of us have any experiences on playa before. i did some research it seems a lot lot of logistics issues should take care of!

we are a 50 persons group, it's quite big i think? and there just so many articles and information online about a lot of different part of life on playa, which are great but kinda distracting. I wonder if there some articles about some basic routines of build and running a camp? i mean mostly basic needs on playa life, like how to manage showers, food, storages etc... about preparation what first what later, also execution on build up camp there, how to arrange a reasonable and efficient routines of camp life?

If you have experiences on camp, please share with me, can just send me some links that good for us have an overview, like a rundown, then i can dig into details.

Many appreciate!

tamarakay · Post by **tamarakay** » Wed Mar 30, 2016 11:14 am

Here you go!
viewforum.php?f=275

Ratty · Post by **Ratty** » Wed Mar 30, 2016 11:24 am

Welcome to ePlaya. Delegate authority. 50 people doing research on one item each. You can search this site by using google. eplaya and the subject you want to look up. (The search feature here isn't as good.) Or, go back to the home page for eplaya and click on what ever you are interested in. Luckily you have 5 or 6 months. Then come back and let us answer specific questions. This is a great source of information. Both for research and for picking the brains of many burners. Good luck with such a big project.

mudpuppy000 · Post by **mudpuppy000** » Wed Mar 30, 2016 11:26 am

Everyone brings their own stuff, and takes care of their own needs. No communal anything except maybe a shade structure. Showers/group meals/group trash would be a nightmare if you have 50 newbies.

Post by **Elderberry** » Wed Mar 30, 2016 11:37 am

mudpuppy000 wrote:Everyone brings their own stuff, and takes care of their own needs. No communal anything except maybe a shade structure. Showers/group meals/group trash would be a nightmare if you have 50 newbies.

I would definitely agree that this is the way to go. 50 newbies plus the organizer appears to be a newbie himself. I can't even imagine trying to build a community camp with everything being shared.

Post by **Elderberry** » Wed Mar 30, 2016 11:39 am

tamarakay wrote:Here you go!
viewforum.php?f=275

Captain Goddammit · Post by **Captain Goddammit** » Wed Mar 30, 2016 11:51 am

mudpuppy000 wrote:Everyone brings their own stuff, and takes care of their own needs. No communal anything except maybe a shade structure. Showers/group meals/group trash would be a nightmare if you have 50 newbies.

This is right. To begin with, no one should go to burning man who can't take care of themselves. Be careful not to make it so you have 50 people who are entirely dependent on a camp taking care of them.
Sharing is good, but make sure it doesn't go too far.
You should not be the only person out of 50 who knows what to do out there.

Generally, the very first thing to do on the playa is get your shade up.

BBadger · Post by **BBadger** » Wed Mar 30, 2016 4:01 pm

The minimal things you should be doing as camp organizer are:

Ensuring that everyone reads the guides and knows to carry their own weight (water, food, shelter, SHADE).
Creating a camp floor-plan so everyone knows where everything goes.
Assigning communal tasks (if any). You'll probably at least want to ensure that everyone helps clean up the camp (LNT) before you all leave.

Everything else can be found on the Internet.

LowePro · Post by **LowePro** » Wed Mar 30, 2016 4:52 pm

Run away from this group of 50 immediately! Kind of joking, but seriously that is way too big for a bunch of newbies, especially if you are the only one who is taking any responsibility. Get some other people to step up or ditch them.

Meat Hunter · Post by **Meat Hunter** » Wed Mar 30, 2016 5:38 pm

A group of fifty virgins would be quite nice; thank you.

In my opinion, a group of fifty newbie's and with you also being a newbie who is doing all the work and planning is a recipe for a perfect "F"ing disaster -- especially for you.

As asr9754 said above; Run like hell, as fast as you can, set-up your own simple solo camp and you will have a fine ol' time with so many great stories to tell.....

GreyCoyote · Post by **GreyCoyote** » Wed Mar 30, 2016 6:00 pm

FIFTY noobs? In one camp? You're nuts. Seriously.

I know of a few dozen camps who allow only a small percentage of new burners. That number is generally under 10 percent, and for a very compelling reason: the playa is trying to break you. ALL. THE. TIME.

Break the group up. Better to have ten camps of five each than one big camp. Sure, you can camp next to each other, but make sure each camp is autonomous and independent from the others. Dont commit to big projects. Just get there, make a good showing, dont be a drag on the goodwill of the city. Help your neighbors, and then call it good. Next year you can do a SuperCamp.

If you have never been, you wont understand the extreme conditions that are possible. All you know is the Burn as taught by YouTube. And that is a BIG mistake.

Everest has Sherpas. Burningman has vets. Seeing as you have neither, I think its time to adjust your plans a bit to avoid disaster.

YMMV.

some seeing eye · Post by **some seeing eye** » Wed Mar 30, 2016 6:36 pm

It is difficult to understand the chaos, temptation, potential irresponsibility, and shit-happens nature of the event without having been through it. Personally I would disperse your people to camps with a majority of experienced burners. But, hey, this can be an experiment!

I would strongly strongly suggest that all 50 of you really need to bond to one another and develop trust by in-person meetings, potlucks and sharing events a few times a month starting now and leading up to the event. That will allow you to find the right responsibilities for each individual.

Those relationships and trust are essential when shit goes down - a big storm blows down your camp, a rainstorm, setup, teardown, someone is injured, someone didn't arrive with the essential thing, someone is having a psychological situation, cleaning up the kitchen and common areas, thievery from your camp, managing your grey water, ride left without you, someone has to be evacuated with a health emergency. People in your camp are going to be altered, exhausted, irritated; but also are blissed, compassionate, and amazed. People will wander off and join another camp without telling you and you have to decide who is leaving when with whom in that case. Most of us have seen it all and more.

You can also start doing some weekend campouts with your group in advance of the event.

People who aren't committed to each other disappear when they are most needed.

Keep up your questions here, there is quite a bit written about this on ePlaya and nowhere else.

Popeye · Post by **Popeye** » Wed Mar 30, 2016 8:10 pm

Curious, how did you you get 50 tickets?
I mean, it sounds like 50 people got together, decided to go and then bought tickets.

Meat Hunter · Post by **Meat Hunter** » Wed Mar 30, 2016 8:34 pm

Ulissse,

Tickets for one (1) group of fifty (50) newbies.... and no follow up comments.....

I am thinking BS -- Troll....?

Popeye · Post by **Popeye** » Wed Mar 30, 2016 10:53 pm

Meathunter:
The OP started in January with 16 people which this seems to be a reasonable followup and why would you troll about this. BUT, how the hell do you get 50 tickets?

Meat Hunter · Post by **Meat Hunter** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 9:17 am

Ulisse,

I am with you... How does a newbie group of 50 get all 50 tickets in the General Sale without someone missing out?

Unless -- all the 50 tickets were Pre-Sale.......? That would account for the high success rate.

Oh well. It ain't our wife and it ain't our firewood. Each of us Burns in our own fashion and more power to them.

Post by **trilobyte** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 9:56 am

You do tons of research, just like everybody else.

Generally speaking, organizing even a small camp can be really difficult - especially if it's your first year. Larger camps become infinitely more complicated... even if you've got plenty of experience at Burning Man. Many smaller groups work on planning their camp the minute they get back - it's not too late to start planning now, but you definitely have your work cut out for you.

Also, I've got to say, a group of 50 people all new to the event sounds incredibly unusual... like it may be less a group of friends and family coming together, and more like a person organizing some kind of for-profit enterprise. If that's not you, then I do apologize (and invite you to post in the Greeter's Station) and you should skip the rest of this paragraph. You should be aware of Burning Man's position on turnkey camping, and know that "Packaging, advertising and selling the Burning Man experience is absolutely not okay. A camp that is truly commercial in nature, meaning that it seeks to reap financial gain, publicly advertises for customers and does not contribute to the greater community, is not in line with Burning Man’s principles." Further, any business whose operations take place on federal land are required by the Bureau of Land Management to obtain what is called a special recreational permit. Failure to do so can result in hefty fines, as well as immediate removal from the event.

Where to start... head to the main site and look at the Survival Guide and First Timer's Guide. As a camp leader, you should also make sure everyone in your camp reads both of those documents as well. From there, continue to dig through the plentiful information on the main site (there are lots of resources for planning a camp), and read through the different sections of this message board. ePlaya is a living knowledgebase of the event, there are threads covering most kinds of projects and challenges, and if your research doesn't turn up an answer for something you have a question on, post a thread in the appropriate section and ask it. We've all been new to the event at least once, and members of the community typically weigh in with their answers and thoughts and opinions and experiences. Good luck!

sparr · Post by **sparr** » Mon Apr 04, 2016 1:36 pm

Ratty wrote:Delegate authority. 50 people doing research on one item each.

Two items per person, two people per item, no two pairs the same. Redundancy is your friend, when people flake or die or otherwise drop out.

graidawg · Post by **graidawg** » Tue Apr 05, 2016 5:43 pm

sparr wrote:
Ratty wrote:Delegate authority. 50 people doing research on one item each.
Two items per person, two people per item, no two pairs the same. Redundancy is your friend, when people flake or die or otherwise drop out.

actually a good point.

Jovankat · Post by **Jovankat** » Fri Apr 08, 2016 6:21 pm

The Burning Man Theme Camp Organizers group is super useful. Just read and absorb as much as you can and wait til you have more specific questions though because I doubt anyone has the time to explain how the entire process of starting a camp works to a complete newb. More than likely you'll just be told it's a terrible idea and delegation is key. If you're determined to do it though that group is the bet resource.

Captain Goddammit · Post by **Captain Goddammit** » Fri Apr 08, 2016 7:40 pm

The guy is trying to run a fucking "Burning Man Experience" plug & play.
He's not gonna do any of the good suggestions presented here.

Jackass · Post by **Jackass** » Sat Apr 09, 2016 4:39 am

No Plug N Play Pay Camps!
They're not welcomed at the event.

Don't do it.

[edited by moderator]

need a basic instruction of build a camp for first timer

need a basic instruction of build a camp for first timer

Re: need a basic instruction of build a camp for first timer

Re: need a basic instruction of build a camp for first timer

Re: need a basic instruction of build a camp for first timer

Re: need a basic instruction of build a camp for first timer

Re: need a basic instruction of build a camp for first timer

Re: need a basic instruction of build a camp for first timer

Re: need a basic instruction of build a camp for first timer

Re: need a basic instruction of build a camp for first timer

Re: need a basic instruction of build a camp for first timer

Re: need a basic instruction of build a camp for first timer

Re: need a basic instruction of build a camp for first timer

Re: need a basic instruction of build a camp for first timer

Re: need a basic instruction of build a camp for first timer

Re: need a basic instruction of build a camp for first timer

Re: need a basic instruction of build a camp for first timer

Re: need a basic instruction of build a camp for first timer

Re: need a basic instruction of build a camp for first timer

Re: need a basic instruction of build a camp for first timer

Re: need a basic instruction of build a camp for first timer

Re: need a basic instruction of build a camp for first timer

Re: need a basic instruction of build a camp for first timer