Raw food on the Playa

LaurenAlixandra · Post by **LaurenAlixandra** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 1:53 pm

DISCLAIMER: This is not intended to be selling or bartering, but a very beautiful opportunity for someone with unique dietary choices. If this is not you, or you will be easily offended, please disregard.

Hello beautiful burners!

So, last year I enjoyed my 6th burning man. I went out there with my parents and some other dear friends. I have had a decreasing interest in substance use over the last few years, and spent last year sober and happy!

So, what did I do with all my time you might wonder?

I became my camps private raw food chef. I currently work for an amazing L.A. based raw food company, named The Bliss Bar (www.theblissbar.org). We serve people delicious food made with love and bliss.

Anyway, I decided that I wanted my camp to eat the best food ever, and embarked on an 80-hour+ work week before the event preparing loads of yummy raw, vegan and organic foods, including burgers, pizza, cinnamon rolls and mango toast. I spent the week of burning man primarily at my camp, making us amazing food everyday.

It was a year of vitality, health and radiance.

However, when contemplating to go this year, it felt silly to spend about $1000 and work non-stop. So, as a result, I put a pause on my burning man plans.

But then I realized that there is a large community of raw foodist out there, and this type of service is not to be underestimated. People who eat lots of raw food would love to have their own personal raw food chef at burning man.

So, I am offering my services. You pay for me to go to burning man, pay for the food and the ticket, and I will prepared a minimum of two gourmet raw food meals per day, plus superfood smoothies, raw chocolate treats and sun brewed teas.

Let me know if this is a service that would bless your life!

-Sat Kirtan Kaur
818-531-8185

Token · Post by **Token** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:13 pm

Didn't you pioneer the "Radical Panhandling" technique back in 2005?

Are you a movie star yet?

I like this new con angle you got going. Much better than the thieves and robbers sad story.

Good luck.

H.G.Crosby · Post by **H.G.Crosby** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:18 pm

dougly, you of all people should know there is some honor amongst thieves.

ba dum dum.

SilverOrange · Post by **SilverOrange** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 4:07 pm

LaurenAlixandra wrote:DISCLAIMER: This is not intended to be selling or bartering...You pay for me to go to burning man, pay for the food and the ticket, and I will prepared a minimum of two gourmet raw food meals per day, plus superfood smoothies, raw chocolate treats and sun brewed teas.

lilsrra · Post by **lilsrra** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 4:14 pm

LaurenAlixandra wrote:DISCLAIMER: This is not intended to be selling or bartering...

...So, I am offering my services. You pay for me to go to burning man, pay for the food and the ticket, and I will prepared a minimum of two gourmet raw food meals per day, plus superfood smoothies, raw chocolate treats and sun brewed teas.

Hmm...unless by payment you mean a hug and my gratitude, it sounds like selling to me. Usually "offering" your services in exchange for money is...ding ding ding, you got it...selling.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 4:19 pm

Did you buy a ticket or did you barter for it?
Commerce is already here.
Don't pretend differently.
Now, is it commodification?

Boijoy · Post by **Boijoy** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 4:41 pm

Your going to have to post a picture of yourself before we can decide.

LaurenAlixandra · Post by **LaurenAlixandra** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 10:33 pm

Yes, I did pioneer radical panhandling back in the day! Costumes and panhandling, a wild experience!

I sort of expected to get a few words, so maybe you have a suggestion about where would be an appropriate place for such an offer. There are people that are strictly raw food vegans, I know, because I have been one of them, and some of these people are overwhelmed with the task of eating on the playa. Especially people that are new to burning man.

I also know that there are people that get into burning man for free because they work the event full time. I actually did that in 2002 as the second lead chef at the Heebeegeebee Healers (and worked a lot and had loads of fun!). SO, in some cases, people (like DPW) get into the event for free.

So, again, if you do not need a raw food chef, that's cool. But someone does and if they want the service, I am delighted manifest that reality.

Maybe this link will work if you want to see photos of me!

http://www.facebook.com/SatKirtanKaurKh ... ef=profile

bless you!
sat kirtan

Token · Post by **Token** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 10:56 pm

OMG, instead of the movie star dream you joined a cult!

BTW, BRC already has a raw food vegan krishna franchise.

http://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic.php?t=29727

Good Luck.

LaurenAlixandra · Post by **LaurenAlixandra** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 11:01 pm

I didn't understand what you meant when you said thieves and robbers sad story! I really was robbed right before burning man a couple years ago. I know, it was a sad story, but true. Most of of musical instruments were located because we had serial numbers and they eventually surfaced at pawn shops.

Oh, that was the year that I asked for donations because I had spent all my money both helping orphans in Thailand and doing tsunami relief work. yep, another true story. Ha! I know they seem far fetched, but my life is an adventure.

bless you!

LaurenAlixandra · Post by **LaurenAlixandra** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 11:03 pm

Token, do you really feel elevated when you make fun of people? Is this creating the type of world that you want to live in?

Actually, two years ago, my chef teachers (some of them are in the photos) were the raw food chefs at Entheon. They paved the way for the raw food at that camp!

love sat kirtan

Token · Post by **Token** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 12:23 am

Sensei · Post by **Sensei** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 12:47 am

Hey Lauren-A, don't listen to these negative nellies! Click here to learn about signing up with FirstCamp Organic CafÃ©. It sounds perfect for you!

Mekishiko · Post by **Mekishiko** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 12:49 am

If anyone clicks your Profile and reads year after year of ridiculous sob story one theme becomes very clear:

Your lack of self reliance and prioritization seems to be hereditary.

Who the Eff pays for a $4,000 Guitar with recycled cans? prioritize.

:roll:

SilverOrange · Post by **SilverOrange** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 5:39 am

LaurenAlixandra wrote:However, when contemplating to go this year, it felt silly to spend about $1000 and work non-stop.

Mmm...I'm glad not everyone shares your outlook or burning man would be a damn boring place to be.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:20 am

Mekishiko wrote:If anyone clicks your Profile and reads year after year of ridiculous sob story one theme becomes very clear:

Your lack of self reliance and prioritization seems to be hereditary.

Who the Eff pays for a $4,000 Guitar with recycled cans? prioritize.

Thanks for doing the research.

LaurenAlixandra · Post by **LaurenAlixandra** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 9:31 am

It is really bold to say that somehow I am not practicing self reliance because one of the six years that I went to burning man (the year I spent months volunteering in an orphanage in Thailand and doing Tsunami relief work in India and also the year my home was robbed) I reached out to my community for support. I do not have an extensive track record like you imply, I had one hard year of deep selfless service and asked for community support. Every other year, I have payed my own way and contributed to theme camps, including Heebeegeebee Healers and Astral Headwash. I have never been to burning man without an ample amount of food, water, shelter and abundance to share with my neighbors. I dare to you ask Bobalicious at Astral Headwash just how abundant the raw food kids (or say Lauren) were, how much we shared all of our yummy treats and the open hearts they received from us.

$1000 and working full time . . . great point here. If someone didn't do it, it would be boring. People do it all the time.

Also, I would like to point out that people sell things all the time. People make fabulous playa clothes and coats and sell them pre-event, people make awesome lighting gadgets for bikes and sell them, people charge people to transport gear to the playa, people charge for all sorts of services.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 10:19 am

But they don't sell them here. The only thing permitted to be sold in this forum is tickets.

Maybe you could do this word of mouth through your wonderful friends.

lilsrra · Post by **lilsrra** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 10:44 am

1) Starting off by saying, "This is not intended to be selling or bartering" and then ending with a sales pitch hurts your credibility just a bit.

2) It's one thing to charge someone for the food, but why would you require them to pay for your TICKET as well?

3) 4th Principle of Burning Man: "Burning Man encourages the individual to discover, exercise and rely on his or her inner resources."

You are not only taking away the need for someone else to follow the principle of radical self-reliance by removing their reliance on their own ability to feed themselves, you're also taking away your need for radical self-reliance by requiring that person to pay for your entrance into the event. Self-reliance shouldn't be a "goal" or done 83% of the time. It should be the standard practice no matter how long you've been attending, 100% of the time or as much as possible.

4) The year you asked for a ticket before due to those extraordinary circumstances is one thing. I believe that your sacrifices in that situation warranted a little extra support and justified a helping hand to get you home again.

However, in this situation you're blatantly requiring someone to pay for your entrance, while simultaneously giving someone the opportunity to disregard their own self-reliance. If you do not want to spend $1000+ and work non-stop...then don't. Buy your ticket and the required supplies and make this burn the year that you relax more and participate in other ways other than as the cook.

---

Yes, people charge for services all the time, as you said for clothes, lights, transportation, etc. Does that make it right? No. I believe all those things are unnecessary (save for transportation, depending on their circumstances). If someone wants lighting for their camp or bike, they should make it themselves. That's what I'm planning on doing next year with my custom-built dome. I'm going to get the parts, program the chip, and have all the lighting powered by my solar panel setup. If they want fabulous playa clothes, they should make it themselves. Buy the material, sew it together, and use your own skills to create a one-of-a-kind piece of clothing that you'll probably enjoy more than an off-the-shelf playa coat or whatever. A lot of people do that.

You shouldn't justify selling your services just because other people do it too. That's just my opinion.

Post by **AntiM** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 1:17 pm

The only reason I didn't shut this down as commerce is I wanted to see the community response. Interesting.

As Fishy pointed out, things are bought and sold all the time pre-playa, BUT NOT HERE. There is no buying or selling on the eplaya.

The biggest exception is the shipping containers from various places in the ciuntry. That's transportation, my favorite grey area.

Please do continue, this is educational.

Post by **mdmf007** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 3:05 pm

Isnt Raw food just a big salad?

ill make all the salads you can eat for the week - only 500.00 Made from free ranged lettuce, tomatoes that were talked to nicely and listen to enya 24/7

and the carrots were grown listening to John Tesh.

I take paypal and cash is good too.

LostinReno · Post by **LostinReno** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 3:30 pm

Is that bacon I smell????

LaurenAlixandra · Post by **LaurenAlixandra** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 6:08 pm

mdmf007-

throw in a little imogen heap and you might have yourself a deal!

But will you you chant for some bacon too, for maybe an extra $50? You gotta chant to it for at least 11 minutes for me to consider this. And if you chant to the bacon for that long, does it become vegan at that point because it becomes so charged with light?

Post by **mdmf007** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 9:05 pm

LaurenAlixandra wrote:mdmf007-

throw in a little imogen heap and you might have yourself a deal!

But will you you chant for some bacon too, for maybe an extra $50? You gotta chant to it for at least 11 minutes for me to consider this. And if you chant to the bacon for that long, does it become vegan at that point because it becomes so charged with light?

Of course, Bacon, being a staple should always be included in your playa meal!

Post by **Elderberry** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 1:44 pm

Hell, I thought she was going to prepare sushi and steak tartar and raw hamburgers and I especially like raw chicken and pork. All great sources of protein. And salmonella, trichanosis and other various forms of parasites and mercury poisoning.

Frankly, my opinion on organic is that, other than for reasons of sustainability, it's all bull shit and not an bit healthier than non-organic, as long as you wash off the pesticides. And eating a balanced diet is way healthier too. (And I can also provide scientific stats on this.) I don't get into any of this new age hippy crap.

JK

mojo · Post by **mojo** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 12:45 pm

It's commerce - just like the people who wanted to rent trailers and RV's that they set up for you on the playa.

There are lots of camps that have camp chefs - the camps got to the point where they need and can afford a chef through their own "evolution". I know that commodification is hard to fight, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't keep trying to keep it off the playa.

I vote pull the plug AntiM.

Elorrum · Post by **Elorrum** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 7:03 pm

Baaacon chanting evening... you may meet a vegan

I don't think I'd be comfortable with this exchange because it does seem like a service and a payment for service. Wouldn't you want to be on more equal footing with your campmates, and feel the sense of giving and exchanging, sharing cooking and preparing food? Does chanting over it help?

LaurenAlixandra · Post by **LaurenAlixandra** » Tue Aug 25, 2009 2:43 pm

Well, isnt the universe funny . . .

Update for those that are interested.

The company I work for is a raw, organic vegan superfood cafe. I was working an event two weekends ago, when a guest came up to me and proclaimed "You are so wonderful, and this food is so delicious, I wish I could just bring you to burning man as my private chef!" I kid you not. Those were actually her words.

Of course I accepted. But the interesting thing is, I have been paying for many things myself, and doing many extra things that were not in our "agreement" simply cause I could. I do feel like this thread helped inspire that, especially the last post. Being equals with everyone, all contributed equally, all pulling the same weight is certainly the ideal. And yet, some of us have money to contribute and others have time. They both have value. She has very little time, and has unique dietary needs, I have a humble income and a warm happy heart ready to do some hard work.

It all works out in the end.

Burning Man 2009, here I come.

Oldguy · Post by **Oldguy** » Tue Aug 25, 2009 3:57 pm

Once again, the Playa provides.

Raw food on the Playa

Raw food on the Playa

Re: Raw food on the Playa

Re: Raw food on the Playa

Radical Panhandling and "Selling"

Hey Token

Re: Raw food on the Playa

You always get what you need . . .