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The
Third World Rainbow Gathering - Brazil March new moon (3rd) - April new moon (2nd) |
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By
Brian S A gathering definitely is not a rave or party, it's not a festival or a show, it's more like a meeting of native tribes or a gathering of gypsies... There are no leaders at gatherings, nobody will be telling you what to do. It is up to each person to decide how they are going to contribute, in this way we will self-organize and everything that needs to be done will get done in organic way.
Anyone who has the intention to help is welcome to turn up at this time. Gatherings vary greatly in duration, anywhere from a few days for a regional to several weeks for an international. During this time, if all goes well, Magic happens... our days and nights will be spent making music, preparing and eating yummy food, creating art, having circles and listening to each other, giving and receiving workshops on massage, yoga, art, music, cooking, meditation and much more, making love, caring for the plants and animals around us, and perhaps most importantly forming connections and relationships that will last for years... It works through self-organization and mutual trust. This means that everybody does what they are best at, what they most enjoy doing and between all of us we work it out... We
work it out by each of us contributing something each day, this
could mean that one day we help make beans and rice, or serve food,
or clean the pots and pans... perhaps the next day we teach a Yoga
class or One way to get involved is to go to the main circle each day, this is where we can voice any questions or comments we may have and also get updates about important gathering info. It's also important for each of us to be responsible for our own trash and our own dishes, it's much easier for each person to wash one dish than for one person to wash hundreds... To me the times before and after the "actual" gathering are really the essence of a gathering. Before the gathering will be the setup process described above, and after the gathering will be the extremely important clean and re-naturalization process. This is when the people who are at the gathering are there because they are committed to co-creating the gathering experience to share with everybody. Anyone who is interested in not just coming to party or scope out the scene is invited to participate in the set-up and clean-up stages. It's
all about communal living, this means that we think first about
the group then about ourselves, if you go to a gathering with a
selfish attitude your going to have a hard time. Come with a spirit
of community and sharing and you will have a blast! |
The
work begins as soon consensus is reached on the site for the gathering.
Once this has happened people will begin to inhabit the site and
start the hard work of creating the infrastructure needed to make
the gathering a success. This includes creating trails, digging
latrines, setting up kitchens etc.
teach
some drum rhythms or songs, each of us has a great deal to offer
and gatherings are a great place to offer them.