LittleWoo.org

Original Post 2009.  Most recent update: August 2012

Helpful Links:
Even if you’ve been to Burning Man before, a review of each year’s guide and resource reminders are helpful to both seasoned burners and newbies!

Survival Guide
Radial Self-Reliance: What To Pack
More Packing tips
About the Elements
Recommended Reading
First Timer’s Guide
the Burning Man forum (Q&A and info)
Driving to Burning Man: Directions
Different Driving Route Options

Before You Leave Town: 7 Important Items
If you are pressed for time, you can at least ensure you have these key items! (Extra toiletries, food and water can be easily acquired on the drive down if needed) Read more

Original Post 2009.  Most recent update: August 2012

Simple Food Suggestions for Burning Man
I usually get some special items from Vancouver and finish most of my grocery shopping in the US. Since you can’t take meat or veggies over the border anyway, you might as well enjoy the decent food prices south of the border and enjoy the grocery store pit stops on the long drive down.

While some might enjoy cooking up pretty fancy meals on the playa, I prefer to keep it simple as I don’t want to spend much time cooking and cleaning when I’m there. Below are my food tips for easy food options on the playa…

Note: I mention Trader Joe’s for specific items as it is a favorite stop for Burners to stock up on food, water etc. (e.g. You will usually bump into countless Burners at the Trader Joe’s in Bend, Oregon)

1) Foil bagged curries (no refrigeration required and pre-cooked).
- There are many brands to choose from and they all seem similar in quality.
- e.g Tasty Bite and Ashoka are good brands (price ranges $3 to $4 per box) Read more

Original Post 2009.  Most recent update: August 2012

Costuming Philosophy
The costume element of this festival is well-known and many people really enjoy participating in this form of playful self-expression.  Of course, not every Burner has the same level of interest in costume creation so if it’s not your cup of tea, then simple is best.  In fact, if you don’t care for costuming, you don’t even have to participate this way.  Some people will not be in costumes yet they contribute in ways we cannot discern.  We must never judge the book by its cover…

1) Follow your fetishes and tickle your own aesthetic:  If you are excited to express through some costuming, then consider what tickles your fancy currently.  Think about themes you enjoy, archetypes that mean something to you and even favorite physical aspects in texture and color to determine your costume repertoire.  Choose something that really appeals to your personal aesthetic, not because it’s a typical “Burning Man” style or trendy.

e.g. I was wearing fun fur jackets, tutus and costumes in 2002 purely for my own enjoyment and my love of dressing up led me to explore Burlesque that year.  I didn’t see people wearing these items at that time and it would be many years before I knew about Burning Man “style”. Read more

Original Post 2011.  Most recent update: August 2012

Health and Wellness on the Playa:
These are some of the tips I shared (in the Health and Wellness workshop) at the Burner School Picnic at Trout Lake Park in July 2011.

1) Getting sufficient sleep at Burning Man  (It is possible!)
My basic sleep schedule on Mon-Tues-Wedn at the event:
- Go to bed around 1am and get up around 8am.
- It’s a chance to enjoy the early morning activities at the Burn because later in the week, i will turn to my nighttime schedule to play under the stars!

My basic sleep schedule from Thurs-Sunday:
- Sleep right after dinner when it’s cooler (approx 9pm-1am = 4 hours)
- Stay up for the nighttime fun (1am-7am)
- Enjoy the gorgeous sunrise, one of my favorite times in the desert (6am-7am)
- Sleep again in the cooler morning hours (7am-10am = 3 hours)

Though I don’t keep to this schedule on a rigid basis, it’s a helpful guideline that allows me to remain in good health during the week at Burning Man and even return home rested!

Tips: Keep an alarm clock near your bed and use it to wake up at 1am, otherwise you may sleep through the night.  Get a quiet battery-powered fan that you can use between 7am-10am – really keeps it cooler in your vehicle or tent. The one my partner and I found is about 10 inches high and quiet. Read more

This is the process I went through in Bangkok, in case this information may help you one day!  Of course, the process will vary depending on which country your passport is lost/stolen.

First Steps:

1.  If any credit cards are missing, report immediately to your credit card company.

2.  Whether your passport is lost or stolen, file a police report.
- In Bangkok, I was directed to the Tourist Police Office
- This is very important for the Embassy’s paperwork and for potential insurance coverage you may have (private travel insurance or credit card travel insurance)

3. Contact family members or friends so that you have some help from back home.  (They may have to wire you money or do an errand on your behalf)

Read more

Imagine having a garden of Eden in every neighbourhood where communities would learn to sow seeds together, grow together, harvest together and eat together?  Free plucking instead of free parking?   City gardens and parks containing mainly edible or medicinal plants, vegetables and fruit trees?

Well, these visions are not mere fantasy.  Though my own green thumb is green from lack of gardening experience, I have been tuning into the growing trend of communal gardens sprouting up in the urban jungle.  This is not a new concept for ancient civilizations have long explored the agricultural capacity of city centres from Egypt to Machu Picchu.  Good ideas age well and these stories of communities co-creating free food gardens remind us of old ways of’ ‘being and doing’ that revive our connection to each other and invoke appreciation for Nature’s abundance.

Here is the latest free garden project  that I heard about (from my friend Mimi):  http://www.takepart.com/article/2012/02/21/its-not-fairytale-seattle-build-nations-first-food-forest

About the Shared Gardens* in Oregon:  http://www.treehugger.com/green-food/sharing-gardens-offer-free-food-to-all-who-need-it-video.html

*A great quote from the featured video:  People often say “you must be such good people to do this”. We seem to have forgotten that we are all good people.

Inspiration to grow food no matter how small your space – this awesome article covers balcony gardening to guerilla gardening!   http://earthfirst.com/urban-gardening-you-can-grow-food-no-matter-where-you-live/

Five eye-opening facts from this article:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_agriculture

1)  50% of the world’s population lives in cities.

2)  800 million people are involved in urban agriculture world-wide and contribute to feeding urban residents.

3)  Low income urban dwellers spend between 40% and 60% of their incme on food each year.

4)  By 2015 about 26 cities in the world are expected to have a population of 10 million or more. To feed a city of this size at least 6,000 tonnes (6,600 tons) of food must be imported each day.

5)  250 million hungry people in the world live in cities.

My friend Sajini at Sreedhari Ayurvedic Retreat Centre agreed to teach me how to wrap a saree. I had actually learned many years ago from some ladies at a saree shop in Vancouver but like language, without practice, one forgets…

What amazes me is how the women of India manage to wear it so gracefully while doing such a wide variety of tasks! I’ve seen women wearing sarees while riding motorbikes, doing laundry in the river, swimming, cooking over a fire, doing construction work… I can barely sit in one – much less walk! Yet everywhere in India, the brightly colored saree continues to adorn women in both rural and urban landscapes.

Here are a few Vancouver-based resources in the field of Permaculture and Herbalism.

1) I met the aptly-named Garliq one year when he participated in my Healing Garden project.  Recently, a friend took his herbal program and simply raved about it.  It’s a wonderful hands-on opportunity to learn plant wisdom and plant medicine…

About The Herbal Integration Course
This course is designed to help beginner and intermediate herb students develop an intimate and personal relationship with 8 medicine plants.  These 8 plants create a tremendously diverse tool kit and are the backbone of a home apothecary.  Students will learn to treat a variety of common ailments from injuries to colds & flus to rashes & bug bites and so much more.  This 8 month course runs from March – October.  Each month will be themed to explore a specific plant medicine and will include 1 Field Class and 1 Lab.
1 Weekend Intensive per month + the occasional homework. Deadline to apply:  March 1, 2012  (only room for 12 students)  Details at:  http://www.urbanherbschool.ca/herbal-integration-course

2) Another amazing person to mention is Delvin Solkinson, a devoted practitioner and teacher of Permaculture on the Sunshine Coast.  I’ve posted his courses on my newsletter and appreciate the important knowledge he is sharing.  He offers Permaculture Design Certification and an Advanced Permaculture Diploma Program.

Some info about the Advanced Dipolma program:
This is the first course of its kind in the world, a seasonal course where we meet up for a full day every 3 months over 8 seasons. This advanced course in learning will offer support, inspiration and content for you to complete a two year Permaculture Diploma through one of the Permaculture Institutes. Open to Greater Vancouver, Sunshine Coast and Gulf Island residents.  Visit http://www.gaiacraft.com/

Cost : $555 in advance or soonish ($655 with extended payment plan)
Register now to secure your space and join our learning ring.  maximum class size : 13
March 2011 – June 2013
Full day meetings in March, June, September and December