Afrika Burns is
nothing short of a life affirming experience. It will press your buttons,
stretch your imagination, test your survival skills, shift your perspective,
work your muscles, boggle your brain, catalyze your creativity and expand your
heart. And it isn’t confined to the desert, it sneaks out and hitches a ride
back to civilization in your clothes and hair and mind. It sticks to you like
dust, like revolution, like memories so good they make the bad memories run and
hide! But what is it about this event that reconstitutes the way that some of
us see the world?
Is it the humbling
empowering baring of the human spirit in every art piece you come across, the rejuvenating
wind through your hair as you cycle around the Playa with your buddies on your way
to a tea and cake rendezvous, is it the self-governance, radical self-reliance, extreme
isolation, the music that coaxes every last step out of your feet, the presence of a
thus far mostly conscientious society where you can truly allow your three year
old child to get on his bike and ride? It may be the golden light of Lithium
Sunsets over the far distant mountains, or just the opportunity to watch them
without having to sit in traffic, answer the phone, feed the kids before your story comes on.
Whatever the reason may be, this pop-up mirage of a town in the middle of the
Tankwa Karoo casts an embarrassingly large shadow over what we see as the
developed world. It’s more than just a great party; it’s possibly an ethos to
base our future on!
One concept which
shines brighter than the others for me is the idea of a Gifting Economy. The first year I went I really didn’t get it! When
I gave a baker some over-ripe bananas to make banana bread I made sure
that I was there when the bread come out of the oven! So insecure was I about the
fairness of our transaction! He just smiled. I was not conditioned to truly
believe that if everybody gives, then no
body needs. It really is a very simple concept, but it required trust in my
fellow human beings that I seemed to not have. I have it now, not everything
you expend time and effort on must have a monitory value. It is a place where
money is left at the gate, you give into the pool of human need and you receive
equally. This is a very ideological notion and possibly may work so well
because Afrika Burns only lasts for a week, but, as I’ve said, it’s reaches
stretch further than those seven days, it reaches into our relationships with
those we go home to, and it’s infectious! It’s neighbourly and once you try it
out, it’s a very natural way to go about things!
Every year I hear the
same thing when I get back from Tankwa
Town
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