The Namibian Burn

2024

The Namibian Burn invites artists and participants to bring their unique skills, ideas, talents and creations, as a celebration of the human creative spirit as embodied in the ethos and spirit of our Burn Principles.

We follow the Burning Man Principles, which were crafted not as a dictate of how people should behave and act, but as a reflection of our global Burn Community's Ehos, Spirit and Culture of making the World a better place.

- Registrations open -

Submit your ART: The rules for burning art is quite easy! Let your imagination go! See further down below the basic guidelines.

Gifting is what the Burn is all about. Got an amazing idea? Let's hear it!

Want to bring your 'gifting', yoga, fire flow art or being creative?

We love the art of music!! Keep in mind, a Burn is not just another music festival.  Talk to us!

                                                             The Burn

Where When What

The NamBurn has found its home in the Namibian Kalahari Desert near Blumfelde.
There is an large grey clay pan, surrounded by Acacia tree filled red Kalahari dunes. A special place of magic!
Via Rehoboth it is the shortest good gravel road of 140 km - Total distance from Whk = 235 km
- It is here
TBA - "Burner Bar Socials" Swakopmund & Windhoek
Meet, greet and plan.

Burn Fee / Tickets: Numbers are limited for 2024

No under 18 without legal Guardian and on Request.

Special under age-12 conditions available for parents and legal guardians on request. Age 12 and younger for free.

Pure radical self-reliance: Everyone is invited to work. Everyone is invited to play. Ticket sales will be limited for 2023, to see the impact on our Burn site & environment.

It is a Burners Burn, placing our Burn Principles, Participation, the Community and concept of Ubuntu first. "I am you, you are me, and together we are the Community".

Watch this space and the Namibian Burners Facebook page for details
- Covid & Health Event Safety Protocols: Safety First.

'Small Art Burn Initiative': For your inspiration and ideas on a smaller scale. Watch this
Smaller art pieces are more environmentally friendly, safer, easier to build and more cost-effective. It opens the creation of art to every-one.

Basic GUIDELINES / Recommendations-ish

It is recommended for art pieces to be built on a standard size pallet or on a comparable size base.

Pallet Size: roughly 1.2 m x 1.2 m or smaller. It should preferably be no larger than a standard size pallet.

The pieces will have to be lifted using 2 strong poles slid through the pallet then lifted onto the burn-pit. Similar to a forklift, but using poles instead.

Art Height: Recommended up to 12 feet (3m) tall. It can be smaller though or larger.

Materials: These small art pieces are to be made out of wood or safe burnable materials that do not create sparks. Pine/Pallet wood works perfect.

Weight: since the piece & pallet will be picked up using poles, we ask that you be mindful about how heavy your piece is.

All projects must be on site by the morning of  the Burn start. The community would love to have the time to see and appreciate your art.

There is no limit to how many projects we can burn, so BRING ON your burning creations!!

Basics

Radical Self-Reliance. An blank slate bring it!
Bring your Own tent, equipment, food, water, toilet paper and drinks for 4 days. You are a Burner, be radical self-reliant. This is a real Burn!
Leave No Trace.
This is a 'leave-no-trace' event. Clean-up after yourself. Whatever you bring, you take home, including your garbage and lover.
Theme & Sound Camps.
Want to bring a theme or sound camp?.
Theme Camps:

Space, place and our support is there for you: Speak to us.

Site Lay-out: Devided in 3 separate areas.
Theme camp & camping area / Burn area / Party area.
Vehicles | Private Areas.
Arrive and park it till you leave. This is private land: Respect the private off-limit areas, wildlife and nature.
There is no electricity on site.
Bring head-lamps, solar-lamps, gas-stove. Theme camps that brings a generator, make sure it has a sound-proofing box. We can assist, speak to us.
Drinking water, Fire wood and Toilets?
Radical Self-reliance. There are 4 toilets on site and limited drinking wtaer.
Bring every-thing else you might need; food, drinks, fire-wood and toilet-paper.
No buying or selling on site. It is a Burn.
Survival Guide.
 

Your Burn Home

Imagine Dream Create Burn

 

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Where the Burner-bell Rings

Crafted from steel and moulded by the Principles calling Burners back home.

Namburn entrance

Dreams

Imagine, dream and create.

Namburn suburb - Theme camps

The Art of Fire

Combining the arts of creation, fire and music... Burning.

Camp fire and laughter

Peace and Laughter

Where kindred souls meet.

Community

You ARE the Star

You create and paint the Burn canvas.

space and place

Magic of Sound

The art of sound is the heart-beat of a Burn

Burning the'Bose magte'

The art of Burning

Civic & social responsibility...the Principles and Community first.

Burning art area / Playa

Dream, Create, Burn

For You are the Burn.

Guiding Principles

The spirit, ethos and culture.

Respect
Respect for yourself, respect for the diversity in our fellow humans, respect the gift of labour, respect for nature and this earth. Respect is not a given, it is earned through your actions.
Radical Self-reliance
Our Burn community encourages the individual to discover, exercise and rely on his or her inner, and own resources in being radical self-reliant. We volunteer our knowledge and skills in service of our global Burn community.
Decommodification
In order to preserve the spirit of selfless gifting, our community seeks to create social environments that are unmediated by commercial sponsorships, transactions, or advertising. We stand ready to protect our culture from such exploitation. We resist the substitution of consumption for participatory experience or monetizing this experience.
Civic Responsibility
The Burn community value civil society. Community members who organize events should assume responsibility for public welfare and endeavour to communicate civic responsibilities to participants. They must also assume responsibility for conducting events in accordance with local and state laws.
Immediacy
Immediate experience is, in many ways, the most important touchstone of value in our culture. We seek to overcome barriers that stand between us and a recognition of our inner selves, the reality of those around us, participation in society, and contact with a natural world exceeding human powers. No idea can substitute for this experience.
Communal Effort
Our community values creative cooperation and collaboration. We strive to produce, promote and protect social networks, public spaces, works of art, and methods of communication that support such interaction.
Radical Inclusion
Any-one may be a part of our Burn. We welcome and respect the stranger. No prerequisites exist for participation in our community. We ask only, respect our Burner ethos and Principles.
Gifting
The Burn community are devoted to acts of responsible gift giving. The value of a gift is unconditional. Gifting does not contemplate a return or an exchange for something of equal value.
Leaving No Trace
Our community respects the environment. We are committed to leaving no physical trace of our activities wherever we gather. We clean up after ourselves and endeavour, whenever possible, to leave such places in a better state than when we found them.
Radical Self-expression
Radical self-expression arises from the unique gifts of the individual. No one other than the individual or a collaborating group can determine its content. It is offered as a gift to others. In this spirit, the giver should respect the rights and liberties of the recipient.
Participation
Our community is committed to a radically participatory ethic. We believe that transformative change, whether in the individual or in society, can occur only through the medium of deeply personal participation of volunteering. We achieve through being a do-ocracy. Everyone is invited to work. Everyone is invited to play. We make the world real through actions that open the heart.
NamBurn - 'We had a dream'
The dream to bring a Burning Man-inspired gathering based on the 10 Principles to Namibia started in 2014, while some Rangers from Namibia was on a 'decompression'  walk-about after the Afrikaburn event.

A Namibian Burner Facebook page was created in 2016, combined with Burner-Bar events in Swakopmund and Windhoek to test interest.
IIt seemed that the Namibian Burn community was maybe still too small, or not ready? The dream of a Namibian Burn had to be replanned.

In 2017, a small team, consisting of Rangers from Namibia was formed to develop this dream and come up with a plan. New ideas and concepts was developed and tested at other Southern African regional Burn events. At the same time, 'Rangers Without Borders' was founded, which offered support, knowledge and insight into smaller global Burner regional events.

Burner Bar evenings was again hold in Namibia 2018 and 2019 after the South African regional Burn events, with mostly international Rangers and a few local Burners attending. And it must be said; there was tremendous support from our International Burners in getting a Namibian Burn going.

2019 Seen the first Ranger training in Windhoek. With that, a Burn was born to take place in 2020.
2020. Well, no explanation needed...year of the pest.
2021. We burned twice carefully in March & May, with support from our International Ranger friends.
2022. Our first full local and international theme camps, art, cabaret & music crews...Magic!
2023. The Namibian Burn April 2023...'The Art of Burning' - 2 Burns, 2 Countries, 1 Month. And taking the Nam flava 'Fire & Dust' theme camp to Afrikaburn (24 -30 April 2023)

NamBurn, the Namibian Burn - Burning in Nam:

The 'Namibian Burn' is an pure non-profit civic responsible volunteer based entity open to all individuals who show an involvement in and a commitment to the ethos, spirit and Principles of Burning Man as embraced by 'NamBurn'.

We do not discriminate against participation in our global Burn culture, on the basis of race, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age or disability.

All we ask: Respect our Burn Principles and Culture, as it link with the spirit of Ubuntu, for I am you, you are me and together we are the Community.