Back in 2005, Burners flocked to Mississippi to help with the disaster relief effort following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.  After rebuilding a Buddhist temple and helping with demolitions in Biloxi, MS, this crew moved on to help another hard-hit town: Pearlington, MS — through which the eye of the storm traveled.  From this effort, Burners Without Borders was born.

The Pearlington Library

Today, Pearlington continues to rebuild, and the town and its wonderful people still hold a warm place in our hearts. We got word earlier this year about the reopening of the new Pearlington Library, and we thought we’d share an email we got from Patty Furr, Executive Director of the Hancock County Library System:

New Book Shelves

“Hi Andie,
Thanks so much for replying to my email.  We are so proud of the wonderful progress in Pearlington. I think some of your wonderful volunteers might have trouble recognizing the place. The dual library/gym renovation project costing 2.1 million dollars has not only allowed us to rebuild the library in the four rooms left over from the school, but in addition the money has paid for a complete and amazing renovation of the old “Pearlmart” gym into a modern sports facility with professional flooring for basketball, showers, lockers, offices and even an arcade for the teens to use.  A further project will also soon be funded by the county which will provide an outdoor pavilion with a full-scale concession stand and covered picnic table area as well.  All of the plywood “shacks” used by volunteers are gone to be replaced by an open green field for organized outdoor sports. Read more »

For those of you who may be unaware, a Burners Without Borders contingent has been in Pisco, Peru for years now, helping the locals recover from a devastating 8.0-magnitude earthquake that took place in 2007.  Chriz (aka North) just spent his first week in Pisco with BWB, and we thought you’d enjoy his account of his experiences there.

If you’d like to join Burners Without Borders in Peru, or anywhere else they’re engaged (including Haiti), learn how on the Burners Without Borders website. Here’s Chriz:

Hello from Pisco!

To start, I’d introduce myself as a long-time Burner with a mere 3 days with Pisco Sin Fronteras (PSF), so this is coming from a curmudgeonly old it-was-better-last-year Burner who is a wide-eyed  gobsmacked Pisco virgin with a fresh optimistic view. Read more »

Burning Man 2009

Once again, the outreach groups of Burning Man (Burners Without Borders, The Black Rock Arts Foundation, Black Rock Solar and The Regional Network) have teamed up to create a unified presence on the playa: District Everywhere! 

District Everywhere is housed under one large pavilion. This year, our interior space will take on the appearance of a large world map, with continents cut out of wood, set up at table height. With the assistance of our Team, guests will create miniature sculptures or flags to represent their off-playa projects and endeavors. Together, the outreach groups will also host interactive activities, art projects, events and gatherings, all geared toward kindling ideas and generating momentum for off-playa, after-Burning Man out reach efforts. Join us for daily BurnSide Chats, hosted lectures, salons and discussions about art, community and culture. Each outreach group will also be hosting cocktail parties and mixers specifically for their group at District Everywhere.  Please visit the Black Rock Arts Foundation any day of the week to learn more about recent projects and future endeavors, and to add to their community-created art installation.  They will be lounging in the shade, sipping lemonade and conspiring to bring interactive art to communities beyond the playa. 

BRAF at Burning Man
Monday, August 30, 2010 – Sunday, September 6, 2010
6:30 and Esplanade
Black Rock City, NV
10:00 am – 6:00 pm 

Burnside Chats
Monday, August 30, 2010 – Saturday, September 4, 2010
1:00 pm – 2:30 pm and 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm

Party Everywhere – opening reception for District Everywhere
Monday, August 30, 2010   5:00 pm – 7:00 pm 

Annual BRAF Playa Cocktail Party
Thursday, September 2, 2010     4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
District Everywhere is located at 6:30 and Esplanade. 

We’d love to see you! 

photo: affinity

Hi there,

Greetings from New Orleans, where it’s not quite hot yet, the French Quarter Fest is raging, and all around the Lower Ninth Ward, the idea of sustainability and locally-grown vegetables is sprouting up like a mess o’ collard green seedlings.

Please take a minute to read the repost below and vote for a friend of Burners Without Borders NOLA — Jenga Mwendo — to win the $5k necessary to restore the blighted cottage next to our neighborhood community garden and transform it into an education center (and storage). It’ll be your good deed for the day!

Thanks,

Summer / BWB NOLA

Jenga and Mama Patsy cleaning up the garden in the early days. That's the cottage in the background. Git 'r dun!

From Jenga:

Greetings! On behalf of the Backyard Gardener’s Network, the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association Garden Committee and the entire Lower Ninth Ward community, I ask for your help to win the Cox Conserves Heroes contest. Please go here and vote for me, Jenga Mwendo! Cox Conserves Heroes is a contest that awards an “environmental hero” $5000 to his/her charity of choice. If I win, the money will go towards renovating a blighted cottage next door to our community garden for use as a storage/education garden center. I am the only contestant representing a project in the Lower Ninth Ward, the community devastated most by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Vote Now! Spread the word! Vote as many times as you want!! Thanks!

Read more »

As our world takes a change for the better on this day, we offer you an opportunity to heed the call to participate in our mutual betterment.

A little backstory: a group of Burners, including Burners Without Borders volunteers, were invited to come and set up a booth at the 2008 Bonnaroo music festival, and naturally, their established intent was to encourage the immediacy of direct participation through personal interactions.

As part of this effort, they created a gigantic nylon banner, which displayed what was deemed the “Bring It! Pledge”. Bonnaroo attendees were invited to sign their name to this banner, committing themselves to taking an active role in making ours a better world. And you will note that some committed themselves with particular exuberance. ;-)  The pledge reads:

“I will assert myself and apply my myriad talents toward the achievement of radical self-reliance, uncompromising self-expression, immediate participation, and unlimited inclusion. Whether I do this through building community, advancing the arts, aiding disaster relief, gifting alternative energy, greening the planet, or some other means, I will be a badass from now on.”

Bring It! Banner

Today, we invite you to sign your own name to this pledge by submitting a comment to this post. Join us in this effort.