all 23 comments

[–]theseekerofbaconHave you read the survival guide? 14 points15 points  (2 children)

Step 1. Give things away.

Step 2. There is no step 2.

[–]mudclubMr. Grumpypants 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Step 2: accept whatever gifts are offered to you.

[–]brodyqatEast Bay 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Step 2(a): if you don't want the gift, very graciously decline and thank them anyway.

(I don't eat sugar or refined carbs, and don't drink alcohol. I end up having to turn down a LOT of what's offered to me on playa!)

[–]0r0g0b 9 points10 points  (3 children)

I think it works the other way round.

First: Think of something you can do really well and give it as a gift to the people of the playa. Maybe pancakes. Maybe lube bicycle chains.

Second: You might get a nice gift later from someone else.

[–]Tahoma 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Have more upvotes for capturing the true meaning of the gift system.

Go not expecting to get anything, but bringing something you're happy to give.

[–]savax7The Monaco - Crew 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Oh man, I might borrow this pancake idea - quick, easy, delicious.

[–]mudclubMr. Grumpypants 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Pancake Playhouse: 9:00 Plaza every year. Yum.

[–]mudclubMr. Grumpypants 5 points6 points  (1 child)

[–]rbgilbert 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Halcyon yes! He covers it the best.

[–]RonikanVagabonds & Tagalongs 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Generally the bars are open and drinks offered to you. Should anyone ask you to pay for drinks; feel free to shame and berate them. Usually it helps to bring your own cup though! The bars are supposed to ID (though many don't) so it helps to have that as well.

One thing you learn quickly is that there isn't an expectation of immediate compensation. People give on the assumption that everyone else is giving in their own way. For some people that means free hugs, to others it means bringing art to the playa, and for others it means handing out free drinks.

[–]snbdmliss 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Its a gift economy... that means give openly and freely of yourself and expect nothing in return... their gratitude is all that's necessary, just as you should be grateful that you were able to provide or help your neighbor.

Too many people bring trinkets or junk to the playa, don't do that, it just creates more moop. Instead, if you see that your neighbor needs help, go help them, it's that simple. Help can be in the form of labor securing down a tent in a windstorm, or water/drinks if they are thirsty, or a big hug just because, there are no rules, but be grateful and give what you can.

FYI always have a cup clipped on you, if you do go to a playa bar, you will need to provide your own cup (and might need an ID).

Happy burn!


You don't pay for an alcoholic drink. You don't pay for anything. You must bring all the food/water/supplies you need to survive however, so don't plan on leaching off the community for your survival.

You're encouraged but not expected to contribute, participate, give cool things and experiences to others. If it's your first year your only job is to experience.

It's not a music festival where there's crap to buy. You can buy coffee at center camp, and ice for coolers, but that's it. Beyond that, there is no economy. I know... mind blown right?

[–]fife55 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There is no economy. You just give people things. You don't barter and you don't expect anything in return. Also, don't feel like you HAVE to give stuff away. A lot of people do think this way and end up gifting stupid pieces of shit.

ideas: necklaces, light-up doodads

[–]Plantdrew 1 point2 points  (1 child)

It's not really an "economy", more of a gifting "culture". And it's interlocking with "radical self reliance" (i.e., bring everything you will need, don't rely on getting gifted something).

There's no functional "economy" where you can easily get necessities you don't have. At a music festival, there's probably places selling alcohol/food/sunscreen whenever you want them. At Burning Man, there is no shortage of places gifting alcohol; you could probably get drunk every night without bringing any of your own booze (but bring it anyway). You can't rely on food gifts to stay fed; there are many camps gifting food, but they often have long lines, and limited times that food is being served. You will need to ensure that you are self-reliant when it comes to food. For stuff like sunscreeen, people will share with you, but nobody is going to gift you a bottle. Bring your own.

It's not a barter economy/culture. You go out to a bar camp one night, and you will be gifted a drink. You don't need to pay for it by making a reciprocal "gift" (that would be barter, not gifting). Of course, if you have something to gift, that's great, but it's not required to get a drink. And if you do have something to gift, you should offer it to the other people visiting the bar, not just the bartender.

Don't (but do) feel compelled to bring gifts your first year. Newbies sometimes make the mistake of feeling compelled to gift without really knowing what good gifts are at Burning Man, and show up with hundreds of plastic trinkets. Don't do that. For a first timer, it might be easiest just to bring extra of the things you will use yourself. Bring more booze than you need and gift shots to people you meet. Bring some extra food and cook something delicious to share with your neighbors. Bring cigarettes (even if you don't smoke); these will be much appreciated at the end of the week when the smokers are running out. Keep your gifting simple the first year.

[–]ApesInSpace 0 points1 point  (0 children)


Also think about bringing some mixers, and save them until late in the week. Bars will often have plenty of liquor left, but run out of anything to mix them with. I ran around last year giving out juice and soda and margarita mix in the latter part of the week, and found many open arms.

[–]tossy_mctosserson 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Picture you're going to a picnic on a sunny day with a big group of friends. You'd probably pack:

Some food Some water Some beverages you might want besides water (alcohol, soda, etc) Some sunscreen Some games/toys to play while you're there.

Now, you show up and get out of your car and gather with your friends. Food starts to be brought out and you get yours. You're hanging with your friends while eating, and say "Hey man...try some of this bean dip I made." and they say "Hey, thanks."

Now here comes Mitch. Mitch is famous for his annual batch of "Giggle Juice" that he makes; it's a kind of super powered sangria and it's his tradition to haul a big container out and give it to everyone. Everyone gathers around and starts tasting this years batch of Mitch's juice. It's awesome! Someone asks Mitch if he needs more ice for the juice, since he's doling out a lot of it. They give him a bag of theirs.

Same with water, alcohol and toys/games.

You BROUGHT your own, but were having fun so decided to share. Mitch decided he wanted to make something purposely to gift to everyone.

In this analogy, you are you. Mitch is "theme camps" and the person giving the ice to Mitch is what you'd do if you felt "moved" by a camp or person in some way.

[–]ebbomega 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Don't expect people to gift things you need for you. Don't forget that the first principle is Radical Self Reliance. For instance, don't go into a bar asking for water. Best case you'll get a "no", worst case you'll get laughed at/lectured/berated for not taking better care of yourself. Most places work just like a regular bar, except you will need your own drinking vessel (camping mugs are fine, but something like a really cool chalice you've personally blinged out is more what the social norm is). Go up, give them your cup and they will fill it. Be gracious and thankful. DON'T offer to pay or barter - that's not how this works. If you feel that the people at the bar are really nice for getting you drunk, you can feel free to gift them something, but don't make it something useless they won't like and will just end up as MOOP (Matter Out Of Place - a horrible rejection of the Leave No Trace principle) on the ground.

[–]totallysunkdude 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I usually bring a shit load if sparklers and clementines to music festivals and hand them out to random strangers. I feel like spent sparkler sticks and clementine peel would be considered MOOP. Also I feel with so much shit burning and exploding my dinky sparklers would be laughed at.

[–]mobilesnow 0 points1 point  (3 children)

Many people overthink the gifting thing before their first burn. Basically, everything that Ronikan said.

Make sure you have your ID with you - you likely wont get served without it.

Make sure you have a cup with you for them to put the drink in.

Smile, and be nice to people.

Don't be entitled, or demanding. Just ask politely, and most people will provide. Remember, there are no rules that explicitly state that anyone out there needs to give you anything.

Also, it's a gift, meaning there is zero expectation of anything in return. It's not a barter.

[–]enzo32ferrari[S] 0 points1 point  (2 children)

is there any accountability for the alcohol being served? or should I be wary about that new guy handing out clear liquid with roofies in it?

[–]theseekerofbaconHave you read the survival guide? 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If it's coming from a decent sized bar, you're either going to see the drink getting mixed or it's going to come from a batch they're serving everyone. If they're dosing people en masse, it'd be pretty easy to track down and there are major legal and I'm talking felony level problems.

Plus, who can afford to dose large amounts of people.

Your only concern is if you leave your drink unattended or if someone comes running out of a camp offering you a premade drink in a cup. Politely decline and move on.

[–]mobilesnow 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Same rules apply as in the default world.


The gift economy, in reality, is a very practical method for distributing resources among a nomadic community as long as every major resource holder in the community has a clear understanding of what her resources are and what quantity of each she needs.