BAKERY OPERATIONS & CAMP LIFE

READ THIS IF...

...you've read the previous page and are still interested in camping with us this year. Make yourself another cuppa, or maybe it's time to pour yourself something a little stronger! This section covers the finer points of our bakery and camp operations, and expands upon some of our core philosophies. And at the foot of the page, there are instructions on next steps if you'd like to camp with us this year.

bakery operations

What we do. We bake Tuscan flatbread every morning from Tuesday through Sunday from 10-2pm (approx). For those new to our camp, this is when the family comes together: to bake, gift, dance, play music, hang out, catch up, etc. You don’t have to be there every morning of course, but most of us simply want to be there for some time during the morning, most of the days that we are baking.

Pitching in. We are a full participation camp and need a minimum of 12 people working each day: working the oven, preparing the bread, making mint tea, serving the bread, serving the tea, preparing dough for the following day, getting out there and encouraging people to come and enjoy our bread (spruiking/barking). You will be rostered on for one full day shift during the week, however many choose to work on other days too. We won't stop you!

Baking. We have upgraded our extraordinary, home-crafted charcoal burning oven to a commercial gas oven which makes our operations smoother, faster and more productive - without so many burns on our hardy bakers! It's still hot work though, so you need to be resilient and ready to sweat in that gorgeous Bake Day outfit!

Serving. Once baked, we need to serve the bread. We cut up the flatbread into serving sizes and hand serve it. We serve delicious hot fresh mint tea and encourage people to stay a while…lounging on our daybeds, listening to the DJs and various entertainment we have lined up for the week. Serving hot dusty hungry burners is actually one of the most heart expanding, fulfilling experiences you’ll have during your time on the Playa. 

living

It takes communal effort ensure we have a beautiful camp in which to live throughout the week. During your Shift Day you will prepare dinner, clean up around camp, share your team’s signature cocktail (optional, but go for it…), manage recycling, style our communal areas and manage any operational requirements like random leaks, grey water pump outs and any of the the other weird things that happen everyday. Every team will have a blend of new and seasoned campers, so no matter what the challenge, you’ll have the skill set to master it!

Eating.   We eat really REALLY well at the Lovin Oven, you should want for nothing! We provide breakfast, ample platter means, snacks and dinner. Please avoid the temptation to bring many of your own snacks. Unless you have a specific craving or dietary need, typically packed snacks go to waste. Trust that the Playa - and our camp - will provide. If you'd like to volunteer to cook a meal for us one night, let us know (well) ahead of time. We'll organize the ingredients and you get to pull it together for us.

Beverages.  We have all the water, beer, wine, cocktails and flavored San Pellegrinos you can dream of. And it's not unheard of for camp mates to bring along their own drinks as well, particularly if you have a favorite cocktail or champagne you can't live without. We will be in touch via this year’s camper Facebook page and WhatsAp group to find out your preferences for 2024.

Bathing.  Yes! We have a shower set up. We also have hot water (right…!) However, don’t linger long; we have very strictly limited fresh water and every drop of grey water we produce has to be managed, which is complicated and expensive. You will be briefed on how to use the shower effectively before you get access to one!

Toilet. We have our own private CLEAN porta pottie for our camp only. This saves us the hassle from having to ride to the nearest toilet :D

Bikes.  You don't need to orgainse your own bike, we have a lot of them! If you do have one you wish to bring, check in with your seasoned campmates to check it is suitable - and be prepared to take it home with you. Our storage facilities are bursting at the seams.

Dress Up Yurt. This legendary structure is packed with weird and surprisingly wonderful pieces from years gone by, there to be shared and repurposed. It also serves as our dressing area, with space to hang (and label) your special outfits. There’s plenty of room, light and mirrors to help you get your fabulous on. Please respect what is personal and what is communal gear. We have signs indicating this, though it can get chaotic in there, so if you're not sure, please ask.

MOOPing.  MOOP: Matter Out Of Place. We take this very seriously. We ask that every camp member develop MOOP eyes, both around our camp and all over the Playa, all the time, everyday. One of the 10 principles of the Burning Man is Leave No Trace. Every sequin, every feather, every string and wood chip etc ... all must be picked up and taken with us. If we do not pick it up, we're leaving it to the restoration crew. and risking our standing (and future placement) in the city.
TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN WASTE AND WHAT OTHERS MAY HAVE LEFT BEHIND:
1. Remove all packaging from any supplies you've purchased for the burn BEFORE you pack it - cardboard boxes, plastic wrap, single use bags, etc.
2. Carry around a MOOP bag to make this easier (around camp as well as on Playa).Gallon-size ziplocks are great for this
3. Keep a personal trash bag in your yurt/tent and plan to pack out this bag as well as at least one bag of camp trash.

Due to the vigilance of campmates since 2011, we have an enviable MOOP track record as a camp, and as a result we continue to earn amazing placement (near Center Camp), please please do your part to make sure this continues for us all. 

LOVING

Love, kindness and respect.  As we've mentioned before, we’re really proud of the family we’ve created through this camp. We’ve been lucky enough to attract amazing people from all over the world to come and spend their burn with us. This year will be no exception. Our camp is full of love, kindness, support and sharing and we encourage you to continue with that tradition. However, let's not beat about the bush here. It's the Playa. And it can get tough sometimes. Our camp demands a lot of us. It's far from perfect. Things don't always go as planned. How we choose to manage these situations makes or breaks our experience in camp and on the Playa. All we ask of you is to please continue this tradition of respect and love for one another as you would a dear family member. Hopefully you'll even find that sometimes it’s actually a little hard to leave the camp…however we do recommend you force yourselves on occasion…there’s a lot happening out there!!

Consent. This could be considered just another branch of love, kindness and respect, but we feel this is such an important topic that it needs to be addressed on its own. Burning Man is an unusual, exciting place full of vibrant people, and you're quite likely to find yourself in unusual situations. This is a reminder that none of the following constitute consent:

• "sexy" or skimpy attire, toplessness, or full nudity

• flirtation or past consensual experiences

• intoxication or unconsciousness

• silence or the absence of "no"

• getting consent without providing pertinent information that affects the consenting individual

Consent must be vocal, enthusiastic, ongoing throughout an event/activity, and may be revoked at any time for any reason. This applies to sexual encounters as well and non-sexually touching another person's body or their personal belongings. Tune into the energy of the other person and accept them where they are. Always get and give clear consent to avoid ambiguous situations.

the end of the week

Striking Camp.  We bake on Sunday, celebrate and enjoy the rest of the day, before then striking camp first thing Monday morning with ALL HANDS ON DECK. It’s a mammoth task, and probably the hardest thing you'll have to do all week, both physically and psychologically.

So we need to be VERY VERY CLEAR about our expectations here: 

You are part of the strike crew and we expect you to stay until we are finished.

We will not be done until late Tuesday morning and you must plan your exit around this.

It's radical self reliance right until the bitter end (when most facilities and comforts have been packed away), so brace yourself, and make your travel plans accordingly. If you've invited a friend to be a part of our camp, it is essential to make sure they are aligned with this expectation too.

It hurts! Yes, we know. One of the best weeks of your life is over, there's no more fun to look forward to (at least not for another 51 weeks), we're tired, partied out, it's hot, the shade structure is about to come down, you want me to write things down in an inventory… say whaat? We forget to eat, drink and it feels like a thankless task. But it's not. It's really really important! How we execute on this makes all the difference to next year's set up. Think of it as paying it forward.

And know this (shh): leaving on Monday involves a 8-12 hour soul-melting shuffle back to Reno. Leaving on Tuesday is an almost queue- free 2-3 hour drive.

And: Monday night on the Playa is not without a little late-night, last-minute, stay-back crew action. (Just sayin’….)

To be clear: Aside from the massive hit to your personal karma; YOU WILL NOT BE INVITED BACK IF YOU LEAVE EARLY.

lessons learned

Always growing. Every year we make mistakes, we learn from them and we grow. And we're sure this year will be no different. All feedback is gratefully and openly received...what we do that is working, what we do that isn't working, how we can be better, new systems we could implement; administrative, infrastructure, interpersonal; pre-event, and on-playa - we want to hear from you. 

YOU DID IT & NEXT STEPS!

Wow.. .you reached the end of all this information. Hopefully this is enough food for thought to answer lingering questions, get you excited and prepare you for an utterly unforgettable week on the Playa. So, if you want to move to the next step of our campmate application process, click here: Welcome letter for prospective camp members.