Our camp would not work without all campers' participation. Everyone in camp is expected to be involved in some capacity. Many campers choose to do daily camp duty shifts. But other opportunities are available to those who have certain skill sets or who can arrive before or stay after the Burn.
To find out more about camp involvement opportunities, contact:
Each camper is expected to join a team. Camp Duty Shifts and individual responsibilities will be organized pre-Playa by the lead within each specific team.
Rootpile Team Opportunities:
Communications Team--This team is made up of people who will work pre-Burn to share the mission of Rootpile to the Burner and Bluegrass communities to create awareness of our camp, the activites we provide on-Playa, and our various fundraisers.
Rootpile DPW Team--(Department of Public Works) DPW team is one of the most important teams at Rootpile. DPW is made up of people with skills in carpentry, electricity, plumbing, mechanics, and engineering. DPW keeps Rootpile running. Team members should be highly-motivated, skillful people who appreciate the opportunity to work on camp infrastructure. Team members will be provided with projects, tools, materials, and leadership. Some DPW team members will work on Build, but all DPW team members will have a two hour daily shift during the Burn to keep our infrastructure running smoothly.
Build Team--Build team gives people an opportunity to arrive early on Playa to assist in building our camp infrastructure. Build week is a very exciting part of Burning Man. While we are very busy building our own camp, being on Playa early also gives people the opportunity to see the city come together. The team effort required helps build relationships within our camp and gives our builders a great sense of satisfaction in seeing our camp come together.
Build week begins a week before Burning Man officially opens, and special Work Access Passes (WAPs) are necessary for each person attending Build. Most of Build crew will need to arrive on Monday, Aug. 24th and be ready to start work on Tuesday, Aug. 25th. Temporary air-conditioned quarters will be immediately available for Build crew personel, until they have had time to put together their personal lodging. Food and water will be made available to the Build crew. Some of Build crew will also be in Reno and Gerlach the week before Build to help prepare our infrastructure and art cars for the beginning of Build week. It is possible that some of Build crew, depending on their duties, projects, or teams may also arrive later in Build Week. DATES OF BUILD WEEK: Monday, Aug. 24 thru Saturday, Aug. 29
Teardown Team--The Teardown of Rootpile camp starts Sunday, Sept. 6th, Temple Burn Day. All campers still on Playa are expected to help in the beginning stages of Teardown on Sunday. But in actuality Teardown begins the first day of Build. What this means is, as we build camp and enjoy the Burn, and go on about our activities related to running the camp, we should be planning for a quick and organized Teardown.
Each camper's Mission Contribution includes a $200 refundable Teardown deposit. Campers working until 10 pm Monday or later will receive a refund of their $200 Teardown deposit. The Teardown crew is expected to work safely, quickly, sober, and hangover-less each day that they promised to work. Those not abiding by these rules will be asked to leave immediately and will forfeit their Teardown deposit.
Teardown duty, starting at Noon on Sunday (Temple Burn Day), should be considered as important as our camp duty shifts. Everyone still in camp is expected to help with Teardown. But early Monday morning Teardown begins in earnest. When Teardown begins, the party ends. We typically finish Teardown mid-day Wednesday. Teardown hours will be 7 am–11 am. A light breakfast will be served at 7 am with work details immediately following. There will be a break during the hottest part of the day from 11 am–4 pm. At 4 pm a light early dinner will be served, and Teardown crew will work until around 10 pm. The Teardown crew is expected to work safely, quickly, sober, and hangover-less each day that they promised to work. Those not abiding by these rules will be asked to leave immediately and will forfeit their Teardown deposit.
Those staying until Monday at 10 pm need to break their personal camp down after 10 pm or if they have already broken their camp during non-work hours, they can stay in the air conditioned bunk trailers until they leave. Those not participating in Teardown on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday are expected to break camp and leave by 11am on Monday morning.
DATES OF TEARDOWN: Sunday, Sept. 6 thru Wednesday, Sept. 9
Art Car Support Team--Art cars, sometimes also called Mutant Vehicles, are a very important part of Burning Man. Art cars are meant to be visual art and are expected to provide interactive, entertaining experiences on the Playa. Our art cars provide a platform for us to play live and recorded Bluegrass music to provide entertainment and promote our camp, and also provide a way for people to be transported around the Playa. The art car support team gives mechanically and artistically-inclined people the opportunity to have a preexisting project to work on. This team will likely begin working on our art cars in Gerlach, NV, even before the start of Build Week, or at a minimum, at the beginning of Build Week. This is so that all the mechanical and artistic issues can be ironed out and finished by the time DMV inspections occur on the Saturday before gate opens. The art car support team is a very important team, and only people with a heavy commitment to the mission of preparing our art cars and keeping them running for the entire Burn should join this team.
Art Car Drivers--Art car drivers are a part of the art car team. During the Burn we will need several sober and responsible persons who would be interested in being art car drivers. Art car driver shifts will typically be about two hours long. Art car drivers will be trained in the rules and regulations laid down by the Department of Mutant Vehicles (DMV)
Food Service Team--For Burning Man 2020, we will be changing our food offerings food truck-style, service. The food service team, in the past, has been made up of two major meals (breakfast & dinner).
This year, our food truck-style service will be organized such that there will be food available from 8 am to 8 pm daily. Each day there will be large-pot offerings such as soup, stew, chili, curry & rice, etc. for most of the day. Other daily menu choices that can be quickly prepared and served will be available based on the day's food plan. There will be four food service shifts per day: shift 1: 8 am–11 am shift 2: 11 am–2 pm shift 3:2 pm–5 pm shift 4: 5 pm–8 pm
Each shift will consist of one chef and a four person crew that will assist the chef, prep, clean, take orders, maintain the hydration station, and prep and clean the dining hall.
The kitchen crew will manage the service prepared beans at the Pinto Bean Jam on Wednesday and Saturday from noon to 4 pm. They may also possibly cook cornbread.
Concert Food and Drink Support Team--Rootpile provides live music, food, and drink for our guests on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings. This team will organize the concert area, and will prepare and serve the pre-cooked food and moonshine for these interactive events. The team lead will organize the camp duty shifts necessary to accomplish this mission. Concert food service is between 8 pm and 9:30 pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Therefore, the shift period is 7 pm to 10 pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.
Bean Cook Team--This team will consist of two people who will prep and cook a large quantity of pinto beans every day. There will be two types of beans cooked (ham beans and veggie beans). The team must soak the beans the day before. Recipe and training will be provided by Fixxer. No deviation from his plan will be allowed. :)
On Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday two large pots of beans need to be ready by 7 pm. On Wednesday and Saturday, two large pots of beans need to be ready by 1 pm.
BBQ Cook Team--This team will manage the smoking of BBQ on a daily basis, based on the needs and plan for nightly concert BBQ offerings and plans for the daily commissary food offerings.
Musician Team--The musician team is made up of professional, semi-professional, and amateur musicians who are capable of playing Bluegrass music. The musician team will teach workshops, facilitate jamming, and perform on stage. Musicians are expected to bring their own instruments and will possibly be provided with air-conditioned bunks in camp. Some musician scholarships might be available, depending on the circumstances. The musician team is responsible for organizing/staffing the workshops, jams, and concerts.
Music Workshop Support Team--(Not necessary to be a musician) Rootpile provides daily workshops (Monday through Saturday, Noon–1 pm) on instruments that we provide. The musician team teaches the workshops, but the workshop support team will assist in setting up the classrooms, distributing the instruments and putting them away after the workshops, waking up musicians and making sure teachers are present, directing guests to the different workshops, and grabbing people off the street to attend workshops. The support team will also offer hydration to the musicians and attendees.
Daily MOOP Sweep Team--This team will perform a daily MOOP sweep of the entire camp and will be on the lookout for LNT problems, such as oil leaks, water leaks, improperly-stored fuel, or other MOOPiness. Tools, collections vessels, and team leadership will be provided. A MOOP-free camp will insure that we stay in good standing with placement and are invited back next year.
Shower Clean Team--Rootpile provides two showers for the benefit of our campers. Campers are expected to maintain the cleanliness and orderliness of the showers, but the shower clean team will clean the showers daily. Cleaning supplies and leadership will be provided to the shower clean team members.
Waste Team--Rootpile camp members are expected to haul out their own personal trash, but there are some things we can deal with on-Playa to reduce the amount of personal trash needing to be taken out. Glass and plastic are not recyclable on Playa, and the nearest recycling option is hundreds of miles away, so unfortunately we have to throw away any glass or plastic. Therefore campers should ALWAYS Pre-cycle everything they bring to Playa, such as packaging. But aluminum cans and compost can be disposed of on Playa. Burnables can be burned in our burn barrels. The Waste Team will facilitate in the disposal of these items and will enjoy the benefit of being able to yell at people doing stupid things, like putting aluminum cans into the compost bins.
Art Team--Requires Wednesday of Build Week arrival. Rootpile is not only a music and food camp but is also an art project. To accomplish our mission of representing Southern culture we have developed a large quantity of Hillbilly art and visual art installations and signage. This team will be responsible for the placement of all of our art, developing new art, and repairing/updating existing art. The art team can ask for assistance from skilled persons from other teams if necessary.
Sound Team--Live and recorded music is an important part of the mission of Rootpile. The sound team will work to install and manage the recorded sound aspect of camp and will also be made up of professional sound persons for mixing our live performances. At least some of sound team must arrive Wednesday of Build Week to prepare our sound systems. Experience in the mixing of live, acoustic music is a must.
Stage Crew--Live performances are a very important part of the Rootpile mission. A crew of stagehands and stage managers will be organized to properly manage and maintain our stage. At least some of stage crew must be able to arrive on Wednesday or Thursday of Build Week.
COMS Team--Rootpile will have a radio network so that our artcars, camp members, and base camp can communicate with each other by radio. COMS Team members should be well-versed in radio technology or radio dispatch. HAM radio experience would be a plus. COMs Team will organize, install, and work with Rootpile campers in proper radio etiquette. Radios will need to be installed in art cars, kitchen, common areas, and in the Rootpile NOAH office.
To find out more about volunteer opportunities, contact:
