Work expectations

We expect all campers to contribute some holistic combination of: 

• Helping during build week
  You come before gates open and help set up our structures, or help place campers as they come. You get to see the awesome miracle of Black Rock City rising from the dust.

• Helping with an interactive project and/or working on-playa shifts
  No spectators! These are hands down the most fun and gratifying jobs. You get to interact with people, you get to help people (sometimes in HUGE ways), you get to see them enjoy what you bring. YOU become part of the magic that makes Burning Man.

• Staging your own workshop, activity, or events
  Burning Man is a shared lucid dream where any possibility can become reality. This is your chance to share things you're passionate about, or to bring to life ideas that couldn't possibly work in the default world.

• Bringing your own interactive project (aka theme camp)
  This is like sharing what you're passionate about, but on steroids. Seriously, this is one of the single-most rewarding things you can do at Burning Man. It's like the secret of Burning Man.

• Assisting with camp management, utilities, and infrastructure
  Some people like cat herding, ok? It's rewarding to help your friends and make space for all of the above to happen. 

Helping with Teardown and Leave No Trace (LNT) is a given unless you make arrangements to take on more work during the week. We don't expect you to stay all the way to the bitter end, but we DO expect you to help. Because it's not fair to make other people clean up after you when they're already doing the hardest job. 

Teardown is what happens at the end of the week when we take down our structures and pack away our toys. 

Leave No Trace (LNT) is when we comb through the playa afterwards and pick up EVERY SINGLE SPECK of object (glitter, cigarette ash, human hair, etc) that is not playa dust. Burning Man then spends three weeks checking every inch of playa, and we are graded on our cleanup performance. 

If you take off early, someone else from camp will still have scour and LNT your campsite at the very end, regardless of how clean you try to leave it. 

Teardown and LNT are the hardest jobs. They go by much faster when we have lots of people helping, but it's extra brutal when people get stuck having to clean up after campmates who don't stay to help. 

Therefore, we expect you to stay until at least Monday morning for LNT, unless you have a valid work or travel commitment (beyond simply trying to beat Exodus traffic). We start Teardown on Sunday and LNT Monday. We're not asking you to stay until the bitter end when everything is done, but we ARE asking you to do your part so a small number of people don't get stuck with all the hardest work. 

If you DO have to leave early, then we expect you to take on an extra shift during event week to make up for the fact that you're making someone else clean up after you.

As long as you're staying until Monday morning for Teardown and LNT, you won't be required to work more than 2 shifts during the event itself. Working more is optional, and many people do. 

Shifts are short and fun, typically no more than 3 to 4 hours long. If you leave early before Teardown, you will be required to pick an extra shift during event week to make up for it.

Click here to see the list of roles we need help with on playa: What Needs Help

Click here to check out our exciting theme camps and projects: Interactivity & Frontage

What to host an event at one of our theme camps? Find out how: On-Playa Events

We will have a Volunteer Coordinator who will create shift signups closer to BRC week.  You can contact the camp pod leads using the Who's Who Leadership List found in this website.  Use it to contact the lead and express interest.  You can also use Slack.  We will definately be talking about shift signups in meetings starting in June and moving forward.  Meeting minutes are also in this portal website. Click here to find out what the village needs help with: What Needs Help