Civic Involvement

Metal sculpture, a pentagon with the city map in an arch over a cutout of Larry Harvey's full body profile. The sunset glints through 1:00 at Esplanade.

Burning Man Project fosters civic involvement by providing frameworks for community-driven participation, from the place-making and community-building that fuel temporary cities such as Black Rock City, to the many ways that inspired community members bring 10 Principles to life in the world.

Burners Without Borders (BWB) provides templates and learning opportunities that help communities build networks and become more resilient from Colombia to the Carolinas, Ukraine to Kenya. Globally, BWB supports initiatives from experimental housing and permaculture education in Ukraine to a community currency project in Kenya.

Artist Jered Ficklin and the Solarians install The Solar Library. A team of Burners installing a large solar panel.
Artist Jered Ficklin and the Solarians install The Solar Library (Photo by Scott Williams)

BWB’s tireless organizing has inspired a growing network of like-minded organizations dedicated to community recovery and resilience. For example, an organization with origins in Black Rock City, the Footprint Project deploys solar generators in the wake of natural disasters such as Hurricane Helene and the Los Angeles fires.  

These projects demonstrate how people worldwide apply the 10 Principles to build stronger, more creative and resilient communities, transforming Radical Self-reliance into collective resilience year-round.

Burning Man participants’ commitment to Civic Responsibility encompasses community service in rural and urban communities. These include New York City’s the House of Good Deeds. Founded by Black Rock City theme camp organizers, this organization hosts community service events that distribute donated goods to vulnerable residents. In rural Northern Nevada, Black Rock City’s Recycle Camp annually raises on average around $15,000 for Gerlach’s K-12 school by collecting aluminum cans in Black Rock City.

Want to get involved? Find your local Burners Without Borders chapter!