There’s plenty of proof that Burning Man culture cannot and does not stay within the confines of Black Rock City. Arguably, Burners Without Borders (BWB) is one of the most longstanding and consonant testimonies to be found.
Across the planet, curious humans come to Burning Man events and learn to work together to make things from next to nothing. In the process, they hone skills that carry over into other human circumstances. Logistical savvy, Radical Self-reliance, collaborative problem-solving, and a spirit of hope are forged together; we learn to create and iterate living systems and practices that weave play and practicality. Even with limited resources, even in the wildest of circumstances, Burners are going to have a good time, and help each other through.
Applied to other systems and circumstances, these skills have had a huge impact on the world.
BWB volunteers weave know-how and playful camaraderie with grassroots action in a unique way, building a story that arcs from response to resilience to regeneration. As BWB enters its third decade, these threads are woven into hundreds of community-led efforts, grants, and calls to action networked all over the planet. One of the best ways to get involved with Burning Man culture today may be through a Burners Without Borders action near you.
From Hurricane Katrina to a Global Network Across Six Continents
You may already know the origin story: when Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in 2005, participants decamped from Black Rock City and made their way to the ravaged Gulf Coast, bringing tools, know-how, and a can-do attitude. This spontaneous response to a disaster took on its own momentum, and BWB was born.
But the BWB story only started with disaster relief. From this formative moment a movement grew bigger than anyone could have planned. Two decades later, BWB has evolved into an impressive network of do-ers on six continents, and it hums with humanitarian effort, influence, and creative change. At this moment, a Burners Without Borders action is probably happening somewhere near you, ready to welcome you into helping to create a better world.
The act of participating in Burning Man cultivates a unique kind of citizenship which asks, “What can I build, and who wants to build it with me?” Psychologists call that voluntary energy “prosocial behavior,” and it’s unique — not to Burners, but unique in the way Burners enact it. Civic Responsibility, Participation, and Radical Self-expression create an extraordinary blend of meaning, doing, and joy.
Check out these BWB projects focused on Education, Indigenous Issues & Sovereignty, Community Development, and other areas with the BWB Interactive Project Map.
A Special Microgrant for Regional Events and 10-Principled Gatherings
Around the world, BWB microgrants support grassroots projects that have the potential to positively impact local communities. In 2025, BWB offered a special iteration of its Civic Ignition Grant directed to benefit innovative community projects that originate from Regional Events and other 10-Principled gatherings. Two projects were selected for the grants at a participant-powered consensus-based workshop during the 2025 Burn After Meeting (BAM) conference in Reno, Nevada
It was easy to see why the selected projects won — both applied hard-won Burner know-how to address challenges event participants face while bringing their gifts to life. Both are replicable, and can be deployed in a myriad of other environments and scenarios. Colin Jemmott and MJ Brovold are grant recipients for Lux Capacitor, an open-source, ground-mounted solar floodlight system. After experiencing BRC, Colin was “totally inspired that amateurs could do large scale, off-grid projects together.”
Rugged, repairable, and easy to fabricate, Lux Capacitor helps reduce generator dependence and e-waste at events and gatherings, while improving night safety and aesthetics. Tested in BRC and at San Diego’s YOUtopia Regional Event, Lux Capacitor is also deployable in many other civic circumstances, both at events, and during relief efforts.
“To me, the exciting thing about the [BWB] grant is visibility, being able to share this design and also the accountability, frankly, to follow through with the open sourcing,” Colin said.
Equally unsurprising was the workshop consensus around StarShade, a rapidly deployable, solar-powered shade pavilion built to generate power and gift excess power to other event participants. Initially designed for SOAK, the Pacific Northwest Regional Burn, StarShade reduces reliance on gas powered generators through teaching and exploring the use of solar to power local events.
Delighted grant recipients Sam ‘Spark’ Smith and Juliana ‘Squirtle’ Wallace say it’s “an open-source learning hub, with real-time energy displays, hands-on demos, and data we’ll share so others can build, adapt, and improve it” for use at other gatherings.
Learn more about the Regional Event Civic Ignition Grant projects in this Burning Man LIVE podcast interview with their creators:
Creative Empowerment through Action, Inclusion, and Mutual Responsibility
Response, resilience, and regeneration. These three concepts braid together and represent ways of engaging with change to empower people where they are, and with creativity and community as a forethought. Tom Price, co-founder of Burners Without Borders, puts it like this: “BWB was never just about disaster relief, any more than the playa is just about costumes. They’re instead both expressions of the same idea: that people driven by shared values and ideals around action, inclusion, and mutual responsibility can have incredible impact in even the harshest of environments. And the understanding that in the desert, in a disaster, or back home in your daily lives, the greatest tools are the people next to you.”
From recovery zone healing art in Ukraine to forest replanting collaborations, from backpacks for the unhoused in Detroit to the Spiritual Healing Center at Pyramid Lake in Nevada, examples abound and continue today. BWB-supported projects around the world are living proof that Burning Man culture has real, practical impact wherever people seek to build a better world.
Find out how you can get involved and join this global movement: visit the Burners Without Borders website; and subscribe to the BWB Newsletter; and sign up to participate in the BWB Summer Solstice Summit at Fly Ranch.
Cover image: Photo by Philip Solomonson
