ConFest January 2009
January 31st, 2009 12:45 am
Trees in the Fairy Glen
Dam at Sunset
One of the activities I did during my holidays was to attend a gathering called “ConFest”. I was told this stands for “Contribution Festival”. It was my first time at such a gathering. The basic idea behind it (as I understand it) is that a group of people comes together and creates a community with shared tasks and everybody contributes their unique talents to the whole to make it work. It seems to need at least 100 people to make it successful.
The “Community” usually gathers on a large block of land that has no facilities as such but may have a river flowing by or a dam or a rock pool.
The idea is that the “Community” builds the infrastructure needed for the few days of the gathering and then also dismantles it at the end. It is quite amazing how much work is needed to make a “wild” piece of land habitable for a few days. Shelter (sun and rain) has to be created, toilets need to be dug, drinking water has to be organised somehow, cooking facilities have to be created……
Everybody brings their own tent, sleeping bags etc. The ConFest I went to last week had to contend with very strong winds. A lot of the infrastructure had to be repaired and rebuilt in a different way….
There was a large improvised “hot tub” with an ingenious system to heat the water and feed it back into the tub, a steam room and a mud pit. Mud makes an excellent sunscreen!
Workshops were held and I attended a drumming workshop and had a glimpse at a workshop explaining the Mayan Calendar. I had never come across this concept before and want to explore it further when I have a chance.
The "Big" Wok
Here is a quote from one of the ConFest websites:
“ConFest was first held in 1976 and is still arranged by the Down to Earth Co-op Society, adhering to its original aims of transforming society into something more relaxing and communal. Now happening bi-annually…..the event attracts more than 7000 people for five days of co-operation and community.
It was in the early 1970s that the then-Deputy Prime Minister, Jim Cairns, joined the Western hippy bandwagon and decided that the Antipodeans ought to celebrate flower power in true style. With the help of his assistant Junie Morossi and a team of dedicated free thinkers, ConFest was born, creating a unique mix of the educational (conferences) and fun (the festival).
It was great to live out in the wilderness for nearly a week without all the trimmings that civilisation offers. It had its challenges, especially coming to terms with the fact that lots of bull ants lived there as well. They had nests in different locations and their paths lead right through some of the workshop spaces! They are fearless creatures and they were there first! So our human community had to come to terms with their presence.
And ….I certainly appreciated running water when I got back home!
After publishing this post I got an enquiry via email whether I actually enjoyed my experience or not.
Yes, I did enjoy being out in the bush, not having to worry about anything apart from eating, sleeping, swimming and doing my share to contribute to the Festival as a whole. I like the fact that I was able to move about a lot, that everything required walking or some other physical activity. I enjoyed meeting different people and having interesting conversations. I enjoyed the workshops. I enjoyed cooking up meals with people I had never met, using whatever ingredients were on hand and procducing something amazing.
One of the philosophies I live by is “may all beings be happy”, so I tried to acknowledge the bull ants and their right to be there. I actually tried to like them. As I said, at times this was challenging but it is also part of the whole experience of being out in nature. In case you are wondering: I did not get bitten the whole time till about 10 minutes before I was ready to go home when I was rushing around and didn’t pay attention to my surroundings.
Bull Ant Close-up
Till next time,
Connie Your Yoga Partner
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