Entering a bus in San Jose, two thirds of the passengers are "Ticos" [Costa Ricans], while the other third are rainbow pilgrims on a quest for the world gathering. The bus is over booked and most of us sit or stand in the aisle for the five hour ride to San Vito, close to the border of Panama. The adventure continues, catching a taxi from San Vito to traverse dirt roads to a remote 'finca', farm. Lost on dirt roads we stop and listen for drums in the dark jungle night that is lit only by fireflies. Finally we make our way in to be greeted with the customary "welcome home", and are fed soup from the kitchen. The thunder of drums carries from the main circle.

The organic structure of a day at the gathering begins with breakfast circle that follows the call of the conch shell. Everyone gathers in a circle, holding hands, and sings a strong OM that may be followed by announcements in Spanish, English, and French for daytime activities. These may include everything from yoga and Thai massage to sustainable community meetings, theatre, capo era, raw foods, or self-defense Hopkido class. So one can be productive in workshops or lackadaisical, swimming in the cascading waters of the river. Before dinner, the conch rings out through a land of jungle and cleared grazing pastures. The dinner is much larger, over one thousand. After the great OM and a scream for joy, the servers move clockwise and ensure that all are fed. A candle-lit dining on the grass is followed by a powerful drum and dance circle at the central fire. For a more relaxed vibration we can venture down to the 2012 Peace Café for a coffee and a listen to spontaneous musical jam sessions.

Meanwhile in San Vito, some of the Ticos spread rumors that the gathering is an evil cult that sacrifices babies. Local Tico men come to investigate and observe this rainbow fiesta of dreadies, nudists, circus freaks, among others, holding hands and bowing to the Earth. Beyond the mere curiosity of this spectacle I suspected that the nude woman aspect drew some of these Tico men. This hunch was somewhat validated when a vendor, upon seeing a news article about the gathering -- including pictures of naked people, said it is more "economical" to see nude women at the gathering. Overall, the local reaction to the gathering was positive as it also boosted the area's economy from markets, to taxis, to neighboring farmers.

As the rainbow family is comprised of many transient, gypsy-style travelers, there is a movement towards the development and networking of sustainable communities. This included permaculture, renewable energy, caravans, and sustainable building in Costa Rica, the U.S.A., and British Columbia. Representatives from the Caribbean-side permaculture community and institute of Punta Mona were present to help facilitate the meeting. This was essentially a good opportunity for making connections for the networking of these communities, both existing and potential.

At least three school buses fueled by veggie oil made it to the gathering. Two of them came on a sustainable caravan mission from San Francisco while the other was the "Electric Blue Monkey Theatre" from Taos, NM. Organized by Chetanya, the monkeys are a traveling, performing circus / theatre. The blue monkey bus runs on diesel or veggie oil and is equipped with solar panels. Both the monkeys and the sustainable caravan are examples of traveling made more sustainable. The sustainable caravan plans to open a veggie-fueled taxi service in San Francisco.

The spring equinox on March 20th was the peak of the gathering. The morning endured a peace prayer of silence that may have mystified the Costa Rican police who came to inspect the gathering that morning. The silence was broken at noon by a singing, twirling mass of people spiraling in towards the center circle to erupt into a howling, drumming, dancing, ecstasy, under the midday tropical sun. The drumming continues as we feast on mangos and watermelon.

With a peak population between one and two thousand, fifty-six countries were represented in the census. The world gathering changes location once a year to spread the seeds of the Rainbow Family of Living Light. Its politics waiver between rainbow dogma and anti-authoritarian anarchy. At its core lies the essential truth that all of humanity is one people, one family, with no division.

www.puntamona.org
www.sustainablesolutionscaravan.org
www.ic.org
www.veggieboys.com
www.fec.org
www.gaia.org

Steve Harkless Last modified: June 5, 2004

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