This was originally posted on blogger.

A Rainbow Gathering is essentially a camping festival. They’re always in the woods in an arbitrary country. They last one lunar month starting from a new moon. In the Rainbow Gathering, there are no leaders, no rules, no monetary exchanges. But there are “consensuses”: all food is vegan, there’s no alcohol or hard drugs allowed, and no violence. Basically everything else is up to the people at the gathering’s judgement.

Getting There

I received an invitation letter a few weeks ago from my friend Truman. Dean, a friend from California, was in town, so I persuaded him to hop on a train with me to Taimali, Taitung County and see what this thing is all about. When we got off the train, we stopped for lunch at a cafe and met two little Taiwanese kids (4 and 3 years old) who were showing off their acrobatics moves. The older brother was a hilariously sassy little kid. We gave him a bouncy ball to play with and he fell in love with it – but also hit it onto the road one too many times. He said when we were leaving, “next time bring hard ball!”

The lady at the cafe gave us tips on how to get to the Rainbow. She recommended hitchhiking from Taimali high street to go to the location of the gathering, Jinfeng hot springs. I didn’t know how long we’d be waiting, but I expected a long time. Then, suddenly, a pick-up truck driver saw us, but was going in the opposite direction. He said, “Where are you going? If you want to go to South, you should wait somewhere else.” I said, “We’re going to Jialan Village”, which was the town nearest to the Rainbow. He said, “Oh, Jialan? Wait for me.” Sure enough, within a few minutes, he was back, and we were on the back of his fruit truck with our bags on the way to Rainbow.

The Rainbow was a reasonable hike from where the truck driver dropped us off. We were grateful for his help, and waved as he drove off down the rickety road.

The Traditions

When you arrive at Rainbow, the “family” shouts “Welcome home!!!”. For us it was a long journey with heavy packs on our backs, and we were happy to arrive. I saw Truman’s friend Yuji. Yuji did the scouting with Truman to locate a suitable area for Rainbow, put together the invitation letter, and he arrived to the area several weeks in advance of the gathering. We chose a spot to lay down our stuff.

An long-bearded, 30-year-old Israeli guy called Milky Way showed us the ropes. He told us that the day in Rainbow is structured around the two meals, “food circles”, that happen every day. Before every meal, the cooks will call “Food circle!!!” once, then again, and then, when the meal-time is approaching, they’ll say “Food Circle now!!!”. When that happens, all family members gather around the main fire, hold hands, dance, and sing songs. The family chants three “ohms”, bows on the ground to honor the food. Then, the meals are served.

Apart from Food Circles, there are also Talking Circles. These are essentially meetings with a talking stick passed around. We had one such circle regarding a tarp that was left on the path near to the gathering. The previous night, me, Truman, Dean, and a Japanese guy Yuki had taken the tarp and hauled it to the gathering. It was a large tarp with the name of a political candidate on it. We thought it could be really useful for the Welcome Tent or what have you.

It turned out that this had been discussed before. The loose “consensus” was that taking the tarp might draw attention to Rainbow, and cause conflict with the locals who could make use of it. But the other side thought that the tarp was covered in mud and insects, and was essentially trash, so who cares if we take it? Truman and I were both on this side. He also mentioned that election materials like the tarp should be disposed of a few days after any race is over and anyways, in Taiwan, camping on public land is completely legal. Anyways, the discussion was simply an example of a Talking Circle with two opposing viewpoints. It reminded me of long activist meetings in college. Luckily, everything in Rainbow is voluntary. I walked away and made myself busy by washing some bowls.

The Work

When Dean and I arrived the “seed camp” was still underway. That meant that those there were devoted to helping set up the camp and spend more time in the woods. There were just 20 people, so everyone could do a job if they wanted. Things like cutting down grass to set up the Welcome Center (a tarp with information), a large kitchen (that could cook potentially for 100-200 people), and running supply missions (for big pots, knives, tarps).

I met Jota, a man from Spain. He seemed like any other homeless guy I’ve met – ragged t-shirts, a slightly damp smell, long hair and beard. He was humble about his skills but multi-lingual, a great chess player, and a wonderful conversationalist. He had a remarkably calming personality. When Dean was worried about snake bites, Jota assured us, “no, no, it will all be alright, you know. The snake will not bite one who is just sleeping on the ground.” During work time, he spent time making a mud-based clay to build a stone furnace. He enscribed a word “Chia” onto the furnace. I asked him what it meant – he said that he built a furnace with his friend Chia years before. Two years ago, he passed away, so the furnace was built in his honor.

The Vibes

The Rainbow Gathering can be described in various ways. It is simultaneously…

• a bunch of people camping in the woods
• a sober, vegan event
• a convention for hippies to hang out
• a nude-friendly space
• a non-monetary, donation-based commune
• a battle-ground of personalities

Did it feel different to be in the woods and bathe in a stream? Was it fantastic that things were completely donation-based? Did nudity make me feel completely liberated? I’d say no. Life at Rainbow felt like life anywhere else. It’s a group of people living in a place. Some of which I felt close to, some felt more alien.

I can imagine that for those who have been traveling for years in foreign countries, Rainbow felt like home. I personally felt neutral about being there. I didn’t mind so much the naked white dudes or the bugs crawling on my sleeping bag. And I liked that the opportunity to be in nature and meet people of different backgrounds was rather unique. For me, though, Rainbow felt like a small retreat, not a way of life. I craved the hive mind of the city and internet connectivity. I felt stunted without being able to call my close friends or write on my blog. All that was there was the people and the work at hand.