Newspaper Page Text
Wednesday, June 27,2018
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 5A
Forsyth County News
Left, two men from the Rainbow Family of Living Light play a song on June 25. A little boy rides his
bike in the Bull Mountain area just outside of Dahlonega, where thousands of people are currently con
vening for the Rainbow Family of Living Light gathering.
FROM 1A
Rainbow
photos and video of
them, and learning as
much as we could about
their lives.
‘Welcome home’
At 10:08 a.m. Monday,
we parked along forest
service road 28-1. Two
truckloads of forestry ser
vice members were out
early to do a routine safe
ty inspection of the sur
rounding area and attend
a “town hall meeting”
with Rainbow Family
members.
Before making the trip
up, we had no contact
with anyone from the
Rainbow Family, so we
were hitting the ground
cold and had no idea
what kind of reception
we could expect from the
gathered members.
But almost immediate
ly, our group stumbled
upon Ryan Smith, a
Rainbow Family Member
affectionately referred to
as “The Professor.” Smith
volunteered with no hesi
tation to be our guide for
the day, explaining the
purpose of the gathering
and pointing out land
marks as we walked
along the trail.
“For me, the most
important thing is that it’s
a gathering, people are
going somewhere and
gathering,” he said, hop
ping a small puddle on
the dirt trail. “We go to a
different place and get all
this different knowledge
about the plants, the for
est ecology that lives
there, and different com
munity interactions.”
Smith wore a black
backpack, a brown
brimmed hat, and a worn
tan t-shirt with a large
button that reads
“Consent = Less than yes
is a no.” As he strolled
down the path, Smith said
that the gathering has no
leader and is instead run
by a collection of individ
uals he calls the “consen
sus process” which deter
mines practical things
like how donations are
used, what ethical guide
lines are upheld and
where future gatherings
will be held.
“It’s both a beautiful
and frustrating process,”
he said with a laugh.
He said even though
the Rainbow Family is
ultimately a gathering of
equals, deference and
respect is still given to
Rainbow Family elders,
called “Earlies,” who
have been coming to
gatherings for decades.
“Earlies” are often sought
out for counsel on how to
handle problems.
“We can add that wis
dom to our own and
make better decisions,”
Smith said.
From the front gate,
Smith led us down the
meandering trail, past
lonely tents and sprawl
ing tarp-covered log
structures scattered
throughout the woods and
side trails.
He said that each camp
has a name, often based
on what the camp does
for the gathering, like
cooking food, providing
workshops on a variety of
different topics, crafting
different items like leath
er bags, or playing acous
tic music at all hours of
the day or night.
At every turn we are
greeted warmly. Some
people ask us who we are
reporting for. Others tell
us we are loved. Still
more tell us, “Welcome
home.”
‘Go in peace’
At the Stich and Witch
Camp, which specializes
in sewing and herbs, we
meet a leather crafter
named Jonah that states
he has been coming to
gatherings for 10 years.
Jonah said he originally
started the camp as a way
to help give people a skill
they could take with them
after the gathering and
become more self-reliant
in their normal lives.
“We noticed that a lot
of these kitchens were
feeding people but not
doing much to fill in that
gap,” he said.
This idea of self-reli
ance and “transfer of
knowledge” isn’t uncom
mon in the camp. Jonah
explained that many peo
ple see the gathering as a
way to learn a new skill
from someone who
knows more, by simply
following them around
and watching them.
After being fed brown
ies cooked in a Dutch
oven, we are sent on our
way with more “welcome
homes.”
At the next camp, camp
Fat Kids, named for its
yearly ritual of making
and serving handmade
doughnuts, Smith stops to
show us the camp’s water
filtration system, a com
plicated system of spring-
fed hoses, filters leading
in and out of a monster
sized container of fresh
drinking water.
“There’s a lot to learn
in different sites,” Smith
said, “and they pose dif
ferent challenges and you
have to get a different
education to handle it.”
Smith said that despite
having thousands gather
ing, living and disposing
of waste in such close
quarters, the gathering
manages to keep mem
bers healthy by adhering
to a strict hygiene regi
ment around water sourc
es and food.
Gatherings are often
accused of causing dam
age to the ecosystem they
inhabit, but in Smith’s
estimation this damage is
surface level at worst. By
using fallen trees and tree
limbs for firewood, he
said they end up reducing
the risk of forest fires. By
safely burying food com
post and human waste,
they naturally “reintro
duce carbon to the soil
and provide nutrients to
the forest.”
“Most of the damage
we get accused of is aes
thetic damage where we
are killing some smaller
section of the plants. But
typically, by a year or
two later you can’t even
tell,” he said.
At the camp kitchen, a
man named Dok shows
me the loaves of bread he
is making for the after
noon, each full of herbs,
olives, butter and other
goodies.
After Camp Fat Kids,
we climb down into a
hollow to camp Instant
Soup where we are fed
fried red potatoes. A
woman named Elizabeth
tells us the camp was
started 22 years ago to
provide a variety of
vegan soups for anyone
that might need them at
all hours of the day or
night.
After once again being
fed and given water at
Instant Soup, we make
our way across a stream
and out into an open
meadow that in the com
ing days will be trans
formed into the Kid
Village, equipped with
swings and playground
equipment for camp
youngsters.
In the meadow, a shirt
less middle-age man who
seems to be overseeing
the building operations at
Kid Village reminds us to
ask before we photograph
and explains that area is
meant to be a sanctuary
for families of the gather
ing where Rainbow
youngsters can play, eat
and be away from any
R-rated reveling that
might be going on else
where in the camp.
“We keep it in a family
environment,” he said.
“We try not to allow
drinking around here.
There’s no smoking
around here. It’s basically
for the kids to have a safe
place, and their parents,
while they are gathering
here.”
The man leaves us with
a blessing of, “go in
peace.”
‘It’s a detox’
We round a bend in the
trail, cross another small
trail and reach the
encampment of the Katua
Regional Rainbow
Family gathering.
There we met Reed, a
Cumming local, who said
that he has come to two
national gatherings and
called them “some of the
best weeks of his life.”
Reed said that after
experiencing the National
Rainbow Gatherings in
the 1990s and 2000s, he
raised his son going to
the regional gatherings.
“It’s a detox from all
the stress in the real
world,” Reed said. “We
call the woods our church
because god built this
place. Man built some
thing else out of polyvi
nyl and bricks ... We
come to the woods to
hold hands and worship
in a very natural way.”
Before we turn back to
make the long walk to
our car, Reed says what
keeps him coming back
all these years is a feeling
of release and acceptance
that can only be found at
the gatherings. A feeling
that comes from listening
to other people and being
heard completely.
“Bring your friends
back! Anyone with a
belly button is welcome,”
he said, lifting up his
shirt with a grin.
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