Gift Economy

The gift economy is a unique feature of the Burner community. In the world of the almighty dollar (yen, peso, drachma...), we trade money for goods or services. In a gift economy, we simply give things away with no expectation of return. Vending, commercial sponsorships, advertising, and exchanging things for money are banned at InterFuse.

Even bartering is discouraged. Anything that is exchanged is a gift. However, if someone gives you a gift or does something nice for you, we guarantee that you’ll have a better time if you give them a gift in return.

Related Link: Vending

Why We Do It

A note from Zay, Founder of Midwest Burners

"Commerce can be very impersonal. Think of standing in line at Wal-mart. Gifting is deeply personal. When I see a gift, I remember the person who gave it to me and all the good times I had with that person. Even if I just briefly met that person, the gift helps them stand out in my mind. And unlike consumer goods, it’s hard for that gift to become trash. A gift is a personal bond, a memory cache."

About Flyering...

Flyers do not count as gifts. In fact, flyering for any event, including raves and concerts, falls into the category of advertising and is prohibited at InterFuse.

We do realize that there is a grey area when it comes to free parties, non-profit community art/music events, etc. Remember that gifting is all about personal interaction. Handing out flyers for free parties, while technically not a commercial activity, is highly impersonal. As a result, flyers add to the event trash and that is not cool! Do you really want your event or group being associated with ugly, wasteful trash?

If you absolutely must tell like minded people about your community event, do it organically and personally. Meet cool people while you’re having fun. If, while you’re hanging out with them, you feel they would dig your event, exchange contact information. The point is to treat people at InterFuse like any of your other friends, not like faceless bodies that you need to populate your own event.

Don’t come to InterFuse to promote.

Related Links:

Gifting Suggestions & Examples

Gifting strengthens personal bonds but it enhances the community in broader ways. At Burning Man 2004, some people built a mobile toothbrush bar, complete with a sink, toothpaste dispensers, and hundreds of separately packaged toothbrushes! They busted it out at dawn to remove the funk from everyone’s mouth after a hard night of fun. So if you’re racking your brain for gift ideas, consider the practical angle. What can you do to give everyone a better experience?

  • Share food and drink with your neighbors and new friends. There’s something primally connecting about satisfying basic human needs together.
  • Music is always a great gift. Have some CDs you've made of some experimental stuff or a funky mix? Give 'em out!
  • The best gifts are homemade because you’ve put a piece of yourself into it. If your gift isn’t homemade, you can enhance it by putting your own personal spin on it. For example, at InterFuse 2004, someone gifted Playa Survival Packs, made with store-bought items like chapstick.
  • Gifts are all about memories. It’s always fun to receive memorabilia like jewelry or other accessories that mention the specific event, that year’s theme, a specific Theme Camp, or an activity. It could be as simple as a pendant that says InterFuse.
  • Another way to gift is to contribute to an existing ThemeCamp. Are they serving drinks? Contribute alcohol. Are they a lounge? See if they want to add the bean bag you brought.
  • Remember, gifts can be services too. So doing things for people counts as gifting. Can you give a kick-ass massage? Hook a brotha or sista up! In fact, volunteering is really gifting to the entire community.

Have fun! Your gifting possibilities are unlimited.

Related Link: Volunteer

Questions About The Gift Economy?

Use web-based email to Contact The Event Planners.


"Fan the sinking flame of hilarity with the wing of friendship; and pass the rosy wine."

— Charles Dickens