Pub 107

 Pup 107

Our dog friends are part of our family, and we love them. Bringing a dog to a gathering carries both special joy and extra responsibility. In many ways, dogs are like small children, and need as much attention and care as children do. If you are able to leave them at home, your gathering will be more spontaneous and worry-free, and your dogs will be much safer.

If you do decide to bring them, attach waterproof I.D. tags to their collars with their names, your name, where you are camped, and your home phone number so you can be reunited if you become separated. Be sure they are current on all their vaccinations because there will be many dogs there, and contagious illness spreads quickly.

Be sensitive to your dogs' physical and emotional needs. Offer them food and water often. Make sure shade is available. Even though you are busy, don't forget to give them attention throughout the day. Be patient with them. They're in an unfamiliar environment, and it may be exciting or confusing. It may take them awhile to learn what "out of the kitchen!" means, and you'd probably rather teach them your way than have someone else teach them.

Be considerate of others. Teach your dogs good manners. When coming to a circle, ask them to lie quietly beside or behind you. Keep them out of kitchens, compost pits, and shitters. Don't let them fight with other dogs. Females in heat can cause serious problems, so leave them at home if at all possible. Spaying or neutering your dogs is always a responsible thing to do, and will spare you much hassle in a gathering situation.

Be environmentally aware. Keep dogs out of water sources and other sensitive areas. Pick up their poop, drop it in a shitter, and cover it up, just as you would your own. Remember that dogs are essentially pack animals. When they get together in the freedom of the open woods, they love to run. It's not a good idea to let them do it. They can harm wildlife or get into serious trouble by chasing sheep and cattle. Tying a dog in camp for long periods of time can be unfair both to your neighbors and to your dog. Keep your dog at your side – on a leash if necessary.

As with so many other things at the gathering, respect is the key: respect for your own needs, respect for your neighbors' needs, and respect for your dog's needs. We can have it all. It just takes some attention to detail.

Rap on Access

 For people with special needs, ask for Handicamp - a space for people with mobility and other related disabilities with lots of folks willing to help you make the most of your gathering experience. However, keep in mind that not all people who need close in parking at Handicamp will be able to get it as the lots do fill up.  Sometimes our ability to maintain Handicamp parking is constrained by the United States Forest Service. But the situation varies year to year and even day to day. Providing access for those who need it is one of the hardest things to manage at the gathering. We often work something out, then have to change it for a variety of reasons.  My best recommendation is arrive earlier as the later you come, the more challenging the parking situation tends to become.

The gathering proper can be 1/2 to 2 miles away from vehicle access and may involve hills. There is usually a drop-off point where people and gear can stage at the trail head even if parking is further out. While the trails can be tough and conditions vary from site to site, there's usually a couple of friendly folks just waiting to assist with the rough spots. Sometimes we have cool things like rickshaws to assist people in getting around but sometimes we don't or the service of such assistance devices is intermittent and it may take hours to coordinate transport.

Also, while I understand the desire to sleep in your rig, it is actually easier if you camp in the central part of the gathering by the kitchen of your liking as it will be much easier for others to provide support and you will have access to all the magical happenings. Getting volunteers to help 200 people into the gathering is one thing. Finding volunteers to help 200 people twice a day as they commute to the parking lot is a lot harder for everyone.

~~ Access Rap ~~

While the gathering has always been open to all people with physical disabilities of all levels, as people get older and more people with disabilities want to gather, it becomes more important to address their needs and their problems with access.

The gathering is a back country experience with minimal modifications to the natural landscape, and all people who gather need to be prepared for rough conditions that vary from year to year. However, there is an abundance of helping hands to assist with needs as requested, and, as our family grows and changes, an increasing awareness of how we can assist our family when they are coming home.

People with strong backs and strong arms: Our siblings sometimes need help in getting from point A to point B, especially while carrying gear. Be alert, and if you see someone having difficulties, ask if and how you can help. When constructing all those wonderful Rainbow spaces, think about how someone in a wheelchair would get to and into it – or better yet, find someone in a wheelchair and ask what would be best. Think about how someone in a wheelchair or on crutches can use a shitter and design accordingly.

People with special needs: Ask how to get to HandiCamp, a place for people with mobility problems and other disabilities, with folks willing to help you make the most of your gathering experience. While the trails can be tough and the conditions can vary from site to site, there are usually a few friendly folk willing to assist you with the rough spots. Sometimes people bring cool things like rickshaws to help people get around. Sometime we do not have any mobility transport devices. If you have a handicapped placard, please bring it. Some years that helps us get people closer parking, some years it doesn't.

We will have registered nurses and medical doctors on site during the main days of the gathering. It's a great idea to connect up with a health care practitioner when you arrive and before you need assistance so that someone is familiar with your needs and can assist more quickly.  Please, ask for help when you need it and give another gatherer a chance to be of service.

People with ongoing medical needs: Bring your own personal supplies, like catheters, wraps, special chairs, diapers, cleanups, oxygen, other medical items. Bring your own attendant if you need assistance with personal care (like bowel programs, skin transfers, catheterizations, dressing of wounds), or with supervision or other issues (like mobility, access, or safety).

Everyone: Come celebrate our interdependence! Participate in the joys of helping and the joys of being helped.

Creating a Healthy Gathering Through Handwashing

 One thing that goes a long way to keeping folks at a gathering healthy and safe is washing hands - a lot. And I don't mean just rubbing your hands with sanitizer, but actual biodegradable soap (Dr. Bronner's is great) and filtered or boiled water. Some awesome Rainbow engineers have designed a hand wash station that's transportable and light weight. One goal of a Rainbow hand wash station is to make it hands free, so no one picks up germs in the process of washing their hands. (A smaller setup of this same type can be used for soap dispensing).

Here's a great drawing of what I'll explain in words below. Thanks TimBear (RIP).



"From our experience, the primer bulb check valve can fail if the water gets trash in it. The solution we found was a small piece of filter material (like the filter from a wet vac) or fine mesh screening (a couple of layers of panty hose) around the end of the water intake. The pvc pipe allows you to direct the water where you want it, even if there is no tree where you want the water." - TimBear's words, not mine. What ever you do, make sure the grey water is at least 300 feet from creeks, rivers, and ponds and preferable somewhere where no one is walking. Dogs and people can get into the grey water and spread the germs all over the place and that's not healthy. Placing a covered great water pit in a clump of trees or bushes is awesome!

The key is a one-way syphon valve. It's made of rubber and can be squeezed by hand. Each end has a place to clamp hose onto. I usually get them at my local Marine supply store. Hook it up to some clear plastic tubing - one end to go into a bucket of filtered water. It looks like this:


The other end should be fastened somewhere (if not using TimBear's Pipe method) and hopefully have a drain system so people aren't standing around in gray water. To conserve water, get spare sun shower nozzles and put it on the end. These are $1-2 each from a camping supply store. They work great for the "faucet" end. Here is a photo of one.



Then to wash hands, all people need to do is pump the black syphon ball with their feet, and water comes out the shower nozzle. Portable hands free hand washing and kids love it and will wash their hands a lot!

Filtered water is best for hand washing. Providing an alcohol based hand sanitizer and/or a bleach wash as a final step is a great idea, but please label what is what so people can make informed decisions.

I also like to make a sink to minimize the amount of mucky grey water around the faucet. I've used a plastic bowl in a round tomato cage. Then drill a hole in the bottom and put in a connector so you can clamp a discharge pipe and run the waste water into a gray water pit. WARNING! HIPPIES CAN BE DUMB. Every time I use my sink setup, someone thinks we should recycle the gray water by putting it back into the fresh water container. THIS IS UNSANITARY AND IS WORSE THAN NOT WASHING YOUR HANDS AT ALL. So if you use a sink, please make a sign telling people that the drain DOES NOT go into the water source.

I'll be bringing a few extra setups to give out - but we needs lots of them. If someone(s) are looking for a great public service project for this year's gathering, here's a great one. Let's make sure we have enough hand washing stations scattered around the gathering so that people can't help but wash their hands at least twice a day. Every year I promise to make them at home and bring everything but the sink, but it doesn't seem to happen. Sure is easier at home with my tools.

Clean hands creates a healthy gathering.

Just a quick reminder, no soap in any surface water. Biodegradable soap only biodegrades in the soil.  All soapy water should be kept 300 feet from surface water like creeks, rivers, ponds and springs.  Don't be the dufuss who tries to wash your hands, clothes, hair, body in the creek. All you're doing is creating dirty water for the animals (2 and 4 legged) who drink the water.