Afrika Burns Creative Projects (ABCP) has now served as custodian of Quaggafontein and Vaalfontein for four years. Meeting the land towards the end of 2019, ABCP officially moved its operations there in November 2020. Since then, we have been feeling our way forward in developing processes, protocols, practices, and policies, so that we as a community can be our best selves in a landscape that balances the hopes and dreams of our creative community with Tankwa Karoo neighbour relations, flora and fauna, natural resources, heritage, and regulatory requirements. 

At the end of September, a large delegation representing the entire organisation (including our volunteer members, board of directors, and operations team members) convened at the Vaalfontein Homestead for a Bosberaad. We explored and interrogated elements of the emerging strategic plan, experientially feeling into time and space and the impacts of climate change, creatively exploring issues that non-human voices might raise, and the steps we would need to take towards establishing a charter or vision for the land, including how restoration programmes could benefit accordingly. 

Following this, the voting members of AfrikaBurn have ratified the philosophical direction of an emerging access and occupancy policy, which sets out how the organisation can enable creative intentions at Quaggafontein and Vaalfontein, both at the annual event and beyond. This policy draws together the threads of our current understanding of how our diverse community are wanting to spend time with the land including details of which areas, when, and for what purpose in a way that aligns with the organisation’s objects in its memorandum of incorporation (founding document), its vision, mission, values, and AfrikaBurn guiding 11 principles, the genesis of which came from Burning Man. The document also integrates how the intentions of the AfrikaBurn community and possibly beyond can be facilitated – what processes would need to be put in place and what capacity would need to be created and drawn upon in creative pursuit. It also seeks to set some boundaries, e.g., no-go areas in order to tread lightly, no-go activities (like advertising shoots) that would commodify custodianship of Quaggafontein and Vaalfontein, which was gifted by the landowners.   

This forms part of our Strategic Pathway – a plan that has been developed over the last 22 months. The plan grew out of a historic review of the organisation’s dreaming, discussing, and debating. In our future-looking plan, we will develop a charter or vision for the land and add operational capacity to manage and restore its historically degraded ecosystems. Of course, there’s a lot that we can’t foresee as well, which is why these processes take time and four years is a very, very short period in the Tankwa’s lifetime thus far. 

On the immediate horizon, we have a mix of operational and developmental imperatives – which are: 

1. An inaugural audit with the landowners, which forms part of our current lease agreement. Here we will review the past four years and set intentions for the next period. Ensuring an external check and balance on what we do in line with our memorandum of incorporation, we have open communication and create a shared understanding on what the foreseeable future will hold as we move through the process of learning what it means to be custodians, or guardians, and not ‘owners’ of this piece of land.
2. There has been a long history of ecological degradation in Quaggafontein and Vaalfontein (and the greater Tankwa region), mainly due to livestock overgrazing. This massive loss of biodiversity is largely because of human activity. A biodiversity survey is a key piece of our data collection for all of our plans, and this is currently underway. 
3. We have identified a need for an aesthetic survey scoping exercise and plan to identify where infrastructure that facilitates our activities can be sited with the least negative impact. This will include the consideration of our 360° visual impact and ensure that we meet operating requirements according to environmental legislation. A process is underway, initiated ahead of the 2024 Creation event. 
4. One of our major event challenges, having moved to our new site, has been the need to use neighbouring airstrips for medical evacuation by fixed-wing aeroplane.  We are undergoing an Environmental Impact Assessment and are designing an appropriate airstrip. Of critical importance in this process is moving plant species, and the timing for that is right now. We will employ a phased approach to ensure minimal impact on the environment, starting with building and testing, using in situ materials and only progressing to bringing in external materials as required. This also requires a phased resourcing plan. 
5. Another critical behind-the-scenes operational challenge has been the infrastructure associated with our humanuring processes. Four flash floods since December 2022 and sporadic high winds have hampered our progress in establishing circular solutions for sewerage processing. We have recently lost critical work days and materials to high winds, resulting in some of our equipment (and our gees) being destroyed. We are exploring new methods and anticipate completing a circular system within the next three years. The team is currently up in the Tankwa with the next round of implementation. 
6. Once the aesthetic scoping is completed, the organisation will gauge the infrastructure needs. Our community’s artists, architects, engineers, and industrial designers will have an opportunity to help co-design sites of operations, which need to include the practicalities of equipment being safe from the elements and secured from theft. The organisation will develop a resourcing plan to roll out over a medium-term period.
   This exercise will also regulate storage space, and at this point we will seek engagement from the creative community towards understanding their desires.
   Until these exercises have been completed, it would be irresponsible to increase storage opportunities for crews
7. When all these data points, i.e., environmental surveying,  aesthetic scoping, community feedback and resourcing plans come together, they will provide us with the baseline for the crafting of the vision or the charter for Quaggafontein and Vaalfontein as exemplars of the ‘Turning’, as identified in our Strategic Pathway.

At this stage, with the work ahead, we anticipate we will be able to engage with community members after the Out Of The Blue 2025 event, on next steps.

* Original article by Les Underhill: https://thebdi.org/2024/09/28/tankwa-karoo-national-park-with-the-sanparks-honorary-rangers/