In November 2017, we announced a new supplier system designed to better manage and support suppliers and services on site, to ensure their activity on site was in line with our community’s core values. The process was devised in response to growing concern around the manner in which suppliers have been able to access our event site and the default world mentality some of them bring into Tankwa Town, including soliciting for work on site.
This new process included a 5% surcharge to be levied on any inventory brought to our event site by suppliers, to help offset the costs associated with providing and staffing a supplier gate and supplier depot. However, after feedback from some longstanding service providers – among whom are members of our community that have made significant contributions to the fabric of our city in the dust – as well as from Theme Camps and project crews, our Supplier Process has been reviewed, with the result that the proposed 5% surcharge on goods and services delivered will be waived in our 2018 cycle. The other aspects of the Supplier Process (such as registrations, refundable deposits, Supplier Passes and Vehicle Passes) remain in place, and all info on these is available on the Suppliers page of our website.
This pause will provide an opportunity for greater consultation and discussion around this important change in how our decommodified and self-reliant temporary city operates. After our 2018 event, we’ll be inviting all concerned to discuss the process in order to develop a system that’s as fair as possible whilst still enabling the needs of project crews and camps to make use of heavy equipment and large camping infrastructure, much of which is also often required to be operated by professionals and signed off by certified technicians. We’ll be announcing a Town Hall after our 2018 event, to which anyone is invited to engage in a dialogue that weighs up the various factors involved.
For suppliers and members of our community who have understood our need to develop our Supplier Process, thank you for understanding our need to manage the growth of our event in a manner that’s fair on as many people as possible. You can’t keep all the people happy all of the time – but with solid input from everyone who has an interest in this area, we’re looking forward to creating a system that answers the need to balance essential supplies and services with the culture of our event.