Forbes
The Future Of Burning Man Emerges At Fly Ranch, An Outrageous New World In The Black Rock Desert
March 3, 2021
By Jim Dobson
Deep in the dry, windy desert of Northern Nevada is a great basin filled with playas, hot springs, and lava beds, surrounded by numerous volcanic and geothermal features.
Every year since 1986, right before Labor Day, almost 80,000 people gather to celebrate Burning Man, the legendary assembly of spirited people guided by the founders ten principles: “radical inclusion, gifting, decommodification, radical self-reliance, radical self-expression, communal effort, civic responsibility, leaving no trace, participation, and immediacy.”
With the pandemic eliminating the annual bohemian gathering in 2020 and possibly in 2021, a new frontier has started. Without the enormous experimental structures and mutant vehicles reminiscent of “Mad Max,” the now-aging devoted followers of Burning Man are focused on creating something even more dramatic, revolutionary, and above all sustainable. Welcome to Fly Ranch!
Burning Man Project and the Land Art Generator Initiative collaborated to create the LAGI 2020 Fly Ranch design challenge, inviting innovators and creatives to propose regenerative projects for Fly Ranch, an off-grid 3,800-acre ranch in the Great Basin.
According to LAGI, “Teams were asked to integrate sustainable systems for energy, water, food, shelter, and waste management into works of art in the landscape. The objective is to build the foundational infrastructure for Fly Ranch, support Burning Man Project’s 2030 sustainability goals, and engage a global audience to work together towards systemic transformation, and serve as an inspiration for the developing field of regenerative design.”