>Nature> Days> update

It feels out of context to write this message as people are being killed in Lebanon and in Gaza, as civilian neighborhoods and infrastructure are being devastated, and as whole villages are being targeted and ordered to be evacuated and their residents become refugees… and still, I think this message should be written and sent.

When we started working on the 2006 queeruption it was clear that it would happen while the Israeli oppression in the Palestinian Occupied Territories continues, as well as the global war of Bush and so many other expressions of oppression and brutality. The queeruption is both an opportunity to directly confront these evils and an even rarer opportunity “to be what we believe in” – something which i believe to be most necessary to any kind of activism, though it always seems that no time is right for that.

I think that it is very clear that we will need to dedicate a lot of energies to protesting the escalating aggression of Israel in the region, which makes having the queeruption here more relevant than ever. But this also means more work on ourselves, and maybe also more need for space to relax and contemplate. Which eventually brings me to the subject of this e-mail.

As part of this exploration we decided to have the last days of the queeruption outside the traditional urban scene – in nature. It is not a totally new experiment – radical faeries and queer pagans have done it before and survived. And it does have the potential to open new ways and liberties in our relations to our bodies, to each other and to our environment; to experience inner and outer nature in a new way – and at least search new ways of DIY culture outside urban settings. Last but not least, these days can give us some space to relax and contemplate after the intensive urban days, and after the worldpride march – which now (with all the homophobic opposition to it) is kind of guaranteed to be dramatic.

Soooooo….

What do we need for the nature days to succeed?

We need your talents.

If you drum;

If you can facilitate a meditation session;

If you can teach (or just give) massage;

If you want to talk with others on witchcraft and queer politics;

If you want to share your experience in environmental activism;

If you want to organize some ritual;

If you are ready to facilitate a yoga workshop;

If you can facilitate any other activity that feels fit to the nature days….

Contact us so we can arrange in advance, and tell us if you need any special equipment. Of course, on-the-spot initiatives are more than welcome (but we do have this inner need to know in advance that things are working out well..).

Come prepared

You do not necessarily need a tent for the nature days. The weather will allow sleeping outside in your sleeping bag (if it is not too warm) or sheets, and this will be the general sleeping arrangement. However, you might want to consider bringing a tent – it has some advantages, after all…

Other things you might want to bring are:

Musical instruments (the kinds that are not dependent on electricity);

Vegan drums;

Body paints;

Your own dishes (plate, cup, fork, spoon, knife…) – I guess this goes for the whole queeruption;

Clothes that you would otherwise never dare wearing (or that someone else who might be there might otherwise never dare wearing…);

Mosquito repellent (this also goes for the whole event).

Contact us:

If you want to participate in organizing the nature days, if you have any ideas or questions, if you have any special needs that we should arrange for in advance, or if you are able to contribute in any of the ways mentioned or not mentioned here – please contact us!

You can contact the nature team through Yossi at reyo@netvision.net.il