From Dust to Welcome: A Sozo Experience at Burning Man Axis Mundi for everyone!
After four days of working, arranging, and decorating, Sozo Experience Camp is finally standing on the playa. And this year it felt different.
It was the fastest, easiest build we have ever done, even as the desert reminded us it is never entirely easy.
We built through dust that found every seam, wind that tested every lag screw, guy line, knot, paracord, zipper Velcro, window seal . . . and a few brief, very light sprinkles of rain that gave everything that special patina if only for a short moment. The team kept moving anyway. Ez-ups went up. Tables and chairs found their places. Tarps stretched against sun and storm. The comms area took shape. Bike racks placed. The generator section settled into its special spot. Piece by piece the camp grew around us while we solved unexpected problems together and kept the vision of a welcoming space open for conversation and encounters of the One True Divine in front of us.
The last major piece was our star tent.
We had already set it up twice in New Mexico before we ever left for Burning Man. That first attempt taught us plenty, what not to do, what actually works, and where a few small modifications would change everything. By the time it rose over camp as the final major structure, those lessons paid off. It became a game changer: shade, presence, and a sense of arrival after days of work in the wind and dust.
Only then did the inside come to life. The coffee bar found its place. Tarps laid upon playa for protection. Rugs unrolled across the tarps. Decorations went up. What had been a beautiful structure became a space, warm, inviting, and ready for our Creator to encounter us all!
When it was finished, our property stopped looking like a collection of gear and started feeling like home.
That is what Sozo Experience Camp is meant to be: a place that feels open, warm, and ready for whoever walks in, even after the playa has thrown dust, wind, and a little rain at the people who built it.
Come sit. Have coffee. Rest in the shade of the star tent. Experience your Creator. You are welcome here.
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