What is a Rainbow Gathering?

There are as many definitions of Rainbow Gatherings as there are ple who’ve been to one! However, a Rainbow Gathering is essentially a temporary intentional community, an experiment in communal living. There are no paid organisers, no authoritarian hierarchy – we all work together as a collective to make the gathering run smoothly, sharing our knowledge, skills and joy together. Recently, gatherings in Australia last for about a month, with set-up (called Seed Camp) starting about a week earlier, and pack down / clean up for a week after the official end date. The peak of the gathering is the Full Moon.

At Rainbow, we prepare two communal meals a day, breakfast and dinner. We eat together in a big circle around the “Sacred Fire”, which represents the heart of the gathering. Rainbow attracts a wide variety of people including travellers, gypsies, backpackers, hippies, musicians, artists, circus folk, people with alternative lifestyles as well as working professionals interested in a different way of life. Gatherings are free and non-commercial – Rainbow is not a music or lifestyle festival with massive infrastructure and a specific program of events – things happen more organically and spontaneously, and there is very simple infrastructure. “Welcome Home” is a standard first greeting - something you’ll hear a lot when you arrive, and welcoming newcomers as if they were your own family is an important part of Rainbow life. Please welcome newcomers when you see them arriving and let them know how things work in Rainbow and where things are. We can all help each other to feel at home!

What do we do at a Rainbow Gathering?

In general, people are free to do whatever they like at any time, anywhere.

This freedom of action is available at any time, to anyone. At those times when we don’t do what we like, we have a reason or reasons to refrain from doing what we like, perhaps because that action would contradict our ethics, or perhaps contradict social norms and customs, or perhaps contradict applicable rules or laws, or perhaps because we don’t want the consequences of that action, or some other reason.

At Rainbow Gatherings there are no rules or laws and we want an optimum balance between freedom and structure

The Rainbow Guidelights are an important part of the structure of the Rainbow Gatherings. The minimal structure they provide enables freedoms like

• the freedom to enjoy communal areas without inhaling tobacco smoke

• the freedom to swim in river water that we have not polluted

• the freedom to enjoy the Sacred Fire without inhaling toxic smoke from unseasoned wood

• the freedom to eat communally prepared meals, or to prepare your own food

Apart from the work we all share to help the gathering run smoothly, many people enjoy spending time with new friends, eating together in circle, sharing knowledge, attending or creating workshops, talking circles - brother circles - sister circles - heart circles, singing, dancing, playing music, drumming, cooking amazing food for the family, drinking chai around the fire, swimming in the river, running around naked, singing Rainbow songs and bhajans, connecting with nature, having long conversations about the meaning of life, yoga, meditation, massage….. the list goes on! 

What are the Rules?

There are no “Rules”, we have guide-lights:

We respect our earth.

We maintain safe and hygienic communal areas by:

Keeping them clean and tidy.Pooing only in the shit pit.

Sharing these spaces responsibly.Minimizing our impact. (carry-in, carry-out)

We respect our fires.

We burn only dead, hard wood, preserving green wood and habitats.We burn wood minimally, and keep fireplaces safe for people and the environment. ​

We respect our air.

We keep our personal smoke from impacting the communal areas.

We keep the welcome center, main fire and kitchen free from smoking.

We are mindful of the impact of sounds we make, in our speech, and as we pass on announcements. 



We respect our water.

It must remain un-polluted from contaminants such as chemicals, soaps, oils, food waste, pee & poo!

We swim down-stream of the kitchen.



We respect our hearts.

Through our respect we grow in peace and mindfulness, and share the blossoming of trust, love and personal growth.

How Can I Help?

You can participate in SO MANY WAYS! There are all kinds of different things that need doing. Some don’t involve much responsibility – collecting firewood, chopping vegetables, preparing food, tending the kitchen fire, serving food at circle, painting pretty signs, washing pots after meals, setting up tipis and communal spaces, welcoming new people with a “Welcome Home!” and telling them how things work, making chai, helping on a supply mission…. If you’re not sure what needs to be done, ask someone!

In Rainbow, jobs that have some degree of responsibility are done by ‘focalisers’. If you are focalising dinner, for example, you are the one who is at the hub of the wheel. You coordinate other people helping in the kitchen. Anyone can be a focaliser, they just usually need a little training from someone more experienced. Examples of focalising roles include: Breakfast focaliser, Kitchen focaliser, Serving focaliser, Food supply focaliser.

No individual person in rainbow should hold any position of responsibility alone. A circle of people is stronger than one person. Ideally many people should take turns focalising and sharing the love! There are some family members with lots of focalising experience who are very happy to share their knowledge with new focalisers! It’s fun to focalise!

What about Food? How does the Kitchen Work?

There is one communal kitchen at Australian Rainbows. The kitchen is not where we eat, it is the place where the food is prepared. There’s always help needed in the kitchen, it’s easy and fun! We need to uphold a high standard of hygiene in the kitchen to ensure people don’t get sick. We prepare two communal healthy vegetarian meals per day (something like a late breakfast and a dinner) and eat in a big circle around the sacred main fire. This is called a Food Circle. When the food is half an hour from being ready, you will hear the first “FOOD CIRCLE” call from the kitchen. Then a second call, “FOOD CIRCLE”. Finally the third call “FOOD CIRCLE…NOW!!” . The NOW! means the food is ready to eat and at the circle. Please be at the circle by the third call. Please repeat the calls when you hear them so everyone across the site knows it is Food Circle. Bring your own bowl / plate and cutlery to the circle to eat.

The food served is vegetarian, we don’t use meat, sugar, dairy or eggs. There is usually optional honey at breakfast.We minimize the use of processed food. Whenever possible, we try to source organic food from local farmers.We try to make the food edible for everyone including children, so not too spicy. We don’t combine the dishes (eg, pasta and sauce) so that people can choose to only eat part of the meal. There are gluten free options available. If you have a certain food allergy, please inform the kitchen focaliser (or someone experienced) when you arrive. We cannot always cater for special diets but can usually work something out.

What about Drinking Water and Washing?

Gatherings are always held next to a river or stream. We try to ensure that this water is as clean as possible, and it is usually filtered using our Rainbow water filter, then piped to the kitchen. We treat our water source as sacred - NO SOAPS, DETERGENTS, SHAMPOOS, TOOTHPASTES or anything goes in the water, even if it is biodegradable and handmade by angels in Byron Bay! There are always fish and sometimes even turtles in the water - they don’t like soap, even if it is organic!

If you wish to wash with soap etc, get a bucket of water from the river, carry it at least 100 metres away, wash, and pour the water out AWAY from the river. The drinking water collection point is always upstream from the main part of the gathering. Please do not swim upstream from the water collection point.

What Should we Bring to Rainbow? Can we Camp with our Vehicles?

Try to remember when you pack that there’s a good chance the car-park will be a decent walk from the gathering site (maybe 20 minutes to an hour), and it’s usually not possible to drive into the site because we choose to maintain the peaceful atmosphere of Rainbow. We all use cars outside of Rainbow, so we see this as an amazing chance to be away from cars and noise for a while! Near the car-park, there will be a ‘Gypsy Camp’ – a space for people to camp with their vehicles, but this will be separate from the main gathering and usually a decent walk away.

If you have kids, physical impairment or lots of gear, you will easily find people who will help you carry it in to the site.

What to bring: Essentials - Camping Gear - Tent, Sleeping Mat, Sleeping Bag, Umbrella or Raincoat, Torch, Batteries, Bowl / Plate, Cutlery, Clothes for warm and cool weather, Towel, Water Bottle, Personal toiletries etc.

Optional - Musical Instruments, Art Materials, Snacks, equipment for your own camp kitchen.

How Much does it Cost? What is the Magic Hat?

Entry to Rainbow is free! The only time we involve money at the gathering is after each meal, when we sing and dance and pass around the ‘Magic Hat’. The money collected in the Magic Hat is used to buy the food and supplies we need to make the gathering happen. For supply reasons, it is MUCH easier if you put all of your contribution at the beginning of the gathering. That means put it ALL in rather than a little every day. Then we have enough money to buy food in bulk for a cheaper price. No-one will know how much you put in the Magic Hat. You are encouraged to contribute whatever you feel is appropriate, and within your means. The more money in the hat, the yummier the food we can buy!!

What is the Deal with Workshops and Circles?

Talking Circle - Traditionally, after first food circle every day, there is a ‘Talking Circle”. This involves passing a ‘talking stick’ around a circle, giving each person a chance to talk when they are holding the stick. Talking circles can be amazing and powerful, but remember not to talk too long, the best talking circles happen when the stick goes around a few times and people have the chance to respond to each other!

Other circles are held at Rainbow too – Men’s Circles, Women’s Circles, Heart Circles (for expressing whatever you’re feeling in your heart, no matter how deep or personal) and the very important Vision Council - for deciding when and where the next gathering will be, and our visions and dreams for future gatherings. Circles can also be called on specific topics like shamanism, relationships, etc. A lot of healing happens during circles, sometimes it feels good just to talk about how you feel, knowing that you’re in a supportive space and not being judged. Anyone can call a circle.

Workshops happen whenever people decide to do them! There is no program. Most days there will be a couple of things happening – maybe a massage workshop, a women’s circle, maybe a song sharing workshop, maybe a yoga class before breakfast or acro-balance before dinner… anything you can imagine! If you want to run a workshop, you can announce it in the first round of the talking circle straight after breakfast. If you are interested in talking about a certain topic, you can call a talking circle based on that topic.

How are decisions made? What is Consensus?

In Rainbow there are no official organisers, leaders or bosses. There are the general guidelines, and traditions of Rainbow Gatherings worldwide, but outside of that, decisions are made by Consensus, in a talking circle. Circles are held on specific organisational topics.

The talking circle may be resolved very quickly, or it may take some time, but any final decision must be by consensus - this means that every member of the talking circle must agree to the proposal at hand. The consensus is reached by a member of the circle making a proposal, stating it clearly for everyone present and then asking for consensus by silence. For smaller matters, it is enough to ask for a moment’s silence to agree - if anyone does not agree to the consensus, they may speak out, and the circle continues. For more important issues, it is usual to call the consensus and then pass the talking stick in silence for one round of the circle. Anyone may speak out against the proposal, but if the stick is returned to the original speaker, in silence, the consensus is reached and finalised.

In Vision Councils, consensus can only be called during daylight hours, starting from after the first Food Circle of the day. This is so that everyone present is able to look clearly into the eyes of everyone in the circle while a consensus is being made.

What about Pets? Can I bring my Dog?

Gatherings are often held in national parks where pets are not allowed. It seems that every dog owner thinks that their dog is an angel, but there have been many issues in the past with dogs licking people’s bowls at the food circle, getting into the food in the kitchen, chewing open rubbish bags, making a mess, and even biting people. Also, it’s very important for our clean water source that pets do not swim upstream from the water collection point. The behaviour of any pets brought to a gathering is the responsibility of their owner/companion. Dogs may cause trouble, noise and emarassment at a gathering, which can all be avoided by simply not bringing them.

Can I come early to help set up? What is ‘Seed Camp’?

Seed camp is the “set up” of the gathering, usually a week or two before the official start of the gathering - it’s one of the best times to be at Rainbow because it’s a smaller group of focused people working together to build infrastructure. The Seed Camp sets the tone for the gathering - we work together to build kitchens and communal spaces, set up water systems and shit pits, create main circle, chai shop, kids areas, etc. It’s a great time to connect, learn practical skills and put loving energy into creating an amazing gathering space. If you choose to come for the Seed Camp, you have volunteered to help with the set up of the gathering. Seed Camp involves doing some work every day and having focused meetings to arrange what needs to be done. There’s still time to relax, but at Seed Camp, the work is the focus. Being part of Seed Camp is rewarding, you get the best camping spots, work as part of an awesome team to get the site ready, and get to see the gathering grow from a tiny seed to a huge circle on Full Moon!

How Do We Stay Healthy?

Hygiene is crucial in Rainbow Gatherings. In an environment with a large number of people camping, it is very easy to spread diseases and infections, so it is vital that everyone takes extra care to follow some simple Rainbow cleanliness and hygiene standards.

Hand washing is the most important one - people must wash hands properly with tea tree sprays provided after using the latrines, before entering the kitchen, before food preparation, before food serving and before eating.

The kitchen must be kept clean - all pots need to be cleaned, and tables and cutting boards should be wiped and sprayed with vinegar before and after use. Compost should be emptied out - don’t leave food scraps around for flies! No one should be in the kitchen if they are sick at all or have open wounds on their hands or infected wounds anywhere.

Wash your personal dishes - it’s important that we don’t leave dirty food bowls around main circle - this attracts flies and wildlife. Take your bowl and wash it properly at the washing station provided after meals

Keep the latrines (shit pits) clean - we sprinkle hydrated lime (a white powder used in building and agriculture) over our waste in the latrines to keep flies away. Only use the proper latrines - don’t go to the toilet in the bush! Make sure you cover your waste and toilet paper well with lime and wash your hands afterwards.

If you do get sick - take care of it immediately.

All wounds must be cleaned and covered to avoid staph infections. Don’t let infected wounds go untreated - see someone in the healing space or ask for help. These infections can become serious and can be highly contagious.

If you become ill, ask for help. There are always people with healing knowledge, and there are many options, both natural (herbal, homeopathic, traditional) and from Western medicine. We must be very aware not to spread diseases around the gathering, and we maintain that healing is one of the highest priorities at rainbow. :)