Applications for 2025 OPEN!
Please take care to review the details on this page thoroughly. If you're interested in joining us, you'll find an application at the bottom of this page to reach out and schedule an interview.
In 2025, we expect to welcome approximately 75 beautiful, dusty souls to comprise our playa family and help create amazing experiences together under the CouchBurners banner. Yes - we are recruiting new members!
Our ideal campers are a global mix of open-minded travelers and hosts who love connecting, sharing hospitality, and shaping amazing experiences together. Every year, together, we bring this spirit to celebrate in Black Rock City.
This is not a Plug-and-Play camp.
We are ALL volunteers. There is no staff that caters to our campers. WE (as in, YOU) build, run, and improve CouchBurners each and every year. None of us profit financially from running the camp, and money is not a substitute for participation. Everything we do is created by us, and everyone is required to help out.
CouchBurners camp is a DO-OCRACY.
We empower our campers to bring their unique gifts, personalities, & participation to BRC, and to help CouchBurners Camp present a thriving and involved environment for our fellow campers and guests. We expect you to make your mark, and we look forward to hearing how you plan to do so when considering your application.
We will collectively fund and enable functions that serve CouchBurners’ interactivity and events to BRC, while encouraging our campers to be radically self-reliant on a personal level. We’re radically inclusive, in regard to both our campers and the guests we host on playa. Everyone is to be equally welcomed and celebrated, no matter their race, nationality, age, gender identity, sexuality, class, or ability. Everyone has permission to be fully authentic and radically self-expressive, so long as it does not harm others.
Camper responsibilities
All campers are expected to embrace and embody the 10 Principles of Burning Man, and our Consent Policy.
In the months leading up to the Burn, we expect our campers will communicate and participate in our Discord server to collaborate, ideate, and meet your fellow campers. Your ideas, questions, and assistance with planning and coordination are all welcomed. You'll be invited to our regular recurring Zoom planning meetings, one or two of which may be considered mandatory in the final weeks leading up to the burn.
All campers will be assigned to a "Pod". Each pod will be responsible for running all camp logistics for one full 24 hour period during burn week, from sunset to sunset. (Pod members serve shifts within their Pod days, so yes, you can still sleep!). During this period, you'll be expected to remain on-site and contribute in several of the following ways:
Welcoming and hosting visitors, 'staffing' camp events
Running the bar, keeping the music going
Cooking family dinner for 70-80 in the kitchen
MOOP Patrol / Maintaining a 'leave no trace' environment
Maintaining our fire pit throughout the night
Errands: ice runs, recycling, flagging down gray water trucks, etc.
Helping build or break down camp
Much, much, MUCH more...
(Don't worry... Pod shifts are your time to shine! Campers often say their pod day was one of the best parts of their burn.)
All campers are expected to embrace and embody the 10 Principles of Burning Man, and our Consent Policy.
In the months leading up to the Burn, we expect our campers will communicate and participate in our Discord server to collaborate, ideate, and meet your fellow campers. Your ideas, questions, and assistance with planning and coordination are all welcomed. You'll be invited to our regular recurring Zoom planning meetings, one or two of which may be considered mandatory in the final weeks leading up to the burn.
All campers will be assigned to a "Pod". Each pod will be responsible for running all camp logistics for one full 24 hour period during burn week, from sunset to sunset. (Pod members serve shifts within their Pod days, so yes, you can still sleep!). During this period, you'll be expected to remain on-site and contribute in several of the following ways:
Welcoming and hosting visitors, 'staffing' camp events
Running the bar, keeping the music going
Cooking family dinner for 70-80 in the kitchen
MOOP Patrol / Maintaining a 'leave no trace' environment
Maintaining our fire pit throughout the night
Errands: ice runs, recycling, flagging down gray water trucks, etc.
Helping build or break down camp
Much, much, MUCH more...
(Don't worry... Pod shifts are your time to shine! Campers often say their pod day was one of the best parts of their burn.)
Camp Dues & Budget
We aim to provide a comfortable, well-appointed camp experience with solid infrastructure, fun amenities, a stocked bar, and hot meals every evening. Having said that, we are not a glamping environment nor an extravagantly luxurious atmosphere! We aim to keep costs as low as possible, to encourage those from all walks of life to attend.
In 2025, our dues are $375 per person.
After June 30th they will increase to $420.
We also offer a discounted dues rate for those with a verified ticket from the BM Ticket Aid Program
(Formerly 'Low Income Program'). Please inquire for details.
In Exchange for your dues, CouchBurners Offers:
Drinking water
A hot vegetarian dinner each night
Communal shade structure for tent campers
A shady public lounge with chairs, couches, and hammocks
A stocked bar for the public, plus cold beer & non-alcoholic drinks for campers
3+ planned events per day, throughout burn week
A DJ booth, live PA sound system, and dance floor
Games and interactivity
An active community of burners from around the planet
Access to other camp events and gatherings throughout the year
Our Budget is fully transparent, along with our camp meetings/minutes. All campers pay dues on the same scale, and have equal privilege of knowing exactly where their money is being spent. Any surplus money remaining in the camp's budget is redirected back into expenses required to maintain the camp throughout the year (such as container storage) and investments into infrastructure for the next year
A Note Regarding RVs and Those Traveling in Large Groups:
Please know we have extremely limited space for RVs and far more applicants with them than spots for them. We may be able to accommodate a few additional RVs after receiving our placement details sometime in June, but we predominately prioritize space for tent campers.
Additionally, CouchBurners typically only accepts members traveling solo or in small groups of 2-3, with occasional exceptions. We generally do not accommodate large groups of 4 or more people traveling together, in order to maintain an inclusive environment that encourages meeting and collaborating alongside new friends and campmates.
Camper Application
If you're interested in joining us in the dust, please fill out an application via the button below. Our team will review it, and will be in touch if we're interested in scheduling an interview with you. We look forward to learning who you are and how you'll help us create another magical experience together this summer.
Once you've applied, feel free to join our Discord server to introduce yourself and begin participating.
Applications for 2025 are OPEN!
