What an AMAZING week at Reclaim the Power action camp.

An action camp is where people come together for several days to learn from each other and to take action on an issue. Reclaim the Power is about taking action against climate change and extreme energy (such as fracking). The group organises horizontally meaning that they are anti-hierarchy and work to increase equality, using techniques such as consensus decision making. Hundreds of people not only attend but work to create the camp, it’s workshops and it’s actions with people encouraged to learn and take on responsibility.

During the camp I was co-ordinating the toilets. Many of the people organising parts of the camp were completely new to the group at last years camp. By having several people shadowing a role and continually bringing new people in to roles you can very quickly grow the capacity of the movement.

As well as a march in Blackpool there were 13 different ‘affinity groups’ who undertook direct actions and protest against fracking. An affinity group is a group of people with similar aims who come together to take action on something. Direct action is where rather than ask for someone else (e.g. a politician) to do something for you, you do it yourself. So if you think something is harmful and should shut down, you don’t just ask, but you go and try to shut them down. Protesting is very similar and can even involve the same activities but is designed to get a third party to take action. One group blockaded DEFRA because of a redacted government report to demand the full version be released. Others put themselves in the way of fracking companies.

Jonny is the creator and editor of Stir magazine which focuses on community alternatives for a positive future. I asked him about how he had managed to get the magazine started.

This year was my first time at The Green Gathering festival. Although it had many of the normal components of a music festival it felt very different. People come together at the Green Gathering not just to party but to network, learn and protect the environment. There was a permaculture area, a craft skills area, music, campaigns, speakers, kids area, healing area and earth energies spiritual area. The days menu of options started early with free yoga and Tai Chi and ended late with music and talks. The food included gorgeous vegetarian and vegan food (I met Veggies again, doing a great trade), and many activities such as massage were by donation. A place were I spent a lot of beautiful time was the mobile Sento Spa. Fueled by a woodstove and funded by donations, the people working there made you feel so cared for it was a world away from a commercial space.

Although the festival has music it doesn’t have any of the big mainstream names which means that people going there are going for other reasons too. I bumped into several lovely people that I’d met along the walk as well as meeting new people doing amazing things like Tom the morris dancing pilgrim.