the oasis

fire in the belly

2008-06-13T01:12:00.000-07:00

now we have an empty shell....let's get a stove! this was an exciting step towards realizing the vision. conveniently, the nations largest sauna distributor happens to be located just out of portland, and they offer a beautiful woodburning stove from Harvia. with a small ceremony, the first fire was lit, warming the empty aluminum carcass. as the flames grew, so did the gratitude for this opportunity to manifest a dream...

gutting and scrubbing

2008-06-04T09:31:00.000-07:00

the first steps toward realizing our vision is removing the majority of the interior of the airstream. i decided to leave the bathroom intact in the rear and conceal the doorway. the front end is to become a sitting/ changing area and airlock. the main body is, of course, the sauna.
as i began removing the interior components, i quickly realized that it was high time for this thing to be stripped down anyway. there was definitely some mold and mildew accumulating in nooks and crannies, under and behind things.
i carefully removed all of the fixtures, cabinets, appliances, etc. and placed an add on craigslist. i was not able to sell many of the items within a couple of weeks, so i ended up giving everything i could away. in the end, i still had to take a load to the dump.
once empty, i scrubbed every surface i could reach with bleach. i also rented an ozone generator, sealed all of the doors and windows, and blasted the interior with ozone for 24 hours. this was everything i could think of to remediate any mold issues.
during the gutting process, i also realized that the utilities could essentially be left in tact and the whole thing could continue it's service as an rv as well as a sauna. i do love multi-functionality....

a potent:shell

2008-05-26T13:07:00.000-07:00

Once a decision was made to move forward with the sauna, everything started aligning quite synchromystically...
within a few days i found a great deal on a 1968 airstream overlander via craigslist. it had been sitting idle near the oregon coast for the last few years. structurally sound, it was in definite need of attention to continue to be useful. it was perfect for our project, as we would be completely gutting the interior. i promptly hitched it up, and brought home the aluminum shell that is to become the warm heart of the oasis...

the next permutation

2008-05-11T10:06:00.000-07:00

winter hibernation brought many concepts for the evolution of the oasis. a distilled vision is:

"a transportable bathhouse experience ::: bringing conscious awareness to our relationship with water, the planet, and each other"

we decided the next element of the oasis is to be a mobile sauna. some primary considerations are...
a sauna gives people a place to get warm and cleanse using a fraction of the water and the energy required to heat it. it can, therefore, be used in environments where there is very little water. taking a sauna is a long cherished communal and social activity. then there is novelty... there are not many mobile saunas out there, and the idea alone has created a lot of excitement.

after considering many design possibilities, we decided to retrofit an existing travel trailer. the sensual lines of a classic airstream seemed the obvious choice...

integration

2008-05-09T00:10:00.000-07:00

the fall and winter months allowed us the space to integrate the intense summer journeys. a time to reflect on what we had accomplished, and cultivate a deeper awareness of what we could offer to our community and the world.

i have identified 3 key aspects of our offering:

the functionality of providing showers and water services
the warm inviting ambiance created by our placemaking and presence
elevating environmental and conservation awareness

the season was full of researching and developing concepts for the next phase of the oasis...

our goals for 2008 include:

modular showering system
mobile sauna
drinking water filtration and dispensing
greywater management systems (including bioremediation techniques)
solar, wood-fired, and co-gen water heating options
ambient chill space

it is also our intention to integrate with others who are similarly working to engineer a new sustainable nomadic culture that can have a net-positive, healing effect on the people and places we come in contact with...

the purification portal

2008-05-07T23:45:00.000-07:00

2 weeks after the burn we were invited to create showers for symbiosis.
we arrived early to integrate with the permaculture workshop and orient to the land. water was being supplied by a neighbor's well and we discovered a tap ideally located next to an abandoned slanty shack. we decorated the shack with salvaged madrone from a recent clearing, and created stalls using bamboo poles and canvas drop cloths from burning man.
the water was filtered and heated by a copper coil inserted into a scrap woodburning stove. we kept 50+ gallons circulating via a sump pump submerged in a straw insulated cistern. water was accessed through a tap in the shack where attendants would fill a gallon jug and deliver it to a stall. the stalls were equipped with a hand-pumped one gallon garden sprayer attached to a shower head nestled in overhead madrone branches.
most patrons used only a gallon or less, and the greywater was captured in a bioswale created by the permaculture class. the bioswale was innoculated with oyster mushrooms which help break down the oils and bacteria.
in addition to the showers, our friend omshan provided exotic tea service. we created a sacred circle with a warm fire dutifully tended by brother seth. it was a respite where people could come to relax, purify, and integrate. the whole experience was truly magical, and we received abundant praise for our offering. we ended the summer with excitement, inspiration, and a community buzz around what we would offer the following summer...

in the begining....

2008-05-07T09:37:00.000-07:00

this begins the chronicles of the oasis....

it began in the summer of 2007 when sterling and ryan decided to collaborate to help provide a showering system for entheon village at burning man. our original inspiration was to create a luxurious endless hot shower experience using a recycling system. it became apparent that with the small timeframe and no budget, our vision would have to slowly evolve. with the aid of many other villagers, we created a cold water showering structure from pallets and reclaimed bamboo poles from the previous year's starry bamboo installation. we captured the water and filtered it through zeolite and sprayed it across the playa to evaporate as the event was dismantling.

the entheon village experience was very humbling. we had grand visions that we barely scratched the surface of. what we did create was an energetic field. we were very passionate about connecting people with each other and the water that sustains us. and even though we were far from our original vision, the passion and intention was felt. we received an abundance of gratitude and love. we made amazing connections and the villagers were thrilled to have the ability to take a shower in the middle of the desert. our efforts at burning man resulted in an invitation to create a shower system at symbiosis in northern california 2 weeks later....