tribal gathering
Unity Through Diversity
Tribal Gathering is the most remarkable event under our belt. Since 2013, we have annually hosted this one-of-a-kind international eco-cultural event. It is co-produced and co-organized with our close allies at GeoParadise, a US based-charity, we sponsor and cooperate with, hand in hand, to deliver our positive impact on human and environmental well-being. You can find more information about GeoParadise and other projects done HERE.
Once a year 60 tribes from 30 countries come together to share their knowledge with each other, artists, teachers and attendees from all over the world. Tribal Gathering is so much more than a music festival. It’s 18 day’s on a Caribbean beach, around 200 workshops and presentations, hundreds of musicians from around the world, a learning journey from the ancient to the modern and one of the worlds most important indigenous cultural celebrations.
The first half is dedicated to the tribes with several zones offering workshops, ceremonies and indigenous music. There are also non indigenous presentations on topics like art and music, sustainable development and agriculture, health and nutrition, socioeconomic issues and more. Slowly the pace picks up and we seemingly travel through time to the finale of five days of electronic music and what might be described as our modern rituals of dance, art and creativity.
All relevant information about Tribal Gathering, ticket sales and other event services available for booking can be found at www.tribalgathering.com
Watch the after movie of the last edition below to get a glimpse of what takes place at this incredible gathering of the Earth tribes!
WAVY TRIBE SERVICES
Wavy Tribe, social enterprise based in Panama, hosts the TRIBAL GATHERING event license and liases with the national and local authorities to ensure all the legal requirements are met. Wavy Tribe is also providing the official Tribal Gathering Catering, Wellness Area facilities, Internet Access, Vendors Market and the event's Cashless Payment System "TG Credit". Find more information on these below:
OFFICIAL TRIBAL GATHERING CATERING
FOOD
Wavy Tribe runs the main RESTAURANT at Tribal Gathering. Most of our food is locally grown, reared etc. Local tribal fishermen come each morning in their canoes (sea permitting) and sell their morning catch right from the beach…! Meal styles will range from international cuisine, to local rice and beans. There will be mix of meaty, veggie, raw and vegan as well as a few options for those with food allergies.
There is also a PIZZERIA & BAKERY near the restaurant, baking fresh bread and pasties for breakfast in the morning and serving delicious vegetarian pizzas for lunch and dinner.
DRINKS
We are running the 3 bars at Tribal Gathering serving a wide range of ice-cold alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages to cater for all tastes:
PIRATE BAR at the heart of the Global Village, oposite to the Global Stage.
LOTUS BAR at the beach near the Lotus Stage.
THE CARNY BAR, located within the circus & theater area, serving speciality cocktails.
There is a CHAI SHOP serving hot and cold herbal infusions, coffee, tea and chai as well as a SMOOTHIE BAR providing freshly blend fruit smoothies.
Volunteers, artists and crew members can redeem their bracelet Rewards at any of the official Tribal Gathering catering outlets. Also, to support those coming from disadvantaged communities, all indigenous guests invited and members of the local community from the Santa Isabel district are awarded a 50% discount on all purchases made at these premises.
Every time you purchase food and drinks from the official catering service you are helping Wavy Tribe and GeoParadise with the enormous production costs of the event…. so THANK YOU so much in advance for your contribution to make Tribal Gathering possible!! :)
WELLNESS ZONE
As part of Tribal Gathering health and nutrition educational program, we open a space for practitioners who are attending the gathering to teach and showcase effective therapeutic systems, preventive strategies and healthy life style approaches.
Therapeutic modalities and life-enhancing systems offered must be non-invasive and must have a reputable background/history with sound scientific foundations.
All therapists must purchase a regular Tribal Gathering pass the GEO TG STORE. There is no extra cost for signing up as a therapist at the Wellness Zone and offer private paid sessions to attendees. Therapists are only permitted to offer their services at the official Wellness facility. Customers will book their sessions at the Wellness desk POS and use their bracelet credit to pay for the service. Cash payments will not be accepted at the Wellness Desk.
Wavy Tribe will retain a 5% of the therapist gross sales as a fee for the cashless payment services and it is required that all Therapists contribute 25% of their revenue to the GeoParadise Charitable Fund to help the indigenous communities attend Tribal Gathering and to finance projects with them throughout the year.
Applications must be submitted HERE. After form is submitted the coordinators of the area will be in contact with the applicants with all the relevant details and information required.
VENDORS MARKET
Tribal Gathering market has been growing steadily throughout the years and while is important that commercialism doesn’t take over the festival, the audience do like a bit of shopping and variety in their food purchases. If you are interested to have a stall at the vendors market, please read the information and guidelines below:
REQUIREMENTS
Stall holder must first submit an application for exhibiting and vending at Tribal Gathering HERE. All stall workers must also purchase a ticket for Tribal Gathering 2019 at the TG GEO STORE.
If the stall holder wants to sell products or services for money, he/she will be responsible for arranging a vending license with the local authorities and to obtain a VENDING PASS from Wavy Tribe to perform commercial activities at the event grounds.
GeoParadise will first scrutiny the applications. Those approved will be contacted by Wavy Tribe vending coordinator to sort out the contracts, vending passes and mandatory deposits. Vendors are required to use the TG Credit system to receive payments from festival participants AT ALL TIMES.
A deposit for the POS equipment is required and 5% of the total revenue will be retained by Wavy Tribe as the fee for the cashless payment services.
Cash payments are not permitted other than for blanket and tribes vendors.
ZERO WASTE POLICY
Exhibits and vendors shall not produce non-compostable waste or distribute non-compostable containers, utensils, and packaging. Please, bring re-usable or easily biodegradable alternatives instead.
SHARE YOUR WISDOM
Tribal Gathering is a place where we gather to share our music, art, dance, culture and wisdom. We encourage all exhibitors and vendors to share their skills with the Tribal Gathering community by hosting a presentation or hands-on workshop. Its also a great way to let the participants know about your products, services and business mission.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO CHARITY
All market vendors will be required to contribute a percentage (15%) of their gross sales to the Charitable Fund of GeoParadise.
All the contributions are applied directly to the GeoParadise Charitable Fund and will be used to support tribes participation in Tribal Gathering and to sponsor projects with those communities throughout the following year. Visit geoparadise.org for more information on these projects.
INTERNET ACCESS
Internet is a very scarce commodity in the Tribal Gathering jungle. We use a super slow and expensive satellite connection to run the online stores and point of sale payments that need credit card/paypal payment processing and for all our event production needs, to make sure we can communicate with the outside world, tend to customers email inquires during the event and also to the guests, artists and tribes traveling to and from the event, order supplies, etc, etc.
From whatever bandwidth is left after all of that, if any, we sell 50 mb packages to the public, just for simple messenger apps and emails, but dont expect to be able to do intensive online work, upload loads of pics to facebook, watch videos or do video conferences, etc. We cannot guarantee continuous availability of internet access for sell due to the fluctuations of the satellite uplink speed.
We are constantly looking for alternative better ways of accessing the world wide web, but unfortunately the mobile signal at the festival grounds is not available yet. We will update if any good news come regarding this matter, but in the meantime, we suggest you take Tribal Gathering as a unique opportunity for digital detox and just enjoy your time with physically present festival people in real the world surrounded by the most breath-taking nature.
TG CREDIT - CASHLESS PAYMENT SYSTEM
WHAT IS IT?
TG Credit, is our very own cashless payment system. It helps our bartenders and cashiers to speed up the payment process at the points of sale, reducing waiting time and increasing the security of the transaction. It also allows for a reduced cash dependency onsite, a very practical feature given that the event is in a very remote jungle beach location and the closest reliable ATM is 2 hours away.
TG Credit is the only form of payment accepted in the majority of vending points onsite, other than blanket vendors: Cafés, bars, chai shop, restaurants, market stores, wellness area facilities, shuttles, lockers, charging station, tent rentals and other event services sold at the Hub Services Desk.
HOW IT WORKS?
We first receive a pre-payment from the customer.
We store the TG credit current amount safely in the customer's file on our database. (Rest assured that we wont share your personal data with any external organization!! Only GeoParadise and Wavy Tribe, co-producers of Tribal Gathering, are able to access this data)
The customer swipes the festival bracelet RFID chip at a point of sale during checkout to identify him/herself.
The cashier can see the amount of credit in the customer's account instantly.
If sufficient credit, cashier will apply it to pay for the sale.
The customer receives the service or product and his/her TG credit account will be reduced accordingly.
WHERE TO TOP UP?
There will be a CASH DESK at THE HUB where you can use your cash or credit/debit card to top up your TG Credit account. Alternatively, you can use the local network onsite to top your account your self, using your paypal or credit card online.
If you don’t want to wait in the line, carry loads of cash with you or having to be using slow jungle internet to top-up you TG Credit account onsite.... you just got to the right place!! :)
Now we offer the possibility to top-up your TG Credit in advance from now and up until the 11th of February using the TG WAVY STORE. After the Feb 11th you will need to be at the Tribal Gathering site to be able to access and purchase from the TG ONLINE STORES, cause we need to move our server from the cloud to the jungle and we need a few days to sort this out.
Dont wait till the last moment and come prepared with all your credit pre-purchased in advance ….!
NON-REFUNDABLE FEE ON ECO-FRIENDLY REUSABLE CUPS
At Tribal Gathering we don’t use disposable tableware or cups due to reduce the wastage and our negative impact on the environment. Instead we utilize our unique bamboo trays, wooden cups and coconut shells. Unfortunately, after every edition we lose thousands of dollars to damaged, stolen and lost cups and tableware.
In order to avoid a tedious per-transaction deposit or fee system to offset these costs, we will apply to all customer TG Credit accounts a one time US$ 5 fee, right after the first top-up is done. Thanks in advance, for your understanding and your contribution to solve this ongoing problem.
If you wish to take cups or other items home with you, please, pop to the CHARITY SHOP onsite and buy your own set for an affordable price. We will discount the 5$ already paid as non-refundable deposit from the regular price of the articles. We also have bamboo & steel water bottles for sale there, all profits from these sales go to GeoParadise Charity Fund.
CAN CREDIT BE TRANSFERRED OR REFUNDED?
TG credit is personal, non-transferrable and non refundable. We only allow participants to swipe a bracelet when it is attached to their wrists and it hasn’t been cut-off or removed from other customer's wrist.
Any left over credit remaining in the customers accounts at the end of the festival will be donated to the GeoParadise Charitable Fund and used to help the indigenous tribes to attend the event and finance projects with them throughout the year. See below pictures of some these projects or you can visit geoparadise.org for more information.
