Weirdigans Cafe - Ideal Dome

The Ideal Dome Exhibition was conceived as a way to combine LEDfantastic's wealth of knowledge with the relaxed, welcoming atmosphere that Weirdigans famously provides. The Ideal Dome can travel to festivals as a solo feature, or alongside the Cafe.

The Dome is an organic-yet-geometric temporary structure - carpeted and beautifully-lit (of course) - which provides an ideal space for showcasing LED lighting, sharing knowledge and relaxing.

Small geodesic domes are simple and cheap to build and transport (compared with other temporary structures such as tipis and yurts). Our dome was built by Em Weirdigan, on a tiny budget, 12-years ago and remains impressively strong and cosy. The whittled hazel poles and water-pipe joints still attract attention and admiration... part of the purpose of the dome is to inspire people to build their own aesthetically-pleasing, long-lasting structures rather than buying flimsy plastic tents and gazebos; Em has uploaded instructions for making a dome like hers and is happy to discuss techniques.

LEDs are on show inside and outside the dome - at night it looks like a very pretty UFO has landed!

We can custom-design a low-energy-lighting masterpiece for you, demonstrate the cutting-edge technology we've acquired and share our tried-&-tested ways of wiring up 12-volt lighting systems that are beautiful, functional and very, very energy-efficient. For enthusiasts we can supply LEDs and electrical gubbins (wire, resistors, switches... right up to solar panels and batteries).

Chatting, gentle acoustic-music-playing, evening fire-gazing, meditating, skill-sharing, crafting, body-painting, cooking and political/philosophical debate may all be encountered in the space. We like to provide thought-provoking literature and artwork as well as a safe and friendly festival haven. Sustainability and alternative living are favourite topics...

"I spent the entire festival (Alchemy) looking at the geodome from the outside as I was camped almost opposite, until I finally got up the courage to go over and ask what it was all about. I was very impressed.

After seeing the carnage left behind at some of the big mainstream festivals in Britain I decided to do my own bit of recycling. After the festival had finished, I packed up my tent and then got to work on the tents around me... I identified several abbandoned tents and started dismantling them and packing them away. When I got home I went straight out to a friend's land and coppiced myself some sticks for building my own geodome. I used the old tent skins I'd collected, along with old raincoats, umbrellas and random pieces of tarp, to build a totally recycled tent of which I am very proud. I also have military canvas tarps that I can use to cover the geodome but they weigh a ton and as I dont drive, it's useful to have something I can carry.

I am totally in love with my geodome and have taken it to a few festies now. The last was Alchemy (Sept 2012) where it was definately put through its paces with heavy rain and gale force batterings. When I was building it, most of my friends were saying things like 'Why bother, just buy a new tent' etc etc... however, by the last day of Alchemy, I had between 7 and 12 people sleeping in my cobbled together shelter, as all their new, shop-bought tents had flooded or collapsed while I was still safe and dry in my lovely dome!! :)

If even 5% of the festival-going population did this, there would be hardly any tents left behind at the festival sites and not only that, festival camping would be a whole lot healthier and more comfortable. It's not rocket science and it doesnt take a massive amount of time and effort to build something that makes you swell with pride when you say to people, 'fancy coming back to MY tent?'

Thank you so much for introducing me to geodomes and making every festival from then on a brilliant experience. All I need now is a small woodburner for the middle of it and a solar panel for lighting..."