Defining what is coliving should have been our first post... but it wasn't, perhaps we assumed that there was no need to write about this topic... big mistake...
In recent months, I have realized that I don't quite understand the essence of coliving, and I wonder...
The last decades have been full of dizzying changes, these changes generate new needs and opportunities and as a consequence, new options, solutions, and business opportunities arise.
Some of those new challenges…
Climate change, destruction of ecosystems
A rapid increase in population in the cities of the planet
Unaffordability and housing crisis
Loneliness of millions of people
Remote work revolution
What is Coliving?
In response to these problems and others, a type of accommodation arises based on
community
collaboration
consciousness
In a coliving for Digital Nomads and Remote Workers, your first goal is to be productive, colivings are primarily collaborative workspaces.
At the same time, a community philosophy predominates, sharing with like-minded people
resources
space
experiences
This is probably the true essence of Coliving accommodation...
Therefore, living in a Coliving is a life experience
where you give and receive
where you teach and learn
where life revolves around sharing...
Community
What differentiates coliving from other types of accommodation is the need for its members to share time, experiences, and learning with other members of the community.
Social contact and community building are promoted
How do you activate social connections?
Primarily with common spaces with social intentions
Carrying out activities with porpuse, to connect members
Creation of communities with specific purposes where common values or interests are shared
Other common characteristics
The accommodations are fully equipped. The rooms are furnished and have everything you need for your stay.
Amenities such as weekly cleaning, towels, and cleaning products included, this means fewer household tasks for members
A single payment, one fee covers all bills… there are usually no hidden costs
Each member usually has their own room
Flexibility - stays can be short, medium, or long stays, depending on the needs of the members
Advantages of Coliving
There are many, but we will highlight some of them below.
Network- you can increase your network of work contacts by sharing the space with other members with similar or complementary profiles
Personal and professional development
Sustainable living due to sharing resources and spaces
Friendships- It will be easy for you to make new friends, community activities in addition to sharing common spaces help create social connections.
Better landing - arriving in a city or region where you have never been can be challenging, for economic or cultural reasons, the community can help you better understand the identity of the place you have just arrived.
Are we Fake?... #Community Diary
Are we fake?
I ask myself one question constantly… Are we a sustainable coliving?
I myself do many things daily that are not sustainable at all, this leads me to think that we need to help each other to change our habits…
Questions
We believe everything starts with good questions, to live a healthier life...
Healthy with ourselves and with the planet, we cannot separate one thing from the other...
There isn't a template that we can use and say, ok, if you do this and that, you're sustainable, it's a lot more complicated than that.
We are talking about a process, lots of collaboration, and learning from each other…
EcoIsleta Coliving
We constantly ask ourselves very simple questions…
How can we reduce everything?
How can we get involved in the problems of our local community?
How can we be happier?
We are more disappointed than anybody…
Let´s be honest, some people who come to our coliving feel disappointed, and believe that we are not doing enough.
They think we are not as sustainable as we advertise…
They think we have the answers… but we only have questions…
Those are the people who have helped us the most to go forward with our community…
We can only keep working and learning, to see more remote workers living healthier and happier lives…
We like to talk about these topics and these are the questions we like to address in EcoIsleta…
Coliving Chill Out & music in Las Palmas #Comty Diary
Cornelia and MelanieCake time, uhhhh
Winter has been very sunny in our city. On our Coliving Chill Out in Las Palmas, sunbathing is an option during breaks, before a new call, or after hours in front of the computer…
The smell of fresh coffee or some nice cooking is all over the kitchen, it´s so inspiring to work in an open sunny space, where conversations pop up so easily…
We are a small community, we like to be an intimate space, where members can know each other and start a good relationship…
Flexibility
Our terrace, chill-out, and kitchen are the heart of our community, in the last few months colivers have changed or moved tables and sofas twice in the common area…
They can do it because the space needs to fit their needs…
Community members have different needs and likes, the community terrace can be as flexible as possible to help them enjoy the experience of our coliving…
NewOldOld
In an incredible conversation with Cornelia one of our community members, she shares with me something about living in our community.
She said… “we are used to being treated as customers, and being said what to do”
But in EcoIsleta we promote creativity, colivers can suggest activities, move anything from one place to another, and improve something they think is not working well, takes time to get used to it…
Many activities in EcoIsleta are suggestions of community members, we don't have a close schedule of activities, we prefer to listen to the members and see what they want to do…
Our main goal now is to find ways to let new community members know they can be creative and suggest anything, as fast as they are welcome…
Intimacy and privacy
Most of our members have never been in a Coliving before, for some of them is an experience that could be complicated to handle, not everybody is used to dealing with people from 5 different countries at the same time…
Talking with another coliver about the community, he explained that sometimes living with 7 people from all around the world could be overwhelming, with different cultures, traditions, and personal peculiarities…
Some members feel they need to stay alone for some time and kind of take a break from the community, in our house with two floors and individual rooms that´s always a possibility…
When we do dinners and other events, more than 30 people can join, and we know some colivers need time to get used to it…
Movies
We watched another movie, this time a documentary about veganism, Vegan Alert this was a suggestion of Ivar a Swedish coliver who was interested in watching and talking about this topic…
These topics are very important for our community, after the movie we talked about veganism with 3 neighbors who also came to watch and talk…
The debate was quite good and we wonder how to get this vegan topic to schools in the neighborhood...
We already watch on the terrace the Architect a movie about the housing crisis…
Eco-JamSession
For the first time, and thanks to Cornelia's suggestion we had a Jam session, we loved it… some colivers sing very well, I was impressed…
We have to thank Cornelia for being so smile-fun-open, sharing-helpful, and always suggesting for our community in the last few months... we are so lucky to share our lives with these amazing people...
Plants
Also with the help of Cornelia we went to a local plant nursery where we got some local plants for our terrace… she is excellent with plants and they are growing very fast.
We also used our compost, made with the worms we have in the vermicomposter…
Sunsets
Love these sunsets in La Puntilla... we are in the city but surrounded by beauty...
Beautiful sunsets in La Isleta
Local Coliving is the answer # Community Diary
Learning to make Gofio and Mojo
I asked myself many times, Is it positive what we are doing with our local Coliving Community? For some people could be positive, for others I´m sure not...
Many locals are asking themselves, How are we going to keep our identity with so many new people coming to the islands? There is not an easy answer to that question...
But maybe the first question we should ask ourselves as locals is, What does it mean to be from the Canaries?
The Canary Islands is in the middle of the "Planet" Our identity is a mix of many different cultures from Africa, Europe, and America, oppennes is probably at the heart of our identity since the islands were conquered by Europeans...
In EcoIsleta we work to help others to understand who we are and what makes our identity unique...
Canarian Food Workshop
We have done a few Canarian dinners and workshops about local food this winter, this is an easy way to understand our identity, through Gofio, Almogrote, or Papas Arrugadas.
I love the conversations that come up after dinner, many about local impact. As I said before many Remote workers are asking themselves the same questions and looking for answers everywhere.
Sustainability is another topic we usually talk about in these dinners, and I simply love it, because that´s another goal of our dinners, to start talking about it...
To be honest, for me, It´s difficult to find an easy and not boring way to talk about sustainability, so far dinners are our answer to this problem...
Canarian food workshops and dinners
Highlight - The help of many colivers to prepare and cook the dinners, in the above picture Cornelia and Rita prepare a great dinner together, but also Alex or Ivar...
Vegan Dinner
As usual, we also organized some vegan dinners, we cooked Vegan Paella for 17 people in the house...
Vegan dinner
Our Book
In February we celebrated in our Neighborhood the Day of La Isleta on 26 of February and we had the opportunity to present our book for this festivity.
La Isleta has one of the strongest local communities in the Canary Islands, with a unique identity giving personality to the city...
Our history is related to the La Luz Port, and historically we have been a worker's neighborhood.
More trees, less concrete...
Also for The Day of La Isleta, we helped to plant trees in the Neighborhood and it was great fun to collaborate and help in this important activity.
Our neighborhood's lack of parks and green areas is something we have been claiming for too many years...
There was a vermicomposting workshop and some people learned how to turn in compost their remaining food.
Foto de Andres. Diario La Provincia
Healthy Food for Remote Workers in Las Palmas
EcoIsleta Coliving Las Palmas
Healthy food for remote workers in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is an important topic, related to productivity, local impact, and sustainability.
There are some areas and neighborhoods where most vegan and healthy restaurants are located, like
Las Canteras Beach
Las Palmas Old Town
El Corte Ingles open shopping area
Why eat local and healthy?
When traveling and working remotely is very important to eat as much as possible local products, increasing our impact on the local economy, and helping local businesses and family economies.
Most healthy restaurants and takeaways use local products in their recipes, from small farmers.
On the other hand, working remotely requires a good balanced diet.
Our daily diet and productivity are connected, long hours in front of the computer, and boring meetings are extremely demanding.
You need a good amount of high-quality nutrients to keep that level of concentration.
Vegan options
Vegan is getting bigger and bigger in Las Palmas. Our planet needs more and more vegans for many reasons,
Ethics and the welfare of animals
Environment, greenhouse, deforestation etc
Health
Delicious tasty meals
There is a growing vegan community in the city and many shops and supermarkets are well-stocked with many vegan brands and products.
Vegan Restaurants and Takeaways
Vegetopia
Located very near our Coliving in La Isleta neighborhood is one of the best vegan restaurants in the city, the food is crazy delicious, and the owners are super friendly…
Lots of our colivers also buy for takeaway during the week, because it´s 2 minutes from the house…
Another good recommendation in the Old Town is FoodismoGoogle... with a great offer for brunch and lunch... their homemade cakes are delicious...
Healthy while sunbathing
Remote workers and Digital Nomads spend a good amount of time in Las Canteras Beach, playing different sports, surfing, having fun, drinking something…
Who wants to spend the weekend cooking after a long working week, for those looking for healthy options in Las Canteras, you won´t be disappointed…
Juice Avenue
Great place with a huge variety of food and smoothies, salads, bowls, and so on. Right in the promenade, very convenient when you want to relax on the beach and need to get something for lunch…
Most remote workers cook, in some cases they can´t afford to eat outside every day and in others, they love cooking…
Las Palmas has good options for those looking for high-quality products, fresh organic vegetables, and fruits…
Tarei
An organic bakery in La Isleta, they make incredible handmade bread with sourdough, cakes, and Foccacia.
I wouldn't miss this shop while staying in Las Palmas and if you love high-quality bread, it is a must… I almost forgot to highlight the gluten-free options they can offer you…
There are some organic shops in the city… most of them are small or medium-sized shops, and you will find a good variety of fresh and dry products…
La Zanahoria
The oldest and one of the biggest in the city, they also deliver to your house local organic fruit and vegetables from Gran Canaria, as well as eggs or cheese. They have their own farm in Gran Canaria.
Among many different services, they have a kitchen and deliver delicious meals to the door of your apartment...
An excellent organic shop in the Guanarteme neighborhood, near the beach and in one of the busiest areas for remote workers, with shopping centers, great coworkings, and gyms...
The smallest organic shop in Gran Canaria and probably in the Canary Islands, the owners also run a nearby coliving…
Groups for sustainable Consumption
In Gran Canaria, there are some associations, that work like communities and deliver to your house weekly local organic fruit and vegetables.
These communities work hard to avoid intermediaries and it´s the best way to buy directly from farmers.
Alborinco
I would like to highlight this local sustainable project, with a shop in Telde, helping small organic farmers sell their fruits and vegetables.
Alborinco is an association of farmers and their main goal is to help them sell their products at the right price… They are a meeting point for farmers and consumers where decisions are made in a participatory manner.
We also recommend our local markets in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to buy to small family businesses, there are three local Markets, where you can get all kinds of fresh products, from vegetables to meat, eggs, and cheese…
-Mercado de Vegueta
-Mercado de Altavista
-Mercado del Puerto
There is also a social component when you make the effort to buy in this market, and the experience goes far beyond the product itself, with time, relationships will develop with the owner…
Eating healthy food for remote workers in Las Palmas is easy, convenient, and not that expensive...
