Why Collaborating with Other Digital Nomad Communities is a Win-Win

What makes coliving special? 

What makes coliving truly special is the sense of community and collaboration it fosters—not just among colivers but also between coliving founders. Since opening Cactus Coliving in 2021, I’ve been fortunate to connect with like-minded founders who share the same passion for creating meaningful, community-driven spaces.

This year, those connections evolved into something even more impactful: a shared vision for uniting coliving founders to protect the core values of coliving and elevate the experience for colivers everywhere. From exchanging guests to gathering for BBQs in the mountains, to working together on new initiatives, these partnerships have demonstrated how much we can achieve when we collaborate. In this blog, I’ll share our journey, the milestones we’ve reached together, and the exciting vision we’re building for the future of coliving.

Building Connections Among Coliving Founders

At the beginning of Cactus Coliving, when I was defining the business and renovating the coliving house, I was so lucky to connect with other founders like Nine Coliving. The founder of Nine introduced us to other colivings that were opening around the same time as us, such as Maraya Coliving, Taoro Coliving, and Ikigai Coliving. From the very first dinner we had together, it felt like a true community. We shared our challenges, like dealing with renovations, and those who were already open gave us helpful advice and best practices. 

Sharing Guests: A Refreshing Approach

When we opened Cactus, we started sharing colivers—other colivings would send us guests when they were fully booked, and we did the same for them. Coming from a traditional hotel background, this level of cooperation felt surprising and refreshing. We didn’t see each other as competitors, which was amazing. Since then, we’ve occasionally organised gatherings with other colivings and invited our colivers to join. One of the best gatherings we had was a BBQ in a Merendero in the mountains, where each coliving hosted their own BBQ and shared food with everyone. It was such a fun and collaborative experience that truly reflected the spirit of coliving. 

Collaborative Events: Strengthening Ties

Collaborations with organizations like Pueblos Remotos highlight how coliving can positively impact smaller, rural communities by promoting sustainable tourism and economic growth. We hosted pueblos remotos program for 1 week and our cactus colivers also joined their program during the week and also Pueblos remotos joined our activities. The feedback we got from our colivers to get together with Pueblos remotos community was really positive. 

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Joining forces with Awidaman: We collaborated together for 2 weeks with Sonia from Awidaman community. She brought her program all the way to cactus tenerife to share with our colivers. From Chigong movement for sunrise in Roque de Jama to yin yoga sessions, breathwork session to organizing cactus coliving 1 year celebration in collaboration with Awidaman. It was so nice how our both programs fusion together and colivers loved what we could bring together.

Collaborating with Local Communities

Another inspiring collaboration came through my good friend Francisco, who runs Vivenda Felicidade Coliving in Sintra, Portugal. Francisco and I first connected during our time at Les Roches University, where we were part of the sustainability club together. It’s been amazing to see how our shared passion for sustainability has evolved into each of us building sustainable coliving spaces. I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Vivenda Felicidade a couple of times, and I always leave inspired by their regenerative coliving concept and how thoughtfully they integrate sustainability into every aspect of their operations.

A New Vision for Coliving Collaboration

Over the past three years since opening Cactus Coliving, I’ve had the privilege of visiting and connecting with other inspiring coliving projects in my island, Tenerife. These experiences have always been enriching, but it wasn’t until this year, thanks to Marco from Beet Community Coliving, that the idea of deeper collaboration really took shape. Marco brought Claire from Pomar Coliving, himself, and me together on a call, where we agreed to take the next step: meeting in person to share our experiences and learn from one another.

In November, we travelled to Pomar Coliving in the Algarve, where Claire hosted us for a wonderful and productive week. Those seven days gave us the time to dive into the challenges and opportunities we face as coliving founders. We brainstormed solutions, shared best practices, discussed coliver feedback, and explored ideas to elevate the standards the coliving industry.

This gathering laid the foundation for a new vision: creating a unified organisation that brings together like-minded coliving founders to protect the core values of coliving, foster collaboration, and ensure that coliving remains a community-driven experience. Below, I’ve outlined the key topics we discussed and the principles we aim to promote through this initiative.

Sustainability as a Shared Value

I’d also like to highlight Eco Isleta coliving in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. I visited them two years ago, and it was an enriching experience sharing sustainable practices with their founder. We exchanged ideas on eco-friendly initiatives and explored ways to incorporate sustainability more deeply into our spaces. These kinds of connections remind me how much we can learn from each other, not just as coliving founders but as contributors to a more sustainable world.

Closing thoughts

Collaborating with coliving founders and digital nomad communities has enriched our experience, fostering authentic connections and elevating industry standards. Together, we’re committed to preserving coliving’s core values and creating vibrant, intentional spaces where colivers feel at home.

We invite coliving founders and digital nomad communities to join us in amplifying this movement. By working together, we can build lasting connections, transcend boundaries, and enrich the lives of digital nomads everywhere.

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