Rural Coliving

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Description

Cat Johnson:

"What if coworking was a slower, more spacious affair that offered a respite from the everyday grind and included meals, walks and intentional collaboration? What if, rather than being in an urban setting, the coworking space was in a small, rural town? And what if you lived, temporarily at least, in the space? Would your work benefit? Andrea Paoletti says yes.

Co-founder, along with Mariella Stella, of Casa Netural, a coworking and coliving space in Matera, Italy, Paoletti says that coliving is an essential element of rural coworking and without it there is no coworking in rural Italy. He points out that Matera is a small town and many of its young people have left, moving to big cities to seek opportunity. This leaves half-empty buildings in the ancient and beautiful Sassi cave dwellings, and a small, isolated culture. Paoletti argues that to activate the serendipity that comes with coworking, you have to bring new people and fresh ideas into the space. The coliving model does just that."


Discussion

Cat Johnson on rural coliving in Italy, and Casa Netural:

"There are two benefits to rural coliving. The first is that it has the potential to revitalize rural communities, which is at the heart of what Casa Netural is about. Casa Netural challenges the notion that the future is just in large cities. Through it, Paoletti is exploring the possibilities for small villages and rural areas.

“I think the future can come from this kind of territory,” he says. “And someone has to do it otherwise they will disappear. Coliving can be an attractor for other people like me who are maybe inspired by what we are doing and they want to come see it. Then they maybe want to buy a house, or rent a place, then we become a group of people.”

The second benefit of coliving is that it can revitalize those who live and work in the space. In a home setting such as Casa Netura, the opportunities for conversation, connecting and collaborating extend far beyond those in a space that is solely for coworking. There are group meals, trips into the surrounding areas, bedtime chats, early morning brainstorm sessions over coffee and more. With rural coliving, the idea is to slow down and focus on the people around you, which can lead to serendipitous conversations, relationships, and breakthrough ideas.

Most of the time coworking is not really collaborative space because everyone is really focused on their own thing,” Paoletti says. “In coliving, the focus is not really on how to stress and create a better business but how these relationships can create the best business, or give you a new tool.” He continues, “In small villages we don’t have to think about IT startups or millions of Euro investments. I think starting from the small example is what can really create the biggest social impact on the territories.”

Designed with social innovators, progressive thinkers and entrepreneurs in mind, Casa Netural is a space where visitors and locals work, relax and connect with each other. It’s a homey, open and casual environment in which people can refresh themselves, enjoy what the village and surrounding territory has to offer and get a new perspective on projects. The space coordinates regular get-togethers with the Matera locals and encourages the development of connections and collaborations, while getting some work done.

“With rural coliving, you go there because maybe you have free time or maybe you want to be more focused on one priority of your life,” Paoletti says. “It can be practical work but at the same time maybe you want to write an article or write a book or take just your own time to focus on other things, so you go there. That’s the reason for coliving.” (http://www.shareable.net/blog/coliving-takes-coworking-to-the-next-level-in-rural-italy)


Example