First published by the European Coworking Assembly
The coliving concept is becoming more attractive by the day, especially to people within the coworking industry. Co-founder of Rural Coworking/Coliving space Sende, Edo Sadiković joins us to give his insights on the growth of coworking and coliving in the rural areas.
About Sende Rural Coworking and Coliving space
Established in 2013 on the border of Portugal, Sende is a coworking and coliving space in Spain that recently opened another space in Portugal.
The housing structure
Founders of Sende capitalised on Spain’s problem with abandoned villages and houses and would buy these very old stone houses, rebuild them, and then begin operating. Today, Sende has seven houses and has hosted more than 3500 people from 55 countries.
How community growth will affect the space
It’s also important to bear in mind that keeping it small is also the reason why it works. If this became a company with 50 employees, this would increase management’s responsibility and would take away the minimalist nature of the space.
People come because it’s a place with basic needs. There isn’t any kind of luxury or any kind of useless additional elements around so, if this is maintained, it will always work. A small space can be easily controlled, and it allows management to control the growth as well.
How coliving spaces make money
It’s much easier to run a coliving and coworking space than just a coworking space. With coliving, the element of accommodation adds a lot of income.
Business is completely different and especially in the village because today, people realise that they can work from anywhere. And so many people actually like living in the village because before, living in the village was almost the same as living in the city.
Coliving space owners have found a way to bring that era back to life by simply adding internet access to villages, and that is how most businesses are thriving.
