The magical power of coliving
A deep look into the first ever Karisma experience
It’s one thing to imagine and plan your ideal coliving. It’s a totally different thing to actually operate one and turn all your amazing ideas into a reality. I’m talking from experience because I just launched and operated my first ever coliving. Pheew… what a ride.
In the last 2 weeks, I’ve fully experienced the true power of coliving in action. I’d be lying to you if I said that everything went according to plan and super smoothly. It was a bumpy ride with a lot of lessons along the way. Yet, we managed to bring in fascinating human beings, improve quickly and let coliving do its magic to create an unforgettable experience for everyone involved.
Before I share with you what the experience actually looked like, the intangible benefits of coliving and how our residents enriched their lives, I’d like to give a massive shoutout to all the coliving operators and community managers out there. Now that I’ve finally gotten my hands dirty, my level of respect for you has gone through the roof.
The Karisma Experience
For Karisma’s first ever experience, 12 selected human beings co-lived with each other for 16 days under one roof in a stunning villa in sunny (and windy) Fuerteventura right next to two massive volcanos. We provided the space and environment for people to be their true selves, connect with like-minded people and accelerate their most ambitious life projects. Put simply, Karisma is a sandbox for connection and creation.
During the day, people were free to do whatever they wanted. Until 5pm, no group activity or event was organized, except some opt-in meditation, yoga or work out sessions. With this freedom, residents had the necessary time and space to get shit done while also being able to utilize the time to connect individually with others or do whatever they desired. Food and transportation were provided to allow for more free time.
After 5pm is when the magic happened. Some events, especially at the very beginning, were organized by Karisma to help people bond and start setting the tone. However, the majority of events, to which no one was forced to attend, were co-organized by the community or individual members. Everyone was able to propose and host a session or activity around something one wanted to share with others (offer) or needed help with (ask). It’s all about giving and receiving. Here are a few examples of stuff organized by the community:
Web3 x Community workshop (offer)
Personal Branding session (offer)
Mastermind around a multi-million dollar project (ask)
The Art of Coliving Book Presentation by the author himself (offer)
Road trip around the island (ask)
Feedback session for an upcoming coliving project (ask)
Yoga class (offer)
Help with relocating to Portugal (ask)
Defining the value proposition and persona of your business (ask)
Tapas night (offer)
Morning mantra meditation (offer)
Ecstatic dance (offer)
Experiences like this show you how enriching life could be like if we relied more on the power that lies in the collective. The true magic of coliving is the people. Imaging living with a global community of entrepreneurs, coaches, speakers, adventurers, and experts in all areas, such as coliving, spirituality, UX, community-building, architecture, web3, yoga and much more. Just imagine the level of collective intelligence present under one roof and combining that with a collaborative environment, in which people are eager to share, help, grow and co-create. Anything is possible at that point.
At the same time, because no two groups are the same, each coliving leads to different outcomes that just aren’t predictable. Instead of trying to control the outcome by over-facilitating the experience, the key lies in bringing in people who are aligned and leveraging a community-driven bottom-up approach for community facilitation. Once you accomplish that and connections start forming, it’s only a matter of time until the magic starts happening and people start co-creating with each other. Magic cannot be artificially planned. Let me show you two examples.
Coliving for Ukraine
The day Karisma started was the day Russia invaded Ukraine. One of our residents—Lena Rantsevich—lives and operates her own coliving space in Kyiv. She was devastated. Apart from the emotional support and the many hugs provided by the group, Gui Perdrix and her decided to join forces and take matters into their own hands to help Ukrainian refugees and make a positive impact.
Within just few days www.coliving.help was born, an initiative bringing together coliving spaces around the world to welcome people in need and give them a home. This collaboration was made possible because these two people were physically together and because everyone was willing to help each other out with their skills and expertise.
Any help will be greatly appreciated: www.coliving.help 🙏
Co-created rave
Our second Friday together was my favorite day of the trip. While some were hosting a mastermind around how to execute a multi-million dollar real estate project, the rest of the group spontaneously decided to head to the West coast in search for a secluded beach to host an ecstatic dance, which one of our residents was going to lead.
On the way there, we stopped by a local fisher town—El Cotillo—to watch the sunset. While waiting in the parking lot for two of members of the group, we decided to blast some juicy techno music, which started attracting some younger people. Suddenly, we were four different groups mingling with each other and getting hyped by the music. That’s when we collectively decided to find a spot that would suit all of us to host an improvised rave.
We all headed to this abandoned house, which Gui and I had spotted last time we came to Fuerteventura, and continued the party there. We came prepared with a top-notch speaker, drinks, snacks, lights, wood for a bonfire, designated drivers and extremely good vibes. The energy was so special and we danced until our bodies couldn’t keep up. So many new friends and memories were made. This feels especially good after a long week of working.
What I’ve realized operating my own coliving is that it is so much about the people, including both hosts and guests. You can have a stunning space, beautiful landscapes, a chef and so many more luxurious amenities, but what make all of these experiences so special and memorable are the people and the collaborative environment around it.
The people is what drew me to coliving in the first place. I would always remember my travels through Australia, Southeast Asia, Brazil and so on, and while the beaches, temples and parties I visited were amazing, it was the people I would remember. It was the people that made each moment so special, that made me grow as a person and that turned me into the person I am today. That right there is priceless.
Coliving is much more than just a form of accommodation or a workation. Coliving is the excuse for living a more collaborative, enriching and meaningful lifestyle surrounded by people you love and that want the best for each other. Describing the value of this experience is not always easy because it is intangible and magical but here are a few of the accomplishments during the experience:
An innovative idea that will change the coliving industry (and that I cannot reveal) was turned into action
An initiative was created to help with Ukrainian war
Someone landed a big client with the support from someone else
A relationship was forged
I personally lost my fear of public speaking once and for all
Three people established a business partnership
Friends were made, new skills were learned, and so many things have yet to unfold from this ripple effect…
I’m writing this from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria where I’m visiting Jaime, one of our attendees and now my good friend. Life is a blessing!
Very very soon, our 2 upcoming coliving experiences will be announced. You don’t want to miss out on what’s coming.
Do you dare to embark on the Karisma journey?
Sign up right here to part of our selected community 👈
Can’t wait to meet you!
Congrats Marc!! Things happen when you actually DO something! So proud of you and really looking forward to recording the next podcast episode so we can talk about this experience!