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I’m working on a similar project. We acquired our first land in Panama (http://Majagual.org)

We also are planning an alt-school system in which instead of going to college, you and 100 other students boot up a cooperative eco-village that you own outright. You’ve got food, shelter and community handled with no loans and then you can focus on other projects, research, etc.

Imagine running this coop with automation and robotics. You could free up more time while increasing the lifestyle of the members.

And of course, I already co-own a $50MM cooperative grocery store with about 16,000 others in NYC (FoodCoop.com)




This is... interesting.

How do people get out there? Floatplane? Panama City looks like the nearest harbor and that's a long boat trip.

What do you do for fresh water? Collect rainwater?


Depending on your budget you can get a helicopter ride for a few hundred dollars or you can hop on a fishing taxi from Chepo for $20. You can hire a full boat for 10 people and gear for $200 RT and that is about a 3-4 hour adventure through the gulf.

For many of us the remote nature of it is a feature, no EMF (some of our crew is really into not being in range of cell or WiFi), plus the adventure to get there is a filter of sorts.

We bring water with us but yes, with 100” a year we are planning to set up rain water collection as well as exploring the possibility of a well in the lush jungle lowlands. There are some water fall areas as well.


What exactly is the point of that island? It looks like you can't actually develop on it, and it is so small that it is basically a day trip at best.


It’s about 100 acres in total and quite well suited for development actually.

Solid basalt rock along with jungle lowlands and plenty of sand.

Right now we have a small group of Founding Family and we are hosting small gatherings (Max 150 people).


It seems like an island in the tropics would be a poor choice for something like this. Mosquitos and difficult access to mainland services?


We haven’t had a huge issues with mosquitos.

While Panama City is about 50km away, we are just 5km from Chiman which is a fishing village with a police station, medical outpost, church, food, etc.

There is also a road being put in between Chiman and the Pan American Highway which will allow for one to drive down and then take a 10min boat ride.

Right now the aesthetic is very much a burning man camp, with people bringing in what is needed and leaving no trace - however we will begin to create some light shared infrastructure.

We also have a small shared ownership stake in a tiny home in Kalu Yala which is an eco village on the mainland.

Come visit sometime!

PS, we don’t plan to export food, our primary export will be culture and transformation — meaning we have companies and individuals who come for coaching / leadership training / etc and for the festival.


what are your policies regarding potential archaeological sites that may exist in the bounds of the commune?


We’d very much like to find something! If we do we could partner with the local university to create a study area.

This island was formerly called Isla Del Tesoro and it’s sister was Isla Del Piratas. Literally Treasure Island and Pirate Island.

During the 1500-1600s they were a base for pirates to attack Spanish Treasure ships.

One of my friends parents bought about 100 acres in Belize in the 80s for about $30k. They built a small farm and resort. 5 years ago they discovered a massive Mayan City complete with pyramids and all — it was a secret city that was used as a meeting place for all the leaders. Currently they have an archeological dig - very exciting!


> you and 100 other students boot up a coooerstive eco-village that you own outright

Are you able to convey this idea in English? It sounds interesting.




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