Nomad Base Camp
Description of Concept
Table of Contents
A Place for Living
An NBC is a place of life adapted and designed according to the specific needs of Homads (Digital Nomads with a home).
Our goal is to create co-living spaces that are pleasant for residents. We will therefore do everything in our power to ensure that all aspects of this adventure are enjoyable.
Physical Aspect
Each building will be organized to strike a balance between shared common spaces and private spaces.
It is particularly important that private spaces are accessible and well soundproofed to allow all residents to maintain privacy.
Particular attention will be paid to soundproofing and privacy so that residents may maintain their intimacy.
For the physical organization of NBC, we were inspired by the concept of Oasis developed by a company from Quebec (Canada): ERA solution. See section below for more details on the physical aspects of NBCs.
The type of buildings that most closely resemble Oases are hotels. The first NBCs will therefore be hotels already existing. Eventually, some NBCs will be built based on principles learned with experience.
The NBCs are living places for nomadic workers. Therefore we will be looking for a high-speed internet connection as well as a co-working space on site or nearby.
Sharing common spaces can significantly reduce acquisition or construction costs. See the section on the economic model.
Homad: A Nomad with a Home
A sedentary and nomadic way of life
To reconcile the needs of a sedentary lifestyle (creation of lasting social ties) and travel, residents agree to stay in the NBC for a certain period of time per year (typically 3 or 4 months). This agreement aims to create a lasting social network as residents come together each year. They are free to travel for the rest of the year.
During the period of residence on site, residents agree not to make any rentals to encourage them to stay on site. During the travel period, it will be possible to exchange apartments with other NBCs or to make rentals Long term only (minimum 1 month). More details, see the section on the basic agreement.
The residents are nomads but also workers. An atmosphere conducive to work will therefore be privileged.
Each NBC is completely autonomous and is free to modify the proposed basic agreement in part or in whole. For more details, see the section on the basic agreement.
NBC Network
One hundred NBCs will be established around the world and will be invited to become a member of a sharing network. Each NBC will be totally autonomous and will be able to participate in the network if these members so wish.
Each NBC can be created according to the specific interests of the residents: Near a place of activity: surfing, skiing, diving, mountain hiking, … or a theme: music studio, painting, gym, diet, family, etc…
The homads will thus be able to share resources of all kinds and exchange apartments according to their wishes.
For more details, see the section on the NBC Network.
Social Aspect: Governance
The vast majority of co-living projects avoid addressing the issue of conflicts between residents. It is utopian to think that conflicts or differences of opinion will not arise. Therefore, if this issue is not addressed from the start, projects may have difficulty surviving. See the book Creating a Life Together.
This is why we put in place mechanisms for the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts from the start of the co-living project. We are not reinventing the wheel. Numerous groups (NPOs, collectives, NGOs, private companies) have developed and applied principles that have been proven for decades. Here are the principles that will be implemented: CNV, sociocracy, holacracy, Opale and restorative circles.
Each resident must agree with these principles of decision-making and life in society and will have to follow a basic training (about a week).
For more details, see the section on Governance.
NBC and Oasis
The physical concept of the NBCs is inspired by the concept of the Oasis developed by a Quebec company: Solution ERA.
The Oasis are the result of 20 years of teaching the principles of sustainable and ecological housing.
The first two Oasis were built in the small village where I live and were designed to promote co-living.
Private Spaces
Sharing common spaces is very enriching but at times it is crucial to be able to retreat to a secluded place. Each resident has a studio adapted accordingly. The private apartments are grouped together in one section of the building. Particular attention has been paid to the soundproofing of each apartment to ensure the privacy of the occupants.
Common areas
The common areas are grouped together in another section and promote coexistence. These common areas consist of a common kitchen, a co-working room, a relaxation lounge, a spa as well as a greenhouse. The greenhouse can be converted for other uses: gym, yoga room, music studio, etc.
Common life
To make life easier and reduce sources of friction between residents, two important aspects were introduced:
1) A cook comes twice a week (Monday and Wednesday) and prepares 10 meals per person per week.
2) A person comes to clean the common areas once a week.
Again, these aspects represent the basic agreement which can be modified at will. In the case of my living environment, each person takes care of the preparation of the meal and the dishes once a week. So that on the other days she has nothing to prepare. Surpluses are used for midday lunches. We also have a to-do chart for each month. Each resident chooses two tasks to do for the month. Each task represents approximately one hour of work.
For more details, see the section on the basic agreement.