Building Cococo – #5 – Excavation

The construction has started full-on, we got some good internet news, interior design is the new hot topic, and Siargao's digital nomads' community is on the rise.

Construction has started

I have a new hobby now. I look on YouTube for construction videos, learn all the relevant terms, drive to my construction site, and use them as I talk to my contractor and engineers. So far, it's a great success.

I try to visit the site at least once a day. I love seeing the progress and working to thank and show appreciation to my workers as much as possible; they work damn hard.

So far the foundations of the columns are all set, and they have already poured concrete into the column's footing. In the last sentence, there are three words I learned this week, lol.

Seeing all the papers and plans transformed into real-life steel bars and concrete is super exciting. It also gives me the feeling that "There's no way back" -  you are all in now. Scary and motivating at the same time.

To The Moon

The happiest day this month by far was the one when I got the email mentioned in this tweet:

Starlink is here

I signed up to Starlink as soon as I got to Siargao and realized quickly that I and the internet here are not gonna be besties.

If you're unfamiliar, Starlink is a satellite service by SpaceX that offers internet connection in most of the world, slowly expanding. This month, they finally announced their launch in the Philippines.

One less barrier

There are not that many digital nomads in Siargao and the Philippines in general. The main reason as you already guessed: the unpredictive internet.

More than I'm happy to have Starlink for my own use and CoCoCo's future guests, I know that it will put all of the Philippines on the digital nomads' map, and I couldn't ask for more.

I believe it will do only good for the country and hopefully influence the government toward making a Digital Nomad Visa, like many of its SEA neighbors.

Interior design

I'm lucky that my contractor is very design-oriented, and while that's not exactly his job, he rendered the space's interior view for me, including his recommendations.

While it's not final, it gives a good idea of the colors and materials and how they will eventually look.

This is very helpful for me and the future interior designer (that I'm actively looking for!) to choose colors, materials, and furniture.

The community is alive

While all this is happening, I enjoy managing and growing the digital nomad community.

Our Facebook group is growing rapidly, and while it's not huge like other groups, it's made of people who care and are digital nomads.

The group helps members seek advice about the island, the internet, and events. To me, it's a great place to validate ideas and learn what the community is looking for.

I also see many more new faces at our digital nomad dinners. When I ask how they heard of our community, it's mostly through other travelers and searching for groups on Facebook.

For a reason, on  CoCoCo's business plan, I called it a "Community-based Coworking space". After being in many of those spaces in my life, I'm convinced this is the key to the space's success and more importantly, the success of its guests.

At the moment we're mostly meeting for dinners and Coworking days. I have a few more ideas to bring the group closer and make it friendly for newcomers.

To finish this month's update, here's a nice sunset behind the hills surrounding CoCoCo. Can't wait to see those sunsets from CoCoCo's future rooftop.