☁️ An Island Paradise Awaits in Indonesia

Hey Nomads,

We are starting Phase 1 of building the Bitung City Nomads Program, an exciting project I’m working on with the Indonesian government in the area known as Sulawesi. There are gorgeous islands in the region to explore, amazing seafood and a progressive government willing to work hand in hand with digital nomads to build something special. That’s why I’m sharing this all with you without any barriers.

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📺 MAIN STORY

The Journey Begins To Building Indonesia’s First Digital Nomad Village Program

So here we go, Phase 1 of the journey to creating a Digital Nomad Village for Bitung City, located in North Sulawesi the region known as "The Land of A Thousand Islands."

Easy right? Not really but I love a challenge so let's do this!

Before I share the details of my last meeting let me break down Phase 1 of the program.

Phase 1: Official Program Creation

In this first phase, the main goal will be to create a program that standardizes improved standard housing and living conditions as well as coworking opportunities. I will help create a program that fits the standardizing expectations of western digital nomads living in places like Bali and Chiang Mai. This will include curating what standards guest houses must have along with local restaurants, markets, and coworking spaces.

Deliverable: Bitung Digital Nomad Guide where all top resources for nomads will be listed (housing, shopping, food, leisure).

So...

In this first phase we are in the most crucial point for 2 reasons.

First, we need to educate and prepare the local population for the arrival of the nomads.

Acceptability and acceptance of the incoming nomads will be the singular factor that could make or break this programs success.

So how do we make sure the towns residents genuinely buy in?

We involve them in the process from the start.

So what does this look like?

Well first, town meetings held by local leaders including business owners and vendors who will provide services to the nomads.

Next we need to get as much awareness to the general population as possible

So we have created a poster that says "What Is A Digital Nomad" or "Apa Itu Nomad Digital" in Indonesian.

These will be distributed across the busiest areas of Bitung along with major markets and public spaces.

This will take place over a period of a few months and there will be constant education on nomads so that the location population understands the lifestyle of the people who will be visiting their town and co-residing moving forward.

Ok so what's next? Well we need to set a standard for living to actually attract digital nomads right?

Places like Bali have set a basic standard of living we must set as our baseline.

This means at minimum we need to provide guesthouses with western toilets, clean rooms, a kitchen, and solid Wi-Fi connection.

Other options we're working on is standardizing all the 3 star hotels to have a communal area and co-working space.

Same for the 4 star diving resorts. This way whatever price point nomads choose, they will have all the baseline amenities needed to live and work remotely.

As these things get established I will be reporting back by sharing photos and videos so we can track progress.

Phase 2 which is the training of the program director and hiring a community manager is going to be crucial as well as they set the tone for the program.

I'm excited to share this process as well.

Till then, let me know below your "non negotiables" as a digital nomad when visiting a new city.

What the the MUST HAVES that you need to have a great experience? I will consider it in our planning so don't be shy!

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