Colivers Club Ep 13: What is Rural Hacking with Agustín Jamardo from Anceu Coliving
🌄 Ever wondered what it’s like to blend a thriving international coliving community with the rhythms of a traditional Spanish village? 🌍✨
Meet Agustín Jamardo, the visionary founder of Anceu Coliving in Galicia, Spain! In our latest episode, Agustín shares how Anceu Coliving is creating meaningful connections between colivers from around the world and local residents. From embracing cultural traditions to coexisting with nature, Agustín’s approach is redefining community life.
Could you see yourself in a place like Anceu?
Read the Interview
César
Welcome, everyone, to another episode of the Colivers Club Podcast. Today, we have Agustín Jamardo from Anceu Coliving, located in Galicia, Spain. At Anceu, they focus on coexisting with the local community, bridging the gap between an international, vibrant community and a more traditional one. Hello Agustín, how are you?
Agustín
Hi, I’m good. Thanks for having me today.
César
No worries. I’m also a Spaniard, and I really appreciate Galicia. It’s a beautiful part of Spain. You’re from there, right?
Agustín
Yeah, I’m from Galicia originally. I was born in a small town about an hour away from Anceu. I’m not a native of this specific village, but I’m from the region. My idea was to open a coliving in Pontevedra province, where we’re located, and it just happened almost five years ago, back in 2020.
César
Wow, and Anceu is a very rural area, right? The village is called Anceu too?
Agustín
Exactly. I’m a software engineer, not very creative with names, so we just went with the same name as the village. It’s a small village of 98 people. There are no supermarkets or bars, but we’re only 30 minutes from Pontevedra city and 45 minutes from Vigo, which are bigger cities in the region. So while we are rural, we’re not isolated.
César
And being in such a small village, I imagine your coliving has quite an impact, right? How many people can you host at once?
Agustín
Our max is 25, but our sweet spot is between 15 and 20. It’s a lot of work to host 25 people at once. But yeah, the impact has been huge. That’s kind of the goal of everything we’re doing. My main job is still as a software engineer, but the coliving was meant to revitalize rural areas. In Galicia, and in many parts of Europe, people are leaving the villages for the cities, and rural areas are becoming weekend getaways instead of thriving communities. There’s so much knowledge in villages, but it’s being lost because younger generations aren’t learning it from the older ones.
César
That’s really interesting. So the coliving is not just about hosting people but about making a positive impact in the area. How does that play out in practice?
Agustín
It’s about creating an environment where young people want to come back to rural areas because things are happening. The stereotype is that nothing happens in rural areas and that they’re only good for weekends. But we’ve changed that by organizing art residencies, tech projects, and other activities. We even founded an NGO called Rural Hackers, where we mix technology and art to make things happen, both for colivers and locals.
César
Wow, so the NGO is a big part of what you’re doing too?
Agustín
Yes, Rural Hackers is a big part of our mission. We run Erasmus+ projects, bring in artists for residencies, and do tech workshops. For example, we recently hosted a group that painted a mural in the village and created websites for local NGOs that couldn’t afford one. We also work with companies like Siteground and WordPress to provide training in web development.
César
That sounds incredible. You’ve really made an impact both on the colivers and the local community. How do you see the future of coliving in rural areas?
Agustín
I think rural colivings can be a catalyst for change. By involving the local community in our activities, we create a bond between colivers and locals. We don’t want to be an isolated foreign bubble. The goal is always to put people together, create connections, and build something sustainable for everyone involved.
César
And actually, half the population came between your group and the locals.
Agustín
Exactly. That worked really well. For example, last year, Mary from Poland came and she was designing something around the biodiversity of the area. She met with some locals who knew about the forest and the species here. She did the designs based on that.
We also had Lavina from Romania, who did something beautiful. She collected old pictures from the villagers, and we did an exhibition with them. Lavina worked closely with a local woman named Loreto, going door to door to ask for the photos. It was really special.
Then, we did some projects with AI and art. We brought a Belgian AI artist and a Galician mural artist. We trained an AI on the style of the mural artist, and by the end of the residency, the artist painted a mural, and the AI created its own version. Both works are now displayed along a path in the forest that you can walk from the coliving. So, as you walk, you see these two artworks, which is really cool.
We’ve also had people like Victor, who ended up moving here. He was teaching English and tech classes to the villagers, which was amazing. During his residency, we started a project called Pégadas do Recordo (Memories’ Footprints), where we open up old paths that used to be farming land but are now forest. Locals tell us stories about what used to be there, and we record them. We place QR codes along the paths, so when people walk, they can scan them and listen to the stories.
The only funny thing was that some of the locals didn’t know how to use QR codes, so Victor taught them how. Now, they show their grandkids that they’re on YouTube!
César
That must make them the coolest grandparents ever!
Agustín
Exactly. We started this whole thing during a five-day workshop with other creative spaces from Europe. We had about 25 people from 16 different colivings, coworking spaces, museums, and residency spots. They helped us get Pégadas do Recordo off the ground, and it’s become really special.
Thanks to the NGO, we’ve been able to do a lot. Last year, many of these residencies were pro bono, because the coliving doesn’t have a lot of money, and the NGO has none. But we managed to bring people who couldn’t afford to stay but wanted to give back to the community. Now, we’re getting funding from the Goethe Institute, which means we can fund five residencies this year.
César
That’s amazing! So, what do the locals think about all these activities?
Agustín
They’re really happy. In the beginning, they didn’t understand what coliving was—people with computers doing stuff—but now they’re fully on board. After COVID, we started doing more with the local community, and now they even push us to do more. We’ve done three murals so far, and they want to do a fourth one on their own. We’ve given them all the information: the cost of the artist, where to get the paint, and how to organize it. They’re taking charge, which is exactly what we wanted. If this continues every year, it’ll be great!
César
That’s brilliant. You’ve really managed to integrate coliving into the community in such a meaningful way.
Agustín
Yeah, it’s been a great journey. We’ve built something that connects people from different backgrounds and brings real value to the local area. We love it.
Agustín
…until coliving or rural hackers, which is kind of the end goal. If this happens every year, each year there’s a new initiative organized. The locals sometimes wonder, “What could be happening here in 10 years?” There’s so much going on in a village of just 100 people, which is, in my opinion, pretty crazy.
César
Yeah, and the fact that people are moving there—like you mentioned the English teacher—is also super cool. For him to not only teach classes but also provide fitness to the locals, that’s amazing.
Agustín
Yeah, it’s super cool. He’s really into sports now and has opened a kind of gym in the house he rents. He offers boxing and fitness classes, apart from the English lessons, which are mostly online. But if locals want to join, they can. It’s great. Then there’s this new guy, Carlos, who moved here last year. He said, “Wow, I had no idea all of this was happening.” We also have another friend who moved from Pontevedra—she’s a yoga teacher. So now, in a village of 100 people, you’ve got boxing, fitness classes, and yoga twice or three times a week. It’s pretty impressive.
César
Yeah, you just need a barista café now!
Agustín
(laughs) Yeah, exactly! It’s amazing. And regarding barriers, besides the language, I don’t see any major ones. The locals are eager to do stuff. Before COVID, and even 5-10 years before that, nothing was happening in the village. So now they’re saying, “Thank you for organizing all of this.” Some even push us to do more.
César
So, it’s like they’re just missing the tools, not the initiative or ideas.
Agustín
Exactly. We even joke that we have a group of people we call the “village influencers.” They’re always involved in whatever we organize. The mentality here is: “If new people are organizing so many things, we need to help. We can’t complain that nothing happens if we don’t participate.” Of course, there’s a small percentage who aren’t into it, but at least they don’t complain. They just don’t show up, and that’s fine.
César
Yeah, that’s perfectly fine.
Agustín
Totally. And it’s understandable. Out of 100 people, there are always going to be some who aren’t interested, but for the most part, the villagers are on board. I think coliving really fulfills that need for belonging, especially for remote workers who are always on the move. They spend a few weeks here, a month there, and don’t really belong anywhere. Coliving gives them that sense of home.
César
Exactly. That’s what I’ve seen too. It’s like forming a little community wherever you go.
Agustín
Yeah, we’ve had over 500 people pass through Anceu, and one of the common themes is that they want to belong somewhere. They get tired of being with people for just 10 days in a hostel or hopping between coworking spaces. Coliving creates that sense of community, especially with minimum stays. It gives people time to open up, whether they need two days or 20 days. It’s different for everyone, but that’s what makes it interesting.
César
Yeah, it’s such a gratifying experience. This sense of community is so important. In cities, we’ve lost that.
Agustín
Exactly. In cities, we’re told that being surrounded by people is enough, but that’s not true. You can live in a city and not talk to anyone. I lived in Madrid, and I didn’t talk to anyone in my building. But in a village, or a coliving, everyone helps each other. Like, we have sheep, and once one of them died, and the other was going crazy because they need company. So I called a local, José Manuel, and asked if he knew where I could get another sheep. He showed up an hour later with a sheep and said, “You can keep it.” That kind of thing just doesn’t happen in the city.
César
So, basically, you’ve created a Tinder for sheep?
Agustín
(laughs) Exactly! A sheep Tinder! But yeah, it’s that sense of community—people helping each other out. Maybe it’s because we’re doing so much for the village that they want to say thank you. Or maybe it’s just the way village life works.
César
It’s so refreshing to hear that. It reminds me of the WhatsApp community I started in my building, where people organize things like sports and board games. It’s such an organic way to connect with your neighbors.
Agustín
Yeah, it’s the same idea. Coliving gives people that sense of belonging, which is missing in big cities. You can be surrounded by people but still feel alone. In a village or a coliving, you’re part of something, and that makes all the difference.
César
You work for a company that’s part of Anteo, is that right?
Agustín
Well, it’s not exactly part of Anteo. I work for a company called 11 Yellow. We’ve been fully remote since we started, more than 10 years ago. We do our own projects, we’re not an agency. We come up with ideas, develop them, and usually they fail. We’re a high-risk, high-reward company. Maybe one out of every 20 or 25 projects is a success.
César
That’s how it works, right? Exactly. I mentioned the art part because you’re also part of another project related to art. It’s called Bottle, right? Can you tell us more about it?
Agustín
Yeah, Bottle is an AI artist. Well, I don’t usually like calling it an artist—it’s more of an AI project. The AI creates images every week, and then we have a community that acts as a filter for the quality of the art. Right now, we have around 5,000 people who vote on the pieces the AI creates, and the winning piece gets minted and sold as an NFT. So far, we’ve sold about $3 million in art, and we typically sell each piece for around $25K to $50K weekly, even though the NFT market is pretty down at the moment. We’re trying to position ourselves between the traditional art world and the digital NFT blockchain space.
César
So no memes, right? I thought NFTs were just memes.
Agustín
No memes, no. We’re kind of serious about it! (laughs)
César
That’s brilliant. I really thought NFTs were mostly memes!
Agustín
(laughs) Yeah, it’s interesting. The person developing the AI model is Mario Klingemann, a well-known AI artist. We’re even working on a Sotheby’s solo show by the end of the year, which would be the first time they do something like that. It’s pretty crazy, and we’re still digesting how big this project is getting.
César
That’s amazing! And you mentioned you came up with the idea of opening a coliving space. How did that come about?
Agustín
Yeah, when I decided to move back to Galicia and open a coliving, the founders of 11 Yellow came to me asking if they could buy into the project or be part of it. For them, it was a way to have a home base for a fully remote company, which made sense. But I didn’t want them to be part of the ownership. So, we came up with this deal where 11 Yellow pays a yearly fee to the coliving, and their employees can stay for free. We’re a small company, just 25 people, and usually we have one person from 11 Yellow staying at the coliving for the whole season. We also do small retreats. Last week, we had 11 people from 11 Yellow here, and we’ll probably do another retreat by the end of the year. It works well for the company because it gives us a space where everyone can meet, and I take care of managing it, so no one from HR or admin has to worry about it.
César
That’s super nice. It sounds like a win-win situation.
Agustín
Yeah, exactly. When I started the coliving, I wasn’t sure how the business would go, so having that fixed yearly income gave me stability. With that, plus filling the coliving for one month, I could break even. It’s a classic win-win.
César
That’s great. I think more fully remote companies should offer something like that, having deals with certain spaces where their employees can gather.
Agustín
Yeah, it would be super cool if more companies did that. It creates a sense of belonging for remote workers, who often feel isolated.
César
Exactly. You could even create a network of colivings, where employees can travel and meet their teammates from different countries. It’s such a cool concept.
Agustín
Yeah, it brings so many ideas. It’s just so good for creating community.
César
Speaking of community, what does coliving mean to you?
Agustín
For me, it’s all about community. Even before I started the coliving, my house was always the house where people gathered—parties, events, you name it. I’ve always loved the idea of community because it’s one of the most powerful things humans have. We can help, learn, and inspire each other, but you need a group of people who want to be part of that. Coliving is special because people are choosing to be there. They’re paying to be part of that community, and that’s incredibly powerful. I love seeing new communities form at Anceu, and then they evolve into something more, even outside the coliving. We’ve had people from the coliving move to Pontevedra and continue meeting up, forming their own community. It’s amazing to see how it grows beyond the space.
César
That’s super cool. You mentioned the coworking space in Pontevedra—what’s the name?
Agustín
It’s called Arroyo. We can put a link in the description.
César
Great! It’s been an enormous pleasure talking to you, and I can’t wait to do the Camino de Santiago, which passes nearby. I’ll definitely visit the coliving!
Agustín
We’d be super happy to host you!
César
Thank you so much. See you soon.
Agustín
Thank you. Bye-bye!
César
Bye!
0 Comments