#38 Kommu: A Homeswap Network Built on Trust with Bo Abrams

Dom Francks joins the show to share the benefits of developing regenerative leadership skills. We discuss the importance of immersion in nature, the role of guides in wilderness experiences, and how to live a nomadic lifestyle that connects with nature. He also offered listeners of this podcast $500 his new regenerative leadership course VIVIFY, which you can learn more about at domfrancks.com/vivify

Learn more about how we're building a network of modern villages at cabin.city 

Read more about the future of living at futureofliving.substack.com 

Twitter: 

@DomFrancks

@JacksonSteger

The Dutch Cycling Embassy is a public private network for sustainable bicycle inclusive mobility. They serve as intermediaries between Dutch cycling and city leadership around the world. They represent the best of Dutch Cycling knowledge and lean on their experts from private companies, NGO’s, research institutions, national and local governments.

Chris Bruntlett of DCE joins Campfire to share how cities around the world work with the DCE to improve their infrastructure, and why this is a thing that the best cities in the world

Campfire is produced by Cabin, which is comprised of internet friends building a global network of modern villages. Learn more at cabin.city

Read more about the future of living at futureofliving.substack.com

Twitter:

DCE: @Cycling_Embassy

Jackson Steger @JacksonSteger

Topics include:

Introduction and Cultural History of Cycling in the Netherlands

Mission and Purpose of the Dutch Cycling Embassy

Transformation of Dutch Cities and the Potential for Change in Other Cities

Designing Future Cities with Cycling Infrastructure

Benefits of Cycling for a Nation, City, and Individual

Projects and Innovations in Cycling Infrastructure Around the World

Strategies for Accelerating the Adoption of Cycling Infrastructure

Developments at the Intersection of Cycling and Technology

Creating Win-Win Situations for Cyclists and Motorists

Campfire is produced by Cabin, which is comprised of internet friends building a global network of modern villages. Learn more at cabin.city

Read more about the future of living at futureofliving.substack.com

Bo Abrams is the CEO and cofounder of Kommu. Kommu is more than just a homeswapping network. Kommu is a platform that enables users to connect and swap homes with trusted friends and friends of friends. The platform focuses on building trust and reputation within the app to ensure safe and reliable exchanges. Jackson asks Bo about the Kommu origin story, how it plans to grow to compete with Airbnb, how to avoid the same regulations that short-term rentals face, and on the nuance between nomad and semi-nomad categories. You can learn more about Kommu at GoKommu.com

Twitter: 

 Bo Abrams: @BoHAbrams

Jackson Steger @JacksonSteger

Campfire is produced by Cabin, which is comprised of internet friends building a global network of modern villages. Learn more at cabin.city

Read more about the future of living at futureofliving.substack.com

Ashley Colby Fitzgerald is a cohost of Doomer Optimism and founder of the Rizoma Field School. This episode explores how to prep for periods of instability, varying methods of homeschool, localism, agroecology, relationships in a time of crises, and integrating children into intentional communities. Cabin's technical lead (Grin) joins as cohost.

Twitter: 

Ashley: @RizomaSchool

Jackson Steger @JacksonSteger

Grin: @grin_io

For the most evergreen episode about Cabin, go listen to episode 32. This episode catches folks up on where Cabin is at the end of 2023 and start of 2024. Jackson and Jon revisit the launch of the network city, review lessons learned in the past year, underscore Citizenship as the core business model moving forward, and discuss which bets will best enable Cabin to be a group of internet friends building a modern village. 

Contribute to the new forum at forum.cabin.city

Read more about the future of living at futureofliving.substack.com

Priya Rose, co-founder of Fractal, discusses the origins and growth of the co-living community in Brooklyn. Fractal started as a casual co-living arrangement among friends and has now expanded to 36 people living across multiple apartments and neighborhoods, with a broader community of 400 others floating around the ecosystem. Priya shares how weekly dinner parties and subleasing helped foster a sense of community and attract new members. She also discusses the challenges and strategies of finding and matching roommates. Priya envisions future iterations of Fractal, including expanding to other cities and creating a village with its own system of governance. She and Jackson also both emphasize the importance of incremental progress towards building a utopian community.

Campfire is produced by Cabin, which is a group of internet friends building a network of modern villages. Learn more at cabin.city

Read more about the future of living at futureofliving.substack.com

How to Live Near Your Friends https://prigoose.substack.com/p/how-to-live-near-your-friends

Niklas Anzinger runs a fund called Infinita VC which is dedicated to creating more regulatory sandboxes and special jurisdictions by investing in startup societies, network states, and more. We discuss how venture capital can be ethically deployed to create more "base layer innovations." A special thank you to Niklas for introducing multiple past guests to the show - it was high time to bring him on to Campfire. 

Niklas' newsletter: https://niklasanzinger.substack.com/

Niklas' podcast: https://rss.com/podcasts/stranded-technologies-podcast/

2:45 The common thread in Niklas’ career

4:20 Core thesis of Infinita

5:14 Base layer innovation

(Referenced manifesto): https://niklasanzinger.substack.com/p/infinita-manifesto-10

6:51 The connection between startup societies and base layer innovations

10:30 Is VC the best way to grow new cities?

12:15 Ethical exits

15:30 Work with people who are painfully ethical

16:19 The role of crypto in network states and startup societies

18:35 What is it like to be based out of Prospera?

21:09 How will Prospera grow?

23:40 Reflections from the Zuzalu pop-up city experience

29:02 Other examples of regulatory arbitrage

On this episode of Campfire, Jackson is joined by Casper ter Kuile: CEO and Co-Founder of The Nearness. The Nearness is a company that allows people to explore life’s big questions in a community.

Topics Covered:

• Introduction to Casper— (2:00)
• Spirituality Versus Religion— (5:15)
• The Role of Spirituality in Communities— (7:20)
• Advice for Those Seeking Spirituality—  (10:50)
• The Nearness and Nearness Journeys— (13:29)
• Community Covenant— (16:20)
• Cult Versus Community— (17:51)
• Becoming a Spiritual Leader— (24:15)
• Jackson’s Family Story— (27:30)
• Communities Forming Rituals— (28:40)
• Rituals for Digital Communities— (33:25)
• Tech and Spirituality Through History— (35:36)

Campfire is brought to you by Cabin - a network of coliving neighborhoods for nature-loving creators and remote workers. You can learn more at the following links:

Website (cabin.city)

Twitter

Discord

Read more urbanist content at The Future of Living Newsletter

Episode Links: 

The Nearness’ Website

The Nearness on Twitter

The Nearness' Covenant 

Episode Credit:

Hosted by @JacksonSteger

Guest was @caspertk

Sound Engineering by @Prodcolin

Produced + Distributed by @PhilippeIze

This episode outlines our core beliefs and plans to build a city. It includes

Why we’re building a city

• The problem
• The solution

Who we are

• Origin story
• Community

What we believe

1. We are happiest living with people we admire
2. We can find our people online and get together in person
3. We can live anywhere and earn money online

How we’re doing it

• Culture
• Governance
• Economy

Where we’re going

• Next 5 Years
• Next 5 Decades
• Next 5 Centuries

Exciting Cabin Updates — (00:21) 

Introduction to Jon Hillis — (01:36) 

Introduction to Cabin — (03:42) 

The Problems Cabin is Trying to Solve — (4:28) 

Why (New) Cities are the Solution — (6:12) 

Network Cities — (8:15) 

Cabin’s People — (8:52) 

Cabin’s Colliving Neighborhoods Characteristics — (10:02) 

The Three Obvious Truths — (11:26) 

Truth 1: Living with People We Admire — (12:00) 

Truth 2: Find People Online & Connect IRL — (12:40) 

Truth 3: Live anywhere. Make Money Online — (13:13) 

What “Collective” City Building Means — (14:45) 

Becoming a Cabin Citizen — (17:00) 

Co-Creating Culture Across Geography — (19:00) 

Work-Stay Exchanges at Cabin Neighborhoods — (21:48) 

Cabin’s Structure and Decision Making Process — (23:25) 

The Cabin Economy — (26:24) 

Cabin Exports — (28:59) 

Community Growth Goals — (32:40) 

Cabin in 50 Years — (34:50) 

Societal Evolution Over Time— (37:29) 

Connecting with Cabin — (47:43)

Campfire is brought to you by Cabin - a network of coliving neighborhoods for nature-loving creators and remote workers. You can learn more at the following links:

Website (cabin.city)

Twitter

Discord

Read more urbanist content at The Future of Living Newsletter

Episode Links: 

Building Cabin's Network City (The vision document)

RSVP to our (virtual) Citizenship launch party on 5.23

Pre-register your property for our City Directory

Episode Credit:

Hosted by @JacksonSteger

Guest was @jonathanhillis

Sound Engineering by @Prodcolin

Produced + Distributed by @PhilippeIze

This week on Campfire, Jackson is joined by John Andrew Entwistle, the Founder and CEO of Wander. Wander is a vertically integrated short term rental company. They are focused on providing high end, smart homes for families and digital nomads in inspiring locations inside the United States, and soon abroad. Tune in to this episode to hear about Wander's mission + community,  investment options, and expansion plans. 

Topics Covered: 

• Introduction to Wander — (1:17)
• Wander’s Target Demographic — (2:11)
• Wander and Remote Work — (3:08)
• Conscious Expansion — (04:23)
• Global Sprawl — (5:41)
• Financing Wander’s Growth — (6:33)
• John Andrew’s Knowledge Base — (7:40)
• How to Get a Line of Credit — (9:32)
• The Benefits of Single Family Financing — (11:45)
• Renovating Properties for Wander — (13:18)
• Investing in Wander Properties via Atlas — (15:10)
• Community at Wander — (20:05)
• Atlas’ Projected Return on Investment — (22:39)

Campfire is brought to you by Cabin - a network of coliving neighborhoods for nature-loving creators and remote workers. You can learn more at the following links:

Website (cabin.city)

Twitter

Discord

Read more urbanist content at The Future of Living Newsletter

Episode Links: 

Wander's Website

Atlas' Webpage

John Andrew on Twitter

Wander on Twitter 

Episode Credit:

Hosted by @JacksonSteger

Sound Engineering by @Prodcolin

Produced + Distributed by @PhilippeIze