Conversation between Alvaro Valls, participant of Icod Remoto 2021, and Carlos Jonay Suárez, co-founder of Pueblos Remotos.

If you'd like, you can also listen to the interview:

Alvaro Valls participó en la primera edición, y proyecto piloto, de Pueblos Remotos: Icod Remoto. Junto con otros 9 compañeros vivió de primera mano la experiencia de la ruralidad conectada en un entorno de lujo, el municipio de Icod de los Vinos. 

Nine months later, we spoke with him to ask how he sees the project now, and to find out why he decided to repeat it, this time working remotely on his own from the aforementioned municipality:

It's been a few months since Icod Remoto, with everything more matured, and some time since the program ended. What are your feelings about it?

I have very fond memories of my time there, both because of the local actors we met, people who welcomed us with open arms and a smile, and because of my colleagues (teleworkers), who are restless people with very aligned values, and that makes people connect and creates synergies.   

Looking back on the project, we had the vision that we were going to contribute our professional knowledge to their projects, but my feeling is that we contributed more in the personal sphere (to the local actors) than in the professional one, or at least the personal one was more significant.

Along these same lines, what is your relationship like right now on a day-to-day basis with the other participants (teleworkers)? And with the local stakeholders? 

The fact is, you always connect more with some people than others, although there was a really good rapport overall. But to this day, there are several I'm still in touch with and have become friends with, which is normal, since it's the result of sharing time and experiences with people who share many of your values. In the end, I'm quite in contact with all of them; I follow their lives on social media, and whether you like it or not, that always brings back memories and relives moments. 

I also keep in regular contact with the local actors, especially those with whom I had the most synergy. We chat from time to time, send each other WhatsApp messages, and I follow almost all of them on social media. All of this reminds me of the great times we had in Icod.

How "connected" do you feel to the project? 

With the project itself, my closest connection is through the memories of everything I experienced there. In the end, you connect with the people, with the town, with everything. For example, when I saw images of Antigua Remoto, I could perfectly imagine everything they were experiencing, feeling, and so on. 

Five months after finishing Icod Remoto, you decided to return to the municipality to work remotely from there for 10 days. What was your main motivation for returning? 

Thanks to the possibility of working remotely, I can go with another of my colleagues from Icod Remoto (Raúl Navarro). The main reasons were to return to a place where I have very good memories and where I knew I was going to meet again with people I care about and with whom I had a great time. 

I knew we were going to have great experiences again and that it was going to be a safe bet. 

What was your experience like working remotely from Icod de los Vinos? Do you think the town is ready to attract profiles like yours?

The truth is that it was a bit difficult to find "optimal" conditions for teleworking. 

In terms of tourist accommodation, they are prepared to accommodate as many people (beds) as possible and there is no investment in a space within the dwelling that resembles a "serious" workplace

We made up for the teleworking part by going to a small coworking space located in the center of Icod. It was a bit difficult to find, to be honest, but in the end it allowed us to work remotely comfortably and effectively.

Regarding improvements, the municipality is just a little bit short of being ready, but of course, it's a vicious cycle, isn't it? Do I prepare the town first to receive the community? Or do I attract the community and then prepare the town? In the end, someone has to take the first step (as happened in Icod Remoto, where the accommodation was already set up for remote work) and start positioning the municipality to receive remote workers. 

If they want to be prepared, they need to invest a little more, both from the public and private sectors. 

Did you resume any of the challenges/projects with any local actors? 

On this second visit, no. We met with some of the local stakeholders and discussed several things briefly, but we didn't "roll up our sleeves" and get down to the issues we addressed during Icod Remoto. 

It was more about rekindling relationships, spending time with them, and so on. Besides, there wasn't that much of a latent "need" on their part for this situation to arise upon their return; it was something more personal. 

But, for example, what happened was that we met another local actress, who couldn't be in Icod Remoto, and we had a good time with her learning about her project. 

Do you plan to return to Icod at some point or even participate in a future edition of Pueblos Remotos? 

I'd definitely go back to Icod. I don't have a date set, but I'd love to return soon. And I haven't ruled out participating in another edition of Pueblos Remoto (Pueblos Remotos). These editions offer similar attractions to what I experienced in Icod Remoto, and of course, I'm not out of the question of participating again.