I want to tell you everything that is not seen, what is hidden behind the curtain. With the organization of experiences something similar to the staging of a play. We are not aware of all previous preparation work, essay hours, costume tests, negotiations with suppliers, and a length etc. We are left alone with the two hours of show, but to get to that point a lot of effort and dedication have been put. 

If you follow us in networks and you are signed to our Newsletter, you will know that we have just finished implementing the Pop-Up Coliving Almagro (Ciudad Real) of 7 days (from March 8 to 15) and that we are now promoting remote peoples Carnota ( Galicia ) of 21 days that will take place from May 4 to 25. Using these two examples, together with past editions, I would like to explain everything that happens both in the previous, as well as during, and once we finish the experiences.

In September 2022 I wrote this article: Is the co-creation of experiences true development? In which he explained the 5 phases to carry out each of our experiences (analysis, design, implementation, closing and monitoring). Today I want to go further, give you even more details. I want to value all the work behind and give visibility, that comes to light.

Carlos also made an effort explaining in this post Blog How much is it worth participating in an experience of remote villages? , but it is something that continues to cost us a lot. We do not want you to stay alone in the numerical price, we want you to understand hairs and signals, everything behind the work we perform.

Come, I'm going to try ... Let's go there! 🙂

The previous one: 5 months before the experience

At least 5 months before starting an experience, research work begins. We divide it into 3 phases: analysis, design and collection. These three phases have to be carried out before being able to implement the experience. They are, without a doubt, to those who dedicate the longest, but the ones I personally enjoy.  

1) Analysis phase: The first step for us is to understand well the context in which we will be working and for this we need to make an analysis report where we collect economic and social data, available funds, existing infrastructure, etc. In addition, we have specific criteria that help us select the people, the accommodation and the rural entrepreneurs with whom we are going to work.

• PEOPLE SELECTION: We have several filters to choose a certain town such as that they have less than 10,000 inhabitants, it has to be well connected with public transport, there must be accommodation or several accommodations with sufficient capacity and entrepreneurs with interesting projects. In the case of Pop-Up Coliving's recent experience we started with this phase in October 2023. After a few weeks of internet search and several calls, there were three finalist peoples in the province of Ciudad Real: Villanueva de los Infantes, Almagro and cryptan field. We decided to do it finally in Almagro because it was the one that best fulfilled the criteria.

Plaza Mayor of Almagro during the weekend of our Pop-Up Coliving Almagro 2024 experience

• SELECTION OF THE ACCOMMODATION: The first thing is that a minimum capacity of 10 people has to have a capacity. We measure the capacity in bed number (not including sofas), we don't care if they are marriage or not, since most of our participants go individually. We need to have common spaces (kitchen, living room, etc.) and that one of them can act as coworking. In addition, it has to have a good Internet connection (preferably fiber optic) and this is something we always test in person. We value that it is well located, that you can walk to some local stores and other necessary services. It is also an addition that the owners are people involved in the town.

Views from Aldea Soma, the accommodation of our next experience remote peoples Carnota 2024 ( Galicia )

• Selection of rural entrepreneurs: They are the cornerstone of our projects, for them and for them we make our experiences. We look more at people and their stories than in entrepreneurship projects themselves. Some of the criteria they have to comply with are:
  • Be aligned with sustainable development objectives 
  • Have improvement and growth potential
  • Be representative of the rural area
  • Be committed and with availability to get involved
  • Collaborate with other entrepreneurs

First time we met Nacho Porto, an artist who has been doing creative ceramics for more than 40 years and developing their own techniques. With him we will collaborate in the experience of remote peoples Carnota 2024 .

• Visit to the place: once we have done all the identification, we always organize a visit to the place to see everything in person and make the necessary contacts. On some occasions, just seeing the photos of the accommodation you cannot understand well the distribution of the rooms, so we always want to see it live. We also love spending a while with entrepreneurs in their workplace and better understand what are the challenges they face and what types of activities can we do with them.

María Jesús and Elsa during the first visit to Almagro in February 2024.

• Identification of sponsors and collaborators: this part is also key for the project to move forward. Unfortunately, we cannot do all of us because we always try to involve different people, associations or collaborating projects as well as possible sponsors and public administrations, such as the City Council or the local action groups, which do not always support us financially, but in kind or giving us visibility.
• In the case of Almagro (7 days): We have from the beginning with María Jesús, a native of the neighboring town of Membrilla and participant of Pueblos Remotos Fuencaliente in 2022. As a local leader, he helped us with the entire part of identification and design of the experience. We tried to contact the City Council in a thousand ways, but until we did not go there and we had the opportunity to meet local entrepreneurs, we could not connect directly with some of the councilors. Finally, we got some of the activities such as the visit to the Comedias Corral, guided routes through the historic center and tourist bonds. Normally, we do this process backwards, it is the City Council who helps us identify local entrepreneurs, but when this does not work, we have to adapt and look for any other possible way. In Almagro, we also got the local action group to give us a space to telework. 

First visit in the person we made to Carnota in August 2022 together with Javier Boquete, our local leader and Alba Fernández, one of the local entrepreneurs with whom we are going to collaborate.

• In the case of Carnota (21 days): in order to develop three -week experiences, we need financial support because without that monetary help, we cannot implement them. Our local leader, Javier Boquete, has been since the end of 2022 trying to convince the authorities of Carnota (Deputation da Coruña and Concello de Carnota) to support us and almost 2 years later we have achieved it. Thanks to this economic contribution we can get the tickets to prices as competitive as 975 euros, price that covers accommodation, activities, transport, team of towns 24/7, local challenge, etc. We will also be collaborating with local associations, the Carnota Institute and other relevant actors that make this experience possible. 

2) Design phase: Many times the analysis, design and collection phase overlap and we have to do them in parallel to be able to get the experience in a timely manner. We organize ideation sessions together with local entrepreneurs. We decided the activities to be carried out and identified the challenges that each one has. At the end of this phase, we launch for the call of teleworkors and proceed to their final selection.

• Co-creation of the experience: the first thing we do once the main entrepreneurs are selected (they are usually 2 for the experiences of 7 days and a maximum of 4 for the experiences of 21 days) with which we are going to do the activities, or visits , is to plan with them what kind of activity we are going to do and how we are going to make it special for our group. In parallel, we identify activities that can be secondary or optional (hiking, yoga, cleaning of beaches, cultural visits, etc.) that we will also offer to the participants. Likewise, we inform ourselves of whether there is any party occurring in those days, cultural events and we negotiate with restaurants from the special menus for the group.

Co-Creation and Calendar Construction Session for Experience Pueblos Remotos Fuencaliente 2022

• Calendar construction: With all this information we get to work together with the local leader and rural entrepreneurs to build the calendar based on their availability but also to balance it as much as possible and not saturate the agenda with many things. We do not want to create Fomo (Fear of Missing Out, in its acronym in English), but an experience as complete and balanced as possible. We put the main activities day and time and generate a welcomme guide where we include: logistics to get to the place, recommendations what to take, agenda and times, local stores to buy, restaurants, coworking space, connection to the Wi -Fi network, contacts relevant and other links of interest.

3) Capture phase : Once we have all the information about the experience, we generate a web page where we explain exactly how it will be, with what rural entrepreneurs we will collaborate and in what challenge we are going to get involved. We also prepare a document with frequent questions where we solve the most common doubts and a registration form that helps us to filter before doing the final interviews. Through the form we can see the real interest of people to participate in this type of experience. When we finally launch the experience, the capture phase begins, which is probably the most difficult for us and the one that costs us the most because we are not an advertising agency, but a social entrepreneurship with a small team.

Ublication of social networks of experience of experience Remote peoples Carnota 2024

How do we get to our target audience? How do we convince teleworkors who want to come to live an experience? Through direct advertising in specific communities, network of professional contacts, articles in the media (trying to leave in national media) and through our social networks. The conversion process is long and laborious, but also of the utmost importance to give the quality we want to our experiences:

1. Fill the registration form
2. Personal interview
3. Make the full payment of the reservation

We are not worth just that the Leads enter for the funnel but that they reach the end, and believe me that it is really difficult to find our market niche.

During this phase we have to use a long time to prepare digital resources (publications calendar, Newsletter, blog articles, media press releases), interview and convince those people who fit our values ​​to come with the energy that We need to make the group work and connect. 

• Kick-off video call: one of the happiest moments is when we close the group and we have the video call so that they begin to put faces, explain with more details how the experience will be and that can ask us any questions.

The during: between 7 and 21 days

After 5 months of preparation, the time is finally to open the doors, the curtain runs and the work begins. The team usually comes a couple of days before to prepare the house, make the last confirmations and receive the participants. The preparation process carries almost the same work in a one -week experience as in an experience of three. The big difference comes when implementing them. 

4) Implementation phase : They are intense experiences, the 7 -day literally flying and we usually emphasize the connection between teleworkors, including sessions to share knowledge ( Skill Shares ) and build equipment ( Team Building ). In the 21 days you have to know how to ration the energy to maintain it until the end, it is a background race for those we organize since they always arise unforeseen and you have to know how to manage them in the best possible way.

There are many hours of work, many times we are part of the experience and it is difficult to draw the line between participant and organizer. Living with customers many times is not easy, especially for me, that I am aware of all the details and that all people feel comfortable and taste. 

• Main activities: They usually last about 2-3 hours and carry them out with each of the rural entrepreneurs that we have selected. Putting them on involves a lot of coordination, from the logistics to get to the place, that the activity is carried out in the established times, that the participants feel good, that they can ask and learn. In 7 days these activities are extra ( ADD-ons ) and in the 21-day ones are included in the price. Always, always, we always pay entrepreneurs for these activities the price they tell us per person. We pay them and give them visibility, that is what they take to participate in our experiences, apart from friends for a lifetime and people who will always be willing to help them.

Ceramic workshop with Veronica de limez in which we learned to make different pieces.

• The unforeseen: you always have to have a plan B for both activities and for any change/incident that may arise. We have had personal problems, last -minute cancellations and diseases. In the recent experience in Almagro, we had scheduled the activity with Petri, of Almauga oils, outdoors, in its fields of olive trees and we wanted to tasting there as well. Well, that weekend it rained a lot and we had to change everything, from location to the type of experience. It has happened to us and will continue to happen to us. The important thing is to know how to manage the expectations of the participants and be willing to adapt to the changes with the best of the smiles. As Darwin said: "It is not the strongest that survives, nor the smartest, but the one who responds best to change"

Oil tasting and tasting workshop with oil oils during pop-up Coliving Almagro 2024

• RESOLUTION OF CHALLENGES: Normally the challenges are done only during the experiences of 21 days (except for those we do with students who focus 100% on this) because time is needed to understand the context and be able to contribute solutions. There are experiences in which we focus on solving challenges of rural entrepreneurs always voluntarily. Each teleworkor chooses with which entrepreneurs want to collaborate based on their personal experience and interests. In other experiences, we focus on solving challenges at the territorial level.

For example, the challenge to be resolved in Carnota will be to transfer to local young people the virtues of undertaking and working remotely. It is a challenge that has already begun, we are forming students of 4th of the ESO of the Institute of Carnota in entrepreneurship, working on a sustainable, dynamic and de -stationalizer tourism project, devised by themselves. The idea is to inspire them, help them prepare an elevator pitch and accompany them in the final presentation they do.

Talk of European entrepreneurs of the The Break program to the students of the Institute of Mesa and López in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

• Feedback session: We always leave it for the end, we do it the penultimate day. Perhaps this is the most special moment of experiences, where we realize once again that the magic of connected rurality has come true. We create an environment in which participants can comfortably share how they have felt, what they take from experience and where to thank others for everything lived. For me personally, it is a reminder of why we do what we do. Just for living that moment I would do it again and again. It is the reflection of the legacy we leave with this project. People who share that they have felt understood, as a family, who have found their "tribu". Others who have finally had moments to connect themselves and with the rural environment. They all take new friends and moments that will remember the rest of their lives. And for us the reward of so much effort is to see their faces of happiness and gratitude.

One of the most beautiful feedback sessions that we have lived next to this sacred mountain in Fuencaliente (La Palma)

• Final event: 3 -week experiences always end with a final event where we gather local authorities, all rural entrepreneurs who have been part of the experience and participants. In this final meeting, a presentation is made where what has worked during the experience is explained, recommendations that are for the territory and we also have a little while at the end of pecking and networking where the farewell hugs prevail.

Many hugs during the closing event of pueblos remotos Fuencaliente 2022

The after: 3 weeks post-experience

Our work does not end when the experience ends, we still have the final stretch, about 3 or 4 weeks in which we have to do all the evaluation of results and the final closure. 

5) Evaluation phase:

• Feedback form : At the end of each experience we send the participants a questionnaire where we ask them for their opinion on everything they have lived. The feedback form is divided into several parts: activities, accommodation, connections, implication in the challenges, professional impact, personal impact and socioeconomic impact. We always ask them to help us improve. In addition, in 3 weeks experiences we also ask rural entrepreneurs to fill out a feedback .

feedback form , the people who have been part of some of our experiences, automatically become remote (members of our community), for which we include them in the WhatsApp group where all the participants of all are The editions. Once they are part of our community they access online sessions, special discounts and can participate in our face -to -face remaining.

Annual remaining of the Community of Pueblos Remotos in Almagro from May 15 to 17, 2024

• Evaluation report: When we have sponsors (especially in the experiences of 3 weeks), we prepare a final evaluation report where we collect all the feedback received and allow the results and the impact we have generated on the territory.
• Budget closure: We have to ensure that all payments have been made correctly, that there are no pending invoices to pay or issue. Normally the sponsors can only be issued by the invoice once the experience ends (together with the evaluation report) and the average payment term is 2-3 months, so this is another challenge that we face with our liquidity .

6) Monitoring phase : We cheat you before, not everything ends 3-4 weeks after experience, but we go further. In the experiences of 3 weeks, we follow up every 6 months with rural entrepreneurs, we want to know how they are doing, if they have implemented more recommendations, if they have generated new collaborations, etc.

Thanks to this evaluation and monitoring exercise that we have carried out since we had our first experience in May 2021, we have been able to recently bring out our first impact report 2021-2023 , which collects in a very visual way the positive impact that we have generated in the 6 rural environments in which we have carried out experiences.

Well, I think I told you everything. If you want to launch an experience like ours, here are our methodology. I share it because I hope more people, agents of the territory or new initiatives are focused on generating positive impact, in reactivating rural environments and creating new opportunities, how much more we are the better!

To launch an experience we dedicate minimum about 6 months of work ... Did you imagine it? It is still a great challenge to put a price on what we do and sell tickets to the right audience. If you have recommendations, we are all ears, because we continue learning every day and grow based on trial and error. 

And now that you know everything that is not seen, what is hidden behind the curtain ... Do you help us communicate it? We need to understand what really includes the price of our experiences and all the effort, and affection, which we put in each of the phases that I just told you. Meanwhile, we will continue doing the best we can because ...

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"The best we can experience is not the way already traveled, but the one we still have to go."

- Elsa Rodríguez & Carlos Jonay Suárez

Walking at sunset during the Pop-Up Coliving Villarejo de Salvanés 2023 experience

Authorship

Elsa Rodríguez Felipe