In 2011, I was living in Nuvali, an ecocity in the Philippines. I’d just built my first home and documented my journey to sustainable living in a blog, MyNuvaliHome.
I’m now incorporating that blog into Montalut, and came across abrasive comments on my About section, where I shared the Why of my blog. Reading between the lines, one can tell that the person was angry at something, yes, and it was at the promise of Nuvali.
When you’re building something out of the future, all you have is your vision of it. You are emerging something new, something that doesn’t yet exist. To see it too, some people need a proof of concept that it’s been done before or that you’ve built a prototype of sorts. Some need more than that–they want to feel it directly benefiting them before they jump in. If the benefits fall short of the promise, they bite.
And yet a few already see the future with you, and choose to journey with you.
Reading that comment today made me recall what community is, at least to me.
Here’s the reply I wrote back in 2012, and it still rings true today:
Nuvali is a beautiful place that I’ve personally invested in, and it’s just one of the many new developments in the South that seeks to address the congestion problem in Metro Manila. Anything can happen years from now, but as someone who’s already betting on this community, I also hope to be an active part of what will make it truly a home — along with my future neighbors and those looking to contribute to and benefit from alternative communities like this.
Community is what we make of it, and as with anything in life, you get what you give. You give nothing, and you get nothing back. You give love and joy, and you get love and joy back.
When a group of people share a common interest and decide to pursue that interest together, you have a community. And today, there is an unprecedented level of participation and engagement made possible in communities through tokens.
Over the weekend we connected with Murshida and Zeal, amazing entrepreneurs from Singapore and Malaysia, who have a vision of a sustainable community of inspired and like-minded conscious entrepreneurs, very much like the vision of Montalut Creative Communities. They’re the husband-wife team behind Love and Respect: Coaching for Change. And what’s amazing is that they’ve already covered two big steps in their project: acquiring the land, and building the community of like-minded entrepreneurs who want to do good.
The resonance was so strong in listening to them share about their project, and we very clearly saw how they could superpower their community by tokenizing it.
The idea was new to them, and we were very happy to share our experience about it in the simplest way possible.
Disclaimer: I am not a tech or legal expert, and ideas shared here are from a conceptual point of view, meant as a basic start to a deeper dive into tokenization.
What is Tokenization?
Let’s define some terms first.
Blockchain
There’s no talking about tokenization without talking about blockchain.
When I first “met” blockchain in 2017, I was blown away by the possibilites of a distributed, transparent, and immutable system of exchanging value, such as money. Blockchain is a technology, like the internet, that creates a public ledger or recordbook with a touchmove feature: once a record is made, there’s no editing it. What does this mean? It’s a reliable way to keep important records, such as financial transactions (payments, investments) and contracts, such as buying and selling assets like art, property, even gaming assets.
What are the features of Blockchain?
Transparent Records
Records are kept in a shared aka distributed network of computers scattered all over the world, that crosscheck each other.
Direct Transactions
No more middleman (bank, government, etc.) to make transactions. Anyone on a blockchain can directly transact with others on the blockchain, aka peer-to-peer (P2P).
Immutable
Permanent, historical records that cannot be edited.
Use case of blockchain technology: Tokens
Tokenization is a phenomenon that grew out of blockchain technology.
Real-world assets, like company shares and real estate, can now be given a digital value in the form of tokens. The real magic sauce here is that tokens can be bought in bits and pieces, what’s called fractional ownership. What does this mean? You don’t need to buy big to be able to participate in a project. If you see something that resonates or interests you, you can support and benefit from it with a low entry cost.
Here’s an example: I’ve been brokering real estate for over 20 years, and for many, the golden goal is to acquire commercial property that earns rental income. That’s a big amount of capital we’re talking about before you can participate in the gains. With tokenization, an asset like a commercial building worth 1M can be tokenized for let’s say 1,000,000 tokens, with each token representing one of a million or .000001% share in rental income. This allows up to 1,000,000 individuals to buy tokens and enjoy the benefits of their investment. A real estate investor today can easily go in and out of property investments all over the world, at a fraction of the cost and without having to deal with administrative and legal hoops, by buying and selling tokens of tokenized real estate.
Tokens for Communities
So how does this apply to communities?
1. Tokens allow participation in the mission
For this alone, I will stand by the benefits of tokenizing a community.
When I first dreamt of a creative community, I was a lone believer. Then I started talking about it to as many people as possible, and everyone I talked to felt the passion and determination I had for it. Those who were deeply moved by it asked how they could support it, or contribute to it, and almost always these conversations ended with “let’s see what happens”. I just didn’t have any means of welcoming them into the party in a concrete way, even if they loved the vision and wanted to support it.
A tokenized community can let anyone have a stake in the project through the token. The beauty here is that these token holders are curated investors who believe in your cause and who will be your natural community or project ambassadors.
2. Tokens are built for borderless connections
Even from day one, the vision I had for Montalut was to create a model that would be replicated in many parts of the world. Tokens can be used as the currency of the community that can be used in any location, without friction cost of conversions, transfers, etc. It is a unit of trust that’s being passed around within the community.
Because tokens are borderless, your audience also becomes borderless. A real estate community project in Singapore can easily attract entrepreneurs in Minsk or Istanbul. What does this mean? Borderless marketing, borderless offers, borderless possibilities.
3. Tokens are customizable
Whether the token translates to rights to make decisions or rights to a share in the profits entirely depends on you and how to design your token. Tokenization can be designed according to any business model, and is especially suited for those that work as a community or ecosystem.
Any feature you want in your token, you embed in its smart contract on the blockchain, so token holders are also fully aware of the benefits that they can expect from having your token.
On our LEADIA ecosystem, for example, we designed tokens as a complement to the idea of bringing together 1) successful tech companies from Eastern Europe that have maxed out their existing markets, 2) small businesses and professionals in Southeast Asia who would benefit from these tech tools to optimize operations and profits, and 3) investors who want to support this project and ride on the growth journey of these tech companies. The LEADIA Token, $LFT, is the magic that brings all these pieces together in a quantifiable, fluid, and borderless way.
Tokenizing a Farming Community
Back to Murshida and Zeal’s project. Top of mind, here are possible ways of tokenizing a farming community:
Traditional Way
Tokenized
Benefits of Tokenization
Real Estate/Land Ownership
Subdividing the land for traditional titled land ownership for each home/family
Tokenized ownership of the land
Unlimited and fractional owners
Raising Capital
-Founding members to fund it or seek out traditional investors/VCs to develop the farm
-Lumpsum investments
-Tokenized ownership of the animals + farm plots
-Fractional investments
-Faster Fundraising and wider community engagement
-Progressive inflow of funds (i.e. you can start your project with one small investor with just one cow and grow from there)
Income Streams
-Harvest -Membership approach, like a timeshare -Renting out built housing or commercial units -Renting out the land
Tokens with rights to harvest/rental income
Distributed profits
These are just initial ideas we bounced off them, and they are of course subject to laws and regulations in the jurisdiction of the intended community.
Final points
Possibilities are endless on how tokens can superpower a community! The ideas of distributing entry point, entry cost, share in the gains, and even decision-making–they are all aligned with what most communities do in the first place.
Tokenization is a powerful tool in supercharging your community.
CAVEAT: Not every project can benefit from being tokenized, especially since there are costs to being on the blockchain.
It’s important to first pin down the architecture of your community to see how tokens can come into the picture.
Also understand your tokenomics: How will your token flow in and out of your community? How will this flow balance the supply and demand for your tokens?
If you have a community project in mind and are considering tokenizing it, let us know how we can support you on your journey. We would be glad to see more and more people understand and use this superpower so that more good can come out of this amazing technology.
Heavy thoughts the past days. ISIS in the PH, lingering terror from violence in many parts, malnutrition, poverty of matter and spirit, climate change. Where are we, really? What’s the way forward for all of us?
What’s brewing? Who’s brewing? How much of what goes on in the world do we really know? Is it better not to know?
I saw back-to-back documentaries on #Scientology and #Anonymous. Manifestations of strong gestures in the world: asleep/awake, individual/collective, self-interest/common good. I choose to believe that despite the felt direction of things heading south today, there is an equal and growing force that pushes upwards-sideways-all-around to offset it.
When I was younger I romanticized the idea of #battle: when is it my turn to fight? What monsters and dragons am I going to fight? I wanted to ride on a wild horse and brandish my sword, scare off invaders and fight for what’s precious to me. I look at the world today and realize we’ve never left the #battlefield. And the biggest fight of our generation is how to hold it all together inside, to remain #true and valiant to ourselves, amidst racism, political abuse, violence, helplessness, threat of extinction, indifference, despair.
It’s my big #dream to #build a #community of #creatives, #entrepreneurs and #techies on a farm next to the mountains and sea. I’ve called the concept coliving to myself for a while now and only recently learned it’s an actual thing happening all over the world! So glad this idea resonates with a growing number of people.
The idea of communal living is not alien to Filipinos (or most Asians). Most of us grew up sharing a home with our extended families, which schooled us on shared personal space early on. We have helpers who co-raise us with our parents, and we readily call people in the neighborhood, blood-relatives or not, uncle-aunt-brother-sister.
When I talk about cohousing or coliving to friends in the Philippines, I get poker faces because for the most part, it’s nothing new. If anything, it’s the default that most Pinoys want to move away from. We want fenced in houses, gated communities, thick walls between us and our neighbors. Anything that gives us more privacy, more security, boundaries.
So what drew me to coliving and cohousing to begin with?
Intention. Living together with people because of a shared vision. Like attracts like. Before I decided to build a house in Nuvali, I explored intentional communities and sought them out in the Philippines. I’m not a hippie but my brothers like to tease that my lifestyle choices make me the uncool tita or aunt. I went raw vegan for a while, love solo travel, have no television. For someone who grew up in a group-oriented culture, I’ve always been more comfortable doing things by myself. I guess I always looked for other people like me, so we could be individual together.
The definitions of coliving and cohousing stretch far and wide, but the general idea I’m taking from them is this: I wish to gather people , who more or less share my values, in a place where we can all hang out everyday (i.e. live and work). The physicality of it is important, and it is what I insist on: environment is so big in shaping daily habits, thoughts, and intentions. This is space-clearing on a group level, translated onto property or real estate development.
Collaborative Home Environments
It’s about building the shrine without to build the shrine within. Our environment shapes us and it makes perfect sense to align our everyday living environment–our homes–with our core values.
A friend who does feng shui consulting once told me that all the effort in the world to improve one’s fortune or luck wouldn’t make a difference if he or she didn’t first change or address the negative energies in his or her living space.
What would a collaborative home environment espouse?
Collaborative
Home
Environments
face-to-face
conversations
diverse
open economy
healing
beautiful
inspiring
warm
root-building
identity base
nurturing
safe space
orderly
open/flexible design
visionary
accessible
affordable/democratic
authentic
respectful
natural + high tech
complete
practical
set up to succeed
set up to nurture
set up to propel
What makes a home?
Not disconnected from nature and the cycles of life: birth, decay and death, cleaning, waste management, food production
I got to attend the Avida Settings Nuvali Homeowners\’ General Assembly on November 25, 2012. Wish I could\’ve stayed longer– would\’ve been a perfect opportunity to interact with fellow homeowners and meet neighbors in the flesh. Imagine having over 1,600 families to get to know! Hopefully can do that at the Christmas party.
The room was packed, with about 400 people in attendance (that\’s just 1/4 of the total Avida Settings Nuvali population), and also present were Ayala Property Management Corp. (APMC) and Avida Land personnel.
Here are the updates I got to pick up:
Avida Land Corp. will turnover the management of the village to the Homeowners\’ Association by January 2013, with certain deliverables, such as completion/upgrading of parks and green ribbons.
The annual budget to maintain the village was discussed by Engr. Vic Angeles, and this was used as the basis for coming up with a working figure for the monthly dues.
Avida Settings Nuvali association dues will start at P7.16/sqm/month effective January 2013
Other relevant points raised:
Nuvali developments–whether residential, commercial– pay Nuvali Estate dues to cover common areas such as Nuvali Boulevard, etc. This is important because now we know that as part of ASNU, we are also paying regular dues for the management of Nuvail as a whole, and can therefore make demands/ask for accountability regarding the ways these dues are being used. Next step now is to investigate who makes up the Nuvali administration team, and who we can write re specific concerns when needed.
I also found out that the non-potable water supply for the whole of Nuvali is not yet in place, and will take, more or less, another 5 years to develop. This is unfortunate, especially since I redid the plumbing for my house to specifically accommodate the dual piping system in areas that were overlooked by my contractor. Better to have the provisions in place, I know, but it\’s frustrating to find out it was a hollow effort and will remain one for the next 5 years.
If you got to attend the full briefing, please do share other updates I missed.
The latter part of the assembly was to organize volunteer committees, and ahead of time I already advised Engr. Vic to include me in the Community Relations/Education Committee. I grew up in a friendly neighborhood in Quezon City (with about 400 households) and can vouch for the myriad benefits of knowing one\’s neighbors. I would love to get involved and develop community programs or gatherings to foster dialogue on our shared interests, including such topics as green living, gardening, community sharing, solid waste management. Admittedly I have very little information as to what programs are already in place, and am just very excited to get out there and join the discussion. Avida Settings Nuvali has a huge population, and although there is a high possibility of coming across neighbors who will just disagree and discourage, there is also as big a chance of finding like minds, and together creating a thriving, engaging community. 🙂
I put together below the ideas raised by the following contributors: arceesky, timberlandic, lagueno, MAXmonash, peter5688, boogieman909, Kaleidoscope, fwh_buyer, ritzandrico, leechtat, mach000, Radical!, yes!, gpcracker, montalut
Wouldn’t it be great to make a collective vision board for Nuvali? Feel free to add your own suggestions! (My comments are in green)
I grouped them into the following six categories:
Traffic and safety
Maintenance
Facilities / amenities
Green features
Community / dialogue
Events
1. TRAFFIC & SAFETY
expansion of Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road to four lanes or installation of \”smart\” traffic lights (Already being done, started on May 9, 2011)
street lights / solar-powered lampposts along Nuvali Boulevard for nighttime driving safety
CCTV cameras in public areas to deter crime
Come up with a grand design for transportation plans from the communities, schools, Solenad and the Makati and/or Ortigas CBDs (A transport terminal to link Nuvali to other town centers and regional hubs will be opened by July 2011)
Tram as public transport: Cleaner, quieter & safer than a wayward bus
a shuttle bus system to and from Metro Manila to help address the rising toll and gas costs while the train system is not yet in place
Address security concerns over the increasing public access to Nuvali
2. MAINTENANCE
Improvement on the cleanliness in SOLENAD by adding more trash bins and strictly reprimanding those who litter
INCREASE Maintenance & Security Visibility
Post strong “clean as you go” reminders, especially on the tiangge tables reserved for eating
Put up signs threatening litterbugs with fines and community service (e.g., for every wrapper thrown, you have to plant one tree seedling in Nuvali)
Announce [cleanliness reminders during events in Solenad] every now and then
STOP allowing people to just have a picnic on any grassy area and leave their mess after
3. FACILITIES/AMENITIES
Free Internet access via Wi-Max
100% underground utilities (Meralco, phone, cable TV) for the entire Nuvali
Emergency response center (a la 911): One number to call for police, fire & ambulance
Disabled-friendly facilities: e.g. toilets, parking areas, building entrances, elevators, etc.
Emergency evacuation shelters: Usually schools are designated as such in case of earthquakes, etc.
Plenty of clean public toilets (with tissue paper)
Tennis courts. Not everyone can play basketball and soccer.
Increase the allotment of lots to business district, para maging business hub ang Nuvali
Figure out how to cater to the different groups [who visit Nuvali] without alienating one or the other. Maybe they can zone establishments?
They should plan where the future police outposts or government offices will be
Attract more businesses in Nuvali: the big oil players car companies, banks, food companies, a hotel and hospital (Shell will soon put up a gas station next to Solenad 2. Check out What’s new at Nuvali’s Solenad 1 and 2 for an update on current and future retail establishments in Nuvali)
a Nuvali Country Club.
ALI should relocate some of its offices in Nuvali by becoming a regional office of Ayala Corporation outside of Makati.
a stand alone cinema.
a community library in Nuvali
A High Street -like mall / leisure park
Ateneo de Nuvali University: Should be fun with archrival De La Salle-Canlubang nearby
Nuvali Medical Center: State-of-the-art research, wellness and healing center
A Nuvali Coliseum/Cultural Center which will be a major venue for arts, performances, sporting events, concerts, seminars, and trade shows in the Philippines. This will bring Nuvali into a different level. It\’s also a good chance to showcase a grand modern architecture in our country.
Bring in Disneyland
Build a wedding venue for 250-500 guests! Maybe a hotel in the future can fit the bill but a dedicated venue would be nice. It would also promote the area as visitors will be “forced” to visit Nuvali, and the TONS of wedding photos / videos. A nice place would bring in a lot of people. (A 2,500-sqm Events Place is set to be established by a non-Ayala entity across the Evoliving Center)
Wilcon Depot: Great long-term business opportunity with so much construction going on now and in the next 50 years
PriceSmart Wholesale Club: For those who love to buy in bulk
A central main park that’s huge and well maintained…They should build a central park New York style, that would fit in with their green development vision.
4. GREEN FEATURES
Ban on plastic bags, just like they did recently in Muntinlupa
Strict waste segregation: Burnables and recyclables are collected separately. Recyclables have to be further sorted into: (a) cans (b) plastic (c) paper (d) PET bottles (e) glass bottles.
A redesign of those electric trikes. Function should always be complemented by form and if we really want people to “like” the concept and the design, then we should also make it visually appealing.
Incentives for homeowners who build green/live green. For example, if you compost, you get a discount from your association dues
a community garden (for residents in our respective communities and also for Nuvali visitors–this can be integrated into the Evoliving Center).
Leased Vegetable Plots as stress relievers for city folks (even Laguna dwellers) to play farmer on weekends and go home one day with their own harvest of tomatoes, carrots, etc.
experts to assist in making a simple plant nursery and moving the plants to the plot. A fee is made to maintain/water the area and they visit on weekends until harvest.
Ayala management to look into the planting concerns raised in this forum, i.e. no planting of fruit-bearing trees and vines(!). This goes against the very advocacy of Nuvali
And a bicycle rental program/system like the one they have in London, Paris and Montreal would really prove that the Nuvali community is really serious about being green.
Maintain the expected standard of the environmental concept of Nuvali
Ayala needs to be smarter and work harder at preserving the environment
5. COMMUNITY / DIALOGUE
More and better communication from Ayala on developments to the community. As noticed, we rely more on each other for updates and news rather than visiting the official Ayala website because of lack of updates.
the Nuvali website (http://www.nuvalievoliving.com) needs some major overhaul
All of us who invested our hard earned money in this place should be heard by the Ayala Mgt…..
A community website for Nuvali, not just a marketing website with lots of nice photos, but a place where people can interact, post pictures, talk about fun things to do in Nuvali that they discovered (Add nuvalicommunity on facebook or join the nuvalicommunity yahoogroup to connect with other residents and stakeholders in Nuvali)
Everyone involved in Nuvali, whether directly or indirectly–Ayala as developer, residents, visitors, government–should already be involved in the dialogue.
I would also like to see more of the SOCIAL sustainability aspect of Nuvali promised by Ayala.
6. EVENTS
STOP those “tiangge”, bazaars, food Kiosks
the concept of tiangge is actually not a bad idea because this encourages entrepreneurship. The issue is poor execution. The location in Solenad is not suitable for tiangge. ALI should think of a separate location in Nuvali to hold this tiangge. Perhaps, ALI should build a tent, similar to the NBC tent in Fort, where special events can also take place. This will also answer some of the suggestions earlier where special events such as weddings, corporate gatherings, etc can take place.
green lifestyle workshops and lectures (example: composting, vertical gardens, landscaping, organic gardening, keeping chickens, green building, etc.).
Invite an expert from UPLB to talk about what plants are best planted on Nuvali soil, etc
Produce a regular newsletter with this info
You’ll notice that most of these are action steps for Ayala as developer of Nuvali, but I think it’s just as critical to put ourselves in the equation and together ask: How can we make Nuvali a better place? How can we make it home?
There\’s an active thread on Nuvali on skyscrapercity.com, which has effectively attracted investors, residents, and practically anyone with a stake in Nuvali (whether current or future). It\’s a great resource for community building, and also a testament that the Nuvali vision of creating a new city is already unfolding: like-minded people are banding together and participating even before moving into that space.
A recent request was made by doodz (thank you!) for ideas to be suggested to Ayala management during an FGD, and the response was just overwhelming! Will consolidate and save them for another post, but suffice it to say that the Nuvali community is ready to engage. Yay.
It\’s also been quite a joy to feel as if I\’m already making friends with my future neighbors.
What makes a place truly home?
People.
🙂
If you\’re reading this, then it means you are part of Nuvali, whether by chance or choice. Get involved now:
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