One of our main porpuses for our community at EcoIsleta Coliving is to help our members understand the identity of our neighbourhood.
I have to admit that it isn’t easy to create opportunities for connection between people who come to the city to work remotely for a short period of time and local residents.
What we’ve learned over the years is that it takes a lot of patience and, above all, waiting for the right moments to create meaningful experiences that help bring these two communities together.
Street Carpets
I’ve always believed that local celebrations are the best opportunities to create experiences that help travellers understand the main characteristics of a local community.
Every four years, Nuestra Señora de la Luz, the Virgin Mary from the church near our Coliving, walked through our street.
The neighbours decorate the street to mark this very special occasion. Flags, and street carpets are made using wood chips and salt, which are painted in different colours to create these elaborate works of community art.
Throughout this process, many opportunities arise for neighbours to come together and organise themselves: bringing in the materials, cleaning the street, and creating the designs. It’s a wonderful example of community self-organisation, something truly worth celebrating and recognising.
But there’s more to it than that. We talk a lot, chat, play music, some even dance, we share food and enjoy a drink or two. In these relaxed moments, everyone is welcome, everyone lends a hand, and we all get involved in creating something together.
Celebrations bring people together…
Since we opened our Coliving in 2022, this is the second time we’ve had the opportunity to take part in this neighbourhood activity. Carpets were also made on our street in 2023…Community at the highest level…
Some of our Coliving members came out onto the street and joined in, helping to paint, add colour and create this temporary work of art, an activity that has a tremendously positive impact on the life of our neighbourhood.
That evening, once the work was finished, Nuestra Señora de la Luz walked through our street, accompanied by local residents who joined her for the procession around the neighbourhood.
We are truly grateful for the opportunity to be part of this community activity…
