The global pandemic fuelled a mini exodus from large populated urban areas into countryside areas. People realised that more space was needed than before and some of the attractions of city life are not so attractive anymore. However, we are a century too late. Europe’s countryside is littered with quaint, picture-postcard-perfect towns and villages, steeped in history but many of which have been not been inhabited for over a hundred years. There has been a huge flight of populations from the countryside to urban centres over the past century.
The United Nations noted that 54% of the global population was residing in urban areas, almost doubling from the 30% in 1950. The UN also noted that this is expected to increase to 66% by 2050, decimating rural areas even further. In Spain alone, as of 2019, 80% of Spanish municipalities have experienced population declines over the previous eight years– a figure that increases to 90% for towns and villages which have fewer than a thousand inhabitants.
One crypto startup – EWO Place – a community first, real estate club, is aiming to breathe life and economic activity in these dying areas, whilst offering its stakeholders the freedom to live rent-free in some of the most breathtakingly scenic locations that Europe and beyond has to offer.
Whilst there has been no shortage of those trying to tokenising Real Estate or venturing into yet another ‘decentralised’ version of Airbnb, EWO offers something different, literally making a place to live like-local affordable and accessible to everyone.
The EWO Place model is not designed monetise Real Estate. Instead, EWO Place believes that an inexpensive place to live should be available to everyone. EWO Place helps communities maintain their traditions and culture by participating in and even creating local micro-economies for the long-term good.
EWO members have the ability to ‘stake and stay’ meaning they can earn from, pay little, or simply live rent-free, in properties around the world owned by EWO Place.
How EWO Place Works
EWO Place locates areas where a difference can be made and value-added. Initially, these will be areas in economic decline or stagnation, yet still maintain a strong identity. Further down the line. place selection may also include developed areas, but for now, the focus is on more rural areas in Europe.
Once found, distressed properties – usually studio or 1-bed properties are purchased and revitalised, making use of local services and suppliers, helping to rejuvenate the local economy.
When ready, the EWO Place properties are made available for members to book and stay, inexpensively and exclusively via the platform – a free to download app available on Google Play and Apple – which also offers a further range of on-demand local services and conveniences, enhancing stays and providing a long-term boost to the local community.
Using the Ethereum blockchain-fuelled staking systems, holders of the EWO token earn crypto weekly with a share of payments for stays and services going back to club members as rewards.
There are 101 million EWO tokens issued which can be stored, earned, bought, used, or swapped for Ether (ETH) directly within the EWO Place app.
What Makes EWO Place Different?
In a time when working remotely has become the norm for so many countries, EWO Place offers the opportunity for an EWO-holding US citizen to live and work for three months on a tourist visa in a European hillside rent-free.
EWO Place is very up-front and transparent about its aims – activism through capitalism. They are building an eclectic worldwide community that will have the freedom to live anywhere, inexpensively, and earn crypto along the way, summed up by their hashtags #CancelRent and #EarnCrypto.
EWO Place’s dedication to revitalising the local communities and economies long-term is a win-win situation and very different from other models which see empty properties or transient short-term rentals killing the area slowly but surely.
The easy-to-use app has it all. It offers a wide range of concierge services, property rentals, live support, staking services, a built-in wallet, and even smart home control.
The EWO Place ecosystem really does have it all, and with a proof of concept location in Cabril a picturesque mountain village in Portugal, the exciting EWO Place project is fully underway.
They would need a lot of properties for this to work
This wont kill rents lol