Our story
When Vivarium opened its doors in 2021, we wanted to create the community we longed for and could not find anywhere else.
A community where people passionate about change could come to connect with each other, find support for their aspirations and learn together to make a positive impact.
We believed –and still do– that a different way of living and working is possible if we do it together.
The first seed: How it all started
However, the seed of Vivarium goes back to 2018, with The Nomad Academy, a social entrepreneurship and personal development school.
TNA was created to provide an alternative to traditional higher-ed by harnessing the power of travel and learning by doing to develop life and professional skills.
Although the initiative worked well and was a great learning process, the project was eventually closed, and that seed had to wait a bit to continue flourishing.
Vivarium’s beginnings
Fast forward to 2021, we brought our experience living and working in a tech company from a small rural community to Valencia. And created Vivarium: a living lab to explore different ways of living and working while exchanging talent, materializing new initiatives, and solving small (but important) challenges.
Since then, the house has evolved, the initial team has changed, and the approach has matured, but the mission remains unchanged.
So far, Vivarium has welcomed more than 80 unique human beings from all walks of life that have left a mark and enriched the community in unimaginable ways.
Vivarium today
Today, Vivarium gathers purposeful individuals from many different backgrounds. Who, independently of their story, are eager to learn and ready to share their path with others.
Vivarium is about experimentation, collaboration, and creativity, and after exploring different approaches, we are basing the coliving experience on co-creation. As a member, you are encouraged to take ownership of the experience and contribute to making it great for you and all.
We are also a local project aiming to leave a positive impact on our beloved city (and beyond). Cities are often associated with hurry, individualism, and shallowness. We want to take down the stereotype. We want to show that a different way of inhabiting a city is possible.
But above all, we're a playground, a work in progress that sometimes is incredibly imperfect. We assume that is the risk of creating something that aims to bring about meaningful change. Despite it, we face the challenges, reinvent ourselves and continue working to enrich the community.
Meet the founder: Pablo del Río
Currently, apart from leading the path of Vivarium, I work as a facilitator and strategic consultant, but above all, I'm a person with lots of questions who loves looking for answers and is not (too) afraid to be wrong.
Questions led me to travel, and through these experiences, I realized the power of community and found something I was passionate enough about to dedicate a lifetime to: enabling change (easier said than done 😜).
That passion has driven me to change a lot –as they say, one must first live the change in oneself– to go through difficult times and learn valuable lessons, but surprisingly, it is still intact. I wake up every day eager to learn something new, nurture meaningful connections, and end the day feeling that I left things a bit better than I found them.
Vivarium is my way of expressing that passion now. In the community, I facilitate the experience, try to walk the talk of our philosophy, and work to create the perfect context for the community to flourish.
