Overview

Vision

Nomadbase envisions an ecologically sustainable island where nomads can rest from traveling the world. On Tesoro Island we will have a place of appreciation for world knowledge, travel preparation, and human diversity.

Mission

Nomadbase’s mission is, first, to join financial resources and acquire Tesoro Island (Isla Majagual), Panamá; second, to create simple, sustainable residential infrastructure; third, to ensure long-term resource sustainability through nonprofit and for-profit ventures; and, ultimately, to create a gathering place for nomads who love the world’s diversity.

Social Value Proposition

Nomadbase is a place of refuge for diverse people to share experiences and prepare for further adventures in the world. At the same time, we desire not only self-improvement of our members, but the improvement of those associated with our island community. We can assist the medical and educational situations in nearby towns and villages by engaging local partnerships. A variety of ventures are possible. Ultimately, the nature of these ventures would need to be informed by long standing relationships with local people.

Financial Value Proposition

This is not an investment. Though there may be the possibility of making money through our venture, this is more of an adventure. We’re talking about building a nomad community and a place for that community. We become members of Nomadbase, a club that owns the island. Each of ~500 memberships in the club represents unlimited access to the island for each person represented by membership. As a member of the club, you have the same rights as every other member: you can vote on major decisions; you can serve as a director; you can sell your membership rights, give it away, or put it in your will for future generations.

The Problem. The Opportunity.

Thousands of nomads experience cognitive dissonance in the face of daily routine, 20-year retirement plans, and mortgages. Experience is the currency of the nomad, but the cost of perpetual motion and intense human connection is profound fatigue. Nomads are not exempt from a longing for the land, exacerbating the fatigue of constant displacement. Many travelers desire a home base, or Nomadbase, for periodic rejuvenation.

The challenges in creating a Nomadbase are multiple. The cost of the base itself can be significant, while few nomads have substantial financial resources. Creating a social model that everyone agrees with is complex, and there are ongoing or unforeseen costs that inject financial instability.

The failure of so many efforts at planned communities is daunting but instructive. It also leaves wide open the market. There are thousands of nomads who want a Nomadbase, but for one to work there are necessary and sufficient conditions: willingness and ability to invest, and skills to contribute.

A solution to the composite problems of Nomadbase formation is found in a careful balance of social and financial modeling: the right location as well as right number of people with the right human, social, and financial capital.

Attempting to generate a solution by democratic methods fails in the face of nomadic diversity. (We tried it.) The more nomads, the more difficult the social modeling. If the solution isn’t exactly what the nomad wants, there is zero incentive to participate. Thus the plan must be created by an executive group of nomads, later finding sufficient funding with the fewest people possible.

The Solution.

A Nomadbase gives the nomad a connection with the land and with other nomads, but one that doesn’t require significant financial obligation or permanent residency. Permitting the nomad this social and geographic balance is the purpose of a Nomadbase. When the nomad feels the need, the nomadbase is a ready refuge.

Tesoro Island is our first experiment. Let’s get into the details about your new island community.

The Island

Isla del Tesoro / Isla Majagual

CIA World Factbook for Panamá.
Alternate names/misspellings: Masagual, Majaguay, Mayagua, Isla del Tesoro. (Isla Maje’s other name is Isla des Piratas)

Location

Panamá, Panamá Province, Chimán District, Corregimiento de Cabecera.
Google Map Link [8° 39' 35" N, 78° 38' 01" W] [8.659722, -78.633611]

Roughly 1 mile from shore, 4.5 miles from Chimán fishing village, and 1.5 miles from Isla Maje. Isla El Pelado [Pelau] is 5 miles to the W-S-W. The coastal villages of Brujas and Guero are 14 km to the S-E, and Las Perlas Islands are 45 minutes by boat to the S-W. Sixty miles from Ciudad de Panamá in a straight line.

Languages

Languages (nearby): Spanish (Northern Emberá, some Wounaan)

Property Details

Type: Island, freehold, unimproved
Title: “paz y salvo” … clear as of last sale
Zoning: Tn1 (Natural Tourism)
Surface Area: 56.39934 acres (22.824003 hectares)
Terrain: Highly diverse with forests, grasslands, rocky outcrops, cliffs, beaches, lowlands, hills, etc.
Freshwater: No consistent source. Runoff in wet season with standing freshwater pools in the central lowlands. (see remediation plan below)
Harbor: Yes, when high tide (depth ~2.5 meters)
Dock: No (see plan below)
Beaches: Yes (3)
Forested: Partially (~45%)
Weather: Köppen Classification As (variation of tropical savannah). Recorded weather for Panamá City, Panamá
Timezone: UTC−05:00

Island History

1939 - First public registry of Islas Majagual and Maje
1963 - Freehold title issued. Sometime between 1963 and 1998, ownership transferred to Aquilino Sanchez. Originally valued at $2,400.
08/06/1998 - Loan taken out on/for island dev. for $125,000, but never developed.
08/07/1998 - Purchased by Homero Velasquez Fernandez for $3,000*
28/02/2000 - Venta to Fishlow Investment, S.A. (Jochem Buse) for 3000 Panamánian Balboas. (Maybe also took over loan?)
06/01/2005 - Asiento: Corrected area from 105 hectares to six hectares (more later corrections).
18/03/2008 - Venta to Tropical Resources, S.A. (Jochem Buse) for $3,000
01/12/2009 - Venta to Thales Securities, Inc. (Jochem Buse, Abdiel Vergara, Gabriel De León, Clifford Bernard) for $3,000
02/12/2010 - Verified boundaries by survey (Victor M. Perez) and agreed to adjust financial agreement with Homero Velasquez Fernandez.
13/12/2010 - Asiento: verified area as 22.824003 hectares.
24/03/2011 - Purchased by Maximus Capital Growth Fund, Inc. (Jochem Buse, Arturo Castillo, and ??) for $598,827.68
20/04/2011 - Isla Maje also purchased by MCGF for $2,547,913.32
31/08/2015 - Latest island appraisal, which is highly inflated.

*Registered sale prices may not reflect reality. There may have been other cash payments, but a low official sale price to ensure lower taxes.

The Club

Our legal plan achieves the following objectives:

Creates strong legal protections for individual members,
Inhibits any internal or external group from taking control of the community or its property,
Enables for-profit activities, and
Limits individual and corporate liability.

Legal Formation

The Nomadbase solution is a privately-held Limited Liability Company (LLC) registered in Colorado, USA, which will pre-sell no more than 550 memberships.

We will still consult with a Panamánian lawyer about the possibility of creating a Panamánian corporation as a wholly-owned subsidiary; however, the language limitation alone is a deal-breaker if considering a Panamanian parent company.

We have registered the company in the USA, where all legal documents and related information sources are in native English and are, therefore, comprehensible to the greatest number of members of Nomadbase, LLC. You may search for the company at the Colorado Secretary of State website.

All legal documents and related information may be accessed online at any time by anyone to verify the legitimacy of the organization. The United States has a clear legal structure, legal precedent, and limited corruption. The United States also has strong business ties with and a strong diplomatic presence in Panamá. Both the United States and Panamá utilize the US dollar.

Liability

We have searched for a solution that allows us to limit our tax liability and yet permits for-profit activity. The best option we have found is the LLC utilizing a club organization.

With the pass through tax status of an LLC, corporate tax liability is passed on to the principals to declare on individual taxes returns, both profits and losses. Thus, in the case of an LLC, we will have no corporate tax liability and individual tax liability only in the case of profit sharing. We can pass forward expenses as losses on to future years. These “losses” are the yearly expenses of maintenance, development, and taxes of the Nomadbase club on Tesoro Island.

In addition, by declaring our up-front membership costs to be “fully refundable deposits” due upon the sooner of 20 years or the dissolution of the LLC, then we can avoid paying taxes on the up-front funding need to buy and develop the island.

Whereas we may need to limit Nomadbase’s long term liability, we may elect to receive funds as initiation fees en lieu of membership deposits. This income would be taxable and non-refundable.

Funding Strategy

No more than five hundred fifty (550) available memberships priced in four sequential offerings. Each offering constitutes a fully refundable deposit and a yearly membership fee of roughly 1/20 the membership deposit amount:

First round offer: 50 memberships offered with $1200 deposit each, inclusive of an up-front $200 contribution via GoFundMe, and the remainder due before the end of the third round. Yearly membership fees ~$50.
Second round offer: 150 memberships offered at $2000 deposit each. Total funding sufficient to provide a 20% down payment if we end up going for a mortgage option. Yearly membership fees ~$100.
Third round offer: 225 memberships offered with $2400 deposit each. Total funding sufficient to purchase the island outright. Yearly membership fees ~$120.
Fourth round offer: 125 memberships offered with $2800 deposit each, sufficient to fund island development. Yearly membership fees ~$140.

Total funding for four rounds of memberships is $1,250,000 in deposits--or $450,000 more than the $800,000 asking price of Isla Majagual--plus an anticipated $27,500 to $55,000 in annual membership dues. This funding will allow us to complete and maintain our nomadbase, including a reserve fund for future expenses, foreseen or unforeseen.

Our funding strategy achieves the following objectives: 1) limits estimated island residency to not more than 150 person-weeks, 2) reduces individual cost a much as possible, 3) reduces tax liability, and 4) enables subsidy for cash-poor, skills-rich members.

We assume an island price of $750,000--as recently agreed via email with the island representative--and a development fund of $450,000. The variable membership deposit is determined to provide the best cost-benefit ratio to those with the highest risk: the earliest members. To determine the number of available memberships, the proposed funding strategy is informed by residential longevity research (updated 10/06/2016) done within the old Nomad Island facebook group. Using our research data, we determined that in order to maintain an island residency at or lower than 150 person-weeks (following Dunbar’s Number), we could sell no more than 550 memberships.

Purchasing a membership does not mean you get a piece of the island to use however you like. It does not mean you get your own bungalow all to yourself, or that nobody else will ever use. You cannot make a path anywhere you want, cannot chop down any tree you want to use, and cannot build anything that isn’t approved by the executive committee and/or the group as a whole. You are a member of the club, and the club owns the island. Everyone shares everything as per the terms of the membership agreement and company bylaws.

The executive committee (see the community governance section below) decides how development activities will proceed, and they organize democratic votes for issues pertaining to the whole group (such as land use). Please see the development section of this plan to better understand the facilities we will build on Tesoro Island.

One membership gives the member access to the Nomadbase club property (the island) for as long as she or he remains a member. A membership may not be used by more than one person. All island visitors must be represented either by a membership or by a hostel voucher. For example: if a couple wants to visit the island together, two memberships are needed, or two hostel vouchers (see below), or a combination of memberships and vouchers. If an individual has multiple memberships, the following conditions must be met:

Each member must maintain one membership without an alternate registered user.
Each additional membership must have a registered user to be used.
A registered user may only be changed 12 months after the time of registration.
All minor visitors aged three (3) or over must be represented by a membership.
All minors must be accompanied by their legal guardians. No exceptions.
A minor may only be a registered user, not a subscribed member

Because a base membership cost (2nd round offer) of $2,000 is still too expensive for many nomads, a number of ulterior funding options were proposed to include members with more limited financial resources. We have incorporated the following strategies:

Anyone may opt to contribute to a subsidy fund to help nomads with particular skills or capacities, but who may have little money, to purchase a membership. Anyone who contributes to the subsidy fund will have one vote as to how the collective money is used. They will set their own rules and processes for distributing their joint funds.

Please note that if we do not use all of the money in the development fund for island improvements, all extra money will be remain in Nomadbase’s development fund for future use, including to pay yearly taxes or to begin membership deposit refunds.

The membership payment may only be transferred into an account owned by Nomadbase, which shall buy the island. All financial transaction costs are the membership purchaser’s responsibility. For each membership sale, the full membership price, including deposit, must be received in the Nomadbase account.

Residency Rates

Initial research in the Nomad Island facebook group projected that with ~500 memberships the island member residency rate would be 135 persons per week on its 22.8 hectares. Due to problems with social groups surpassing Dunbar’s number, we will implement an absolute residency cap of 155 at any time. An estimated 70% of the island is either unacceptable terrain for building--rocky cliffs, tidal areas, ravines, minor outlying islands, etc.--which leaves an theoretical maximum of 1,000 m2 per person for gardens and structures.

More recently, residency research done with data from our second survey shows an occupancy rate of 90.5 person-weeks and a permanent/semi-permanent occupancy (occupancy greater than 8 months of the year) of about 66 people. Since this latter estimate is lower than the former, we may have more opportunity to sell vouchers or time in our company-run hostel.

Island Purchase

The procedure for purchasing real estate in Panama is well-documented and clear. Here is one link that does an excellent job delineating the steps of the 3-4 week process. The steps include the following:

Obtain a non-encumbrance certificate at the Public Registry Office
Obtain a certificate of good standing online from the Autoridad Nacional de Ingresos Públicos
Obtain a non-debt water certificate ("certificado de Paz y Salvo")
A lawyer prepares the sale agreement
Payment of the Transfer and Capital Gains Taxes
Notarization of the sale agreement and preparation of the public deed
The public deed is filed and recorded at the Public Registry Office under the name of the buyer

The zoning for Tesoro Island is Tn1: This category of zoning allows “natural tourism activities of low intensity in areas where there is a close relationship with nature and green areas, and where the main reasons to visit are the environment, natural attractions and biodiversity. It allows the construction of cabanas, campgrounds, lookout points, gift shop etc, and it allows some complementary activities and services.” (source)

Island Development

Development is planned for completion in five stages and falls within the Tn1 zoning classification:

Stage One : base camp

Create a canopy, tent platforms, set up tents, place water collection/filtration units, locate toilets, kitchen, cut paths on Central and SE portions. Emergency communication system: sat phone. Basic solar charging. Finalize Stage Two research.
Estimated time for completion: one week.

Stage Two : First Residency

Buy a “lancha” with two engines. Construct permanent twelve-person dorm in addition to camp, expanded water collection, sanitation system, and electricity production. Establish basic trails system on western portion of island. Finalize Stage Three research and preparation.
Estimated time for completion: one month.

Stage Three : Remediation

Buy kit for moving rocks and sand, mixing cement. Hire workers. Clear trash to burn/recycle sites. Fill swamp with rocks and sand. Prep for cement. Install cement canal and dock pilings. Search and remediate African bees. Finalize Stage Four research and preparation.
Estimated time of completion: six months.

Stage Four : Primary Development

Erect the main community building/kitchens as well as water collection, residency*, and toilets for 60 people. Ensure necessary electricity for light and full communication systems, including internet. Research Stage Five needs and timeline.
Estimated time of completion: six months.

Stage Five : Expansion

Create more bungalows, more toilets, more water collection points as needed. Trails, docks, bridges, vista platforms, trail benches, information signs, etc. If island residency is low, sell more memberships. If residency is high, time management must be implemented.
Estimated time of completion: one year.

*All residential development must be completed in the following order: clean water, sanitation, then shelter.

Development Details

Remediation

Several dangers and annoyances, prioritized below, need to be addressed before our island club will be the comfortable refuge we’d like it to be.

Standing Water

Following our development plan, our first major construction project will be the increase in altitude of certain sections of the lowlands to ensure the runoff of rainwater in a usable manner. The pooling of rainwater that occurs under the cliffs to the west of the lowlands, and in several nearby pools, increases the possibility of health hazards or discomforts associated with mosquitoes and other biting insects.

Material to eliminate the standing water will come from several sources. First, we will need to dig several pits in the center of the island near the cliffs for large water storage tanks (see Fresh Water section, below). This removed material will be placed to assist in freshwater collection and the creation of a small canal under the cliffs. We can also collect rocky encumbrances from nearby beaches. Other rocks and filler we can collect from the rocky ledges at the high tide line extending out from the cliffs previously mentioned. These rocks will be covered with sand and dirt as needed for landscaping.

Africanized Bees

Ensuring that Africanized beehives and people maintain an appropriate distance is important. Where the distance cannot be maintained, we will need to eliminate or move the hive. While we could simply eliminate all of the beehives on the island--honey bees are not native to the Americas--we maintain this only as a last resort. Bees can be managed, and we’ll need to gain some expertise in this regard.

Beach Trash

The long-untended beaches of Isla Majagual have accumulated a great degree of driftwood and trash, the latter being our priority. Much of the trash is plastic and can be recycled, along with aluminum or other metals, by taking it back to Chepo or Ciudad de Panamá. There are other options, as well: we can either take non-toxic metals far out to sea and sink it--where it will decompose in salt water relatively quickly--or we can bury it on the island. Overall, the trash is of a manageable quantity and can be taken care of with a few weeks of concerted effort.

Driftwood is somewhat more difficult of a problem. Much of it is half-buried in the beach, and some is very large. Digging out large logs will be a considerable effort. Once free, it cannot be burned because of the toxins associated with soaking in saltwater. Some large pieces may be used for our construction purposes, saving us construction costs. An alternative is to raft logs together and float them to the mainland. Ultimately, we will likely need a barge for various construction needs, which will be useful for our construction and remediation needs.

Narcotics Trafficking

The movement, storage, and transhipment of narcotics along the coasts is a fact of life in Panamá. There will always be drug trafficking in Panamá. We found several articles about drug seizures near Tesoro Island, which is quite close to the island. While drugs shipments probably don’t actually go into Chimán village because of the constant police presence there, shipments are certainly made within the district. Because of long shoals, even in high tides, boats traveling through the area stay miles out to sea. Still, there are thousands of hectares of area for people to hide drug shipments, especially in the mangroves of tidal areas.

That being said, we feel that if the members of our group mind their own business and do not seek out connections with traffickers, we’ll be able to stay away from any of the problems of drug trafficking. Some may still disagree with this perspective. We will have clauses included in our bylaws and/or operating agreement that allow us to remove any member who endangers the group. Involvement with illegal activities endangers the group.

Flora and Fauna

Other than the previously mentioned Africanized bees, we should be aware of arachnids and other biting or stinging creatures. There are certainly snakes on the island, but we’re not yet entirely sure which poisonous varieties may be present. There are Panamanian flora that are poisonous if ingested and a tree that may be in the island lowlands, which is both poisonous and highly toxic to the touch (the manchineel tree, or manzanilla, in Spanish). Over the course of our development and enjoyment of the island, we will identify the location of these dangers and take appropriate measures.

Island Infrastructure. While our infrastructure will be relatively basic, we hope to design for the long term, thus reducing our financial burden in future years through initial investment. The developments discussed below are tentatively indicated on this map.

Buildings

To ensure sufficient infrastructure for our absolute residency cap of 150 people, structures will include two or three community pavilions, kitchens adjacent to each pavilion, bungalow residences (25), restroom facilities proximal to the bungalows, water infrastructure (collection, storage, and filtration). Bungalows, each with space for 5-8 residents, will be dispersed throughout the island, and gardens will be integrated into the natural landscape insofar as possible.

Fresh Water

Our water use priorities are, in order: hydration, cooking, cleaning (people, clothing, then places), and cultivation. The more sources of water we have, and the more efficient our water use, the more comfortable we’ll be. For the above priorities our infrastructure will provide three categories of water: sand-filtered salt water, sand-filtered fresh water, and purified fresh water. Usage examples: washing sand off of one’s feet after leaving the beach doesn’t require purified water, but drinking or cooking does. And showering doesn’t require purified water, but brushing one’s teeth does.

Rainwater collection will be a primary source of fresh water. During the eight-month wet season, rainwater collection should be more than abundant. On the west edge of the central lowlands, there are cliffs that shed water from a large section of the western peninsula (see map). By creating a canal at the base of the cliffs, we can funnel the water from canal ends at the north and south beaches toward the center of the island and from there across the island to the northern part of the bay. A significant amount of water runs in this general direction already, so we can take advantage of the natural terrain.

We should make a catchment system for each hut in addition to runoff from various rock formations. Smaller 30 or 50 gallon catchments may be placed at bungalows and at minor runoff locations around the island in order for water to be readily accessible anywhere on the island. The use of gravity fed filtration, simple mechanical pumps, or individual filtration straws will make each of these smaller catchments into drinking stations. A great location for the latter is the crossover from the bay to Surf Beach where small amounts of water seep through the rock even when the area is dry.

If the initial catchment water is insufficient, we can run gravity-fed pipelines to other watershed areas. Laying a water line to a source on the mainland would be cost prohibitive; however, we may be able to pipe water from runoff points short distances around the island to the ends of the canal for collection, such as from 8.661016, -78.632460. There are also several points just west and south of The Whale on Surf Beach. In the above GPS example we would need about 200 meters of PVC tubing. Water increase would be highly significant at that point with manageable labor and for a relatively low cost.

Importing water may also be a solution. We’re planning on owning a barge, which we may need to carry large tanks to a freshwater source (perhaps in Chimán) and haul it back to the island. At any rate, we should be prepared for such a case. For example, we might throw a party on the island in the dry season and need more water than normal. Still, to move freshwater from a source on the mainland may be tricky. We considered Rio Maje, but you need to go all the way to the village to get past the saltwater tidal zone. No simple feat.

It’s unlikely we’ll need or have well access. An island of this shape and consistency would have a limited freshwater lens. Digging a well would probably be too expensive for such limited reserves. Yet, if we can do it for a reasonable price, this could be an emergency supply.

Other options are humidity stills like the WARKA water tower, which traps humidity 24 hrs a day, or solar stills. Neither is a high volume solution, rather, a good backup. We will constantly analyse and improve our water collection systems to stay ahead of demand.

As we develop collection methods, storage will necessarily have to keep up with demand. We will need holding tanks or cisterns on the island. The easiest way in the long run will be to dig the tanks into the ground near the center of the catchment canal. A series of tanks may be run along the stream of runoff as it runs east to the bay. Using gravity to feed the storage makes catchment easy, while using hand pumps to move small amount of water overhead to elevated 50 gallon barrels spreads the labor as needed by individual users. Then gravity again feeds the water through sand filters or other membranes back to the user below. We can easily hide these elevated barrels to maintain the pristine feel of the island, and this is a fully mechanical solution, requiring no electricity or fuel powered pumps. It can also be expanded to ensure more water than needed.

The stored water will need to be prepared for various uses through filtration and/or purification. Basic sand filters can inexpensively remove most particulates from the water making it ready for washing clothes or showering. For drinking, cooking, or brushing teeth, we’ll need at least a 2 μm filter, preferably 1 μm. We can use gravity fed filters with washable pre-filters in most cases. Pump filters may be needed in other cases. Where salt water will do, such as for washing beach sand off our feet, we can pump it through dedicated sand filters, too.

Sanitation

Human waste management is necessary to ensure sanitary conditions on and around Isla Majagual. Toilet facilities must be clean, close, and comfortable enough for people to use, otherwise some may prefer the jungle. Our solution is to implement separating, composting toilets using red worms.

Separation. This occurs primarily by users “aiming” urine at a diversion track, guiding liquid waste to a holding area where it can be dehydrated or otherwise processed, such as by bio-sand filtration (no leach field). A separate toilet may also be needed for urination only. Above all, we can’t have people peeing all over the island while we’re also doing rainwater catchment!
Composting. This function will be accelerated through the introduction of red worms to the fecal matter. Dehydrating the fecal matter can be an important part of optimizing bacterial decomposition by making the process aerobic rather than anaerobic. Using solar 12v fans or wind-driven passive ventilation are possibilities, however, local humidity ranges from 80% up, making the process less efficient. Our best bet is to rely on the worms and pervious concrete filters.
Rotation. If we have high toilet use in one or more areas, we may need to duplicate and rotate facilities to ensure red worms and bacteria have sufficient time to decompose the material. The decomposition process takes 3 weeks in optimal conditions, but may take months in anaerobic or very cold environments. It is also significantly more pleasant to remove fully decomposed material for use in gardens when there isn’t “less-decomposed” material adjacent.

As long as we can keep the bacterial decomposition process aerobic, there should be minimal smell. All the same, toilets should be located on the leeward side of housing, if at all possible, and the entire system must be “closed,” meaning zero exposure of urine/fecal matter to the environment until after decomposition, dehydration, or other processing.

Electricity and Other Fuels

We’ll need a variety of power/energy sources, and we’ll necessarily minimize energy consumption. Power use must be prioritized; stored electricity will serve first for communications and emergency services, second for lighting and conveniences, third, for entertainment. A reserve must always be kept for emergencies. The more sources we have, the better off we’ll be. Two is one. One is none. (Redundancy is security.)

Solar/Photovoltaic. Hours of sunshine average no less than 150/month in the rainy season and no more than about 260 in the dry season. Yet modern photovoltaic cells will also draw power from UV, which passes through clouds. This is a good source of energy for only ~10 hours a day. Efficient storage is a must.
Wind Power Generators. Although wind speeds are low, they are consistent. One or two generators might be effective. Placing the towers on the extreme southward points of the island would provide the most effective windshear, but anywhere we put them will be an eyesore. Power distribution is an issue with such localized energy production.
Portable-power. It would be wise to have a series of movable deep-cycle battery banks. One bank could be charged either at a solar array, the wind generators, or in Chimán village, then moved to a central location for use (e.g., the kitchens or central pavilion).
Gasoline/Diesel Generator. Several smaller, regularly tested generators must be on hand for emergency communications. Possible example of a reliable model in the Honda 2000.
Cooking fuel. We should limit our need to use cooking fuel. Raw foods are healthier anyway. There will be some dead fall on the island, but We think we should reserve that for weekly bonfires/social events. Simple solar cookers could be used at times, but they’re bulky and slow. Methane capture from composting is possible, but complicated with low cost-effectiveness, and since it is a greenhouse gas, we should limit the methane production of our compost. We will likely rely on propane tanks, as do the people in Chimán.
Refrigeration. We will need refrigeration for medicines as well as to keep some foods fresh. We can predominantly use the zeer, although super-coolers like the Yeti may be a good investment. Utilizing the low 56° temperature of the earth (burying) may also be a convenient way of cooling items. We will resolve this as we go.

Transportation

The path most people would take to Isla Majagual includes just a few steps: 1) fly to Tocumen International Airport (PTY), 2) take a one-hour bus to Chepo, 3) take a 10-minute bus to Puerto Coquira, and 4) take a 2.5-hour lancha (boat) ride to Isla Majagual.

Flights to Panamá are inexpensive, especially if direct. Here is a link to direct flights to PTY. For arrivals in the middle of the night, it’s important to note that buses to Chepo do not run from about midnight until around 04:00. Buses charge from $1.00-$2.00 for the leg to Chepo and $0.50 from Chepo to Puerto Coquira. The lancha to Chimán/Tesoro Island is $20.00 though we should be able to negotiate a lower group price. At present the lanchas run only two or three times a week to Chimán.

Getting to and from the island at any time of night or day, high tide or low, is essential to the safety and comfort of residents and visitors. We will need to own at least two motorboats, each with two outboard motors. Having two motors is both a backup if one fails and a necessity for heavier loads. When running lighter loads, a single motor will be more economical. We will also purchase several smaller wooden fishing style boat for localized transport to/from Chimán or Maje villages or for other adventures.

A difficulty arises with the tides. The more accessible landing points on the island are inaccessible at low tide, potentially leaving a boat aground when we need to leave. Because the deep water access at low tide also is exposed to the Pacific waves, we may need a small but solid dock and/or an anchor point just off shore. These pose minor construction problems. We will need more research to find the best place to make our boats safe and accessible.

Recreation

In addition to purely functional development, we hope to create some truly amazing features on the island. Some possibilities include a waterslide down to the lowlands, a zip line or two across the water, rope swings, cliff diving zones, canopy platforms/bridges, trail signs for teaching about flora and fauna, etc. We also hope to have kayaks or pedal boats for exploratory trips in nearby mangrove swamps, a fishing boat for fun and food, surfing excursions to the fantastic nearby shoals, and many others.

While not strictly recreation, We feel that a park-like nature to the island should be maintained. We would love to see native species of animals thrive among us. Where such are no longer present on the island--such as if iguanas or boas are hunted out--then we should try to repopulate them on the island. Other species we may wish to maintain are sloths, coati, anteaters, etc. We should treat all wildlife as wild, not as pets.

Agriculture

We put food at the bottom of this list because it is the most long-term. It will be difficult to cultivate sufficient food for the number of island residents we are planning on seeing. However, if our rainwater runoff is passed through the center of the lowlands, as it naturally does at present, we may be able to use it for irrigating raised bed gardens. Square foot gardens and other compact, efficient methods may work well for us. Initial tests of the soil revealed it to be slightly acidic with high phosphorus content. Potash and Nitrogen were low.

Secure Storage

Because bungalows will be first-come, first-served, we must maintain a storage structure to protect belongings that remain on the island between members’ visits. We will create a secure structure in which each person will have a job box, similar to the one linked here. Ideally this storage space will be a shipping container. Each person will place his/her own lock on the lockbox, and one of the permanent island residents will maintain the keys to the storage space. When you arrive you may retrieve your job box and move it to the bungalow of your choice, thus keeping personal effects safe in the bungalows as well.

Community Governance

Certain rules about behavior within the club as well as social behavior on the island must be codified in our legal entity to protect the positive social nature of our group and the legal rights of each member. The finalized rules and procedures will be written into the company’s bylaws, articles of organization, operating agreement, board resolutions, and/or membership agreement and will be legally binding. The guiding principles of these documents are found in the Code of Ethics, below.

Community Governance Draft 09/01/2016, modified 12/27/2016, modified 02/03/201

Definitions

Code of Ethics, hereafter “Code”
Executive Committee, hereafter “EC”
Legal body formed to manage the group’s collective assets, hereafter “Nomadbase”
Persons having membership in the Nomadbase, hereafter “Members”
The collection of rights afforded to Members, hereafter “Rights”
The Nomad Island Club, as distinguished from other clubs owned by Nomadbase, hereafter the “Club”
The collection of property or properties purchased by the Nomadbase for the Club, hereafter “Facilities”

Code of Ethics: Members’ Responsibilities

Do No Harm -- Do nothing injurious to people, planet, or property.
Be Kind -- Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Be Honest -- Speak the truth prudently. Do what you say you will do.
Be Legal -- Follow the laws of the country in which the Island rests.
Be Economical -- Waste less, save more.
Be Productive -- Improve your surroundings. Clean, organize, help, volunteer, etc.
Be Generous -- Give more than you take.

Executive Committee

The primary function of the EC is that of Code enforcement and judiciary.
The secondary function of the EC is to facilitate voting among the Members.
The tertiary function of the EC to to record all actions of the EC and keep a history of Nomadbase.
The EC shall consist of seven (7) persons, of which at least three (3) shall be of each gender, if possible.
The initial EC.
1. Initial seven (7) EC members shall be selected by Ammon Franklin.
2. Ammon Franklin may NOT select himself.
3. Initial EC members shall have randomly-assigned terms of one (1), two (2), three (3), four (4), five (5), and six (6) months, with one initial EC member holding post for seven (7) months.
4. Once the initial EC is established, rule 3.5 and its subsections shall apply to no other EC member.
The continuing EC.
1. No Member shall remain on the EC for more than six (6) consecutive months, nor shall she/he serve two terms within the same period of six (6) consecutive months.
2. EC terms shall end at midnight of the last day of the month.
3. New members of the EC shall be selected at least one month prior to the beginning of the term for which the new EC member is selected.
4. For terms beginning in odd numbered months (Jan., Mar., May, July, Sept., Nov.), EC members shall be replaced from among Members by unanimous invitation of the EC.
5. For terms beginning in the months of February, April, June, August, October, and December, EC members shall be replaced from among Members by random selection. If the randomly selected Member declines, another randomly selected Member will be invited, repeating until a Member accepts the invitation.
Votes of the EC.
1. All EC voting shall be public and transparent.
2. At least five (5) of the seven (7) members must agree to make an EC decision binding, with the exception of subsection 3.6.4.
Code Enforcement. When needed, the EC shall determine if a violation of the Code occurred and what consequence the Code’s violation shall be.
1. Implementing consequences for Code violation must not break the Code.
2. If the EC determines a Member should be removed from the group, the final decision must be made by referendum.
Referenda. Decisions impacting all Members must be brought before the entire group for a direct democratic vote.
1. A 75% majority of votes cast is required for any group action, except in the case of subsection 3.8.2.
Member Removal. A Member may only be removed from the group by the direct democratic vote of at least 66% of all Members 18 years of age or older. If an island is removed by such a referendum, that Member:
1. shall be permanently removed from the Island as soon as the EC determines feasible,
2. shall immediately surrender any physical token of membership to a person of the EC’s choosing,
3. permanently forfeits all Member’s Rights, as defined in Section 4 from the time of the EC’s decision to remove the Member and may never again regain membership,
4. shall receive a full refund from Nomadbase for the membership deposit
5. Shall receive no refund nor reimbursement from Nomadbase for any fees, dues or charges, nor for contribution in cash or kind, nor for any labor performed for the benefit of Nomadbase or its membership UNLESS deemed appropriate by the democratic vote of the Members.

Member’s Rights

All rights as legally defined by Nomadbase and the government(s) under which Nomadbase is formed.
One vote per Club membership for Members of at least 18 years of age, not to exceed nine (9) votes.
Access to the Facilities purchased by Nomadbase, as defined by the original membership agreement.
Equal access on a first-come, first-served basis to Club Facilities established for Members’ general purpose use, unless organized otherwise and by the vote of the Members.
Equal access to resources created for or by Nomadbase (e.g., electrical generation, wifi signal, fishing grounds, etc.) on a first-come, first-served basis.

Financial Analysis and Budget

Estimation Assumptions. We have taken the liberty of estimating costs high to begin with, based on actual prices in Panamá, but this is a work in progress as we don’t have number for every item. We subsequently use a 1.1 multiplier for collective development costs in the case we go 10% over budget. With this in mind we will need at least $300,000 more than the island purchase costs in order to place the needed fresh water, housing, sanitation, electrical, and other infrastructure on the island. We have budgeted $450,000.

Rough Budgetary Estimates. Our spreadsheet will take on greater accuracy as we move forward. Please click here for our rough budgetary estimates. As an initial development budget, these budgetary estimates do not include any income the group may create once the initial development plan is accomplished. These estimates only include expenses.

Post Development Budget. Through a series of small for-profit ventures, Nomadbase will generate income for future social and ecological development on Tesoro Island. Maintaining reserve funds and raising annual development funds are key to the long-term financial sustainability of the Tesoro Island Nomadbase. Nomadbase’s primary income-generating ventures include the following:

Income generating activities

Tourism Activities

During the time visitors are on the island, we may offer a variety of activities, such as kayaking, fishing, scuba diving, kiteboarding, sailing, surfing, and other sea sports. We may also engage people in humanitarian work of many varieties, or ecotourism activities, such as jungle tours.

Event Hosting

Depending on the development of our infrastructure, we may also be in a position to host a variety of in situ and digital events, possibly including retreats or workshops for yoga, mindful thinking/meditation, diet, wilderness survival, bamboo building, minimalism, team-building, leadership, travel, etc. Strictly in situ events may include weddings, parties, festivals, conferences, guided tours (flora, fauna, wilderness, fishing, hunting) adventure/exploration, schooling, etc.

Periodic Membership Fees

At some point, we may need to implement an annual, one-time, or periodic membership fee to ensure that we can pay our taxes and maintain our facilities. This is no different than other clubs may do: it takes money to keep it in good condition. This money may be en lieu of or in addition to other income generating activities. If we do need to implement a membership fee, it will be a decision made by all the members jointly. The proposed amount will entirely depend on the needs at the time.

Miscellaneous

A variety of other business concepts have been floated by our members, including English immersion, humanitourism partnerships (clean water, medical, school, etc.), wilderness therapy, venture capital investment, partnership with businesses in Chimán village, partnership with ecological or environment research groups, coastal shipping (barge), coastal transport, fish farming, information management, internet cafe, etc.