Brazil to open South America’s first ‘digital nomad village’

South America’s first digital nomad “village” is set to open in Brazil this November.

Lisbon-based startup firm NomadX is launching the scheme at a resort in the surfing village of Pipa, which is a 90-minute drive from Brazil’s domestic Natal airport, a five-hour flight north of Rio de Janeiro.

The project is expected to run from 1 November until at least 30 April 2023 at the Pousada Morada dos Ventos holiday resort.

As part of the project, digital nomads – people who work remotely or run their businesses online from anywhere in the world – can rent a private room and share common living areas with their temporary “colleagues”.

One big draw of the techy community is likely to be the weather: Pipa has year-round temperatures of up to 30C.

The NomadX website says: “[The resort] is laid out in a beautiful setting around three pools, surrounded by tropical plants and animals. The comfortable and large rooms and apartments are distributed over different bungalow-style buildings, making it the perfect hotel for digital nomads.

“Every morning, you get to enjoy a Brazilian breakfast with lots of tropical fruits and juices. At any time of the day, you can get a menu in the restaurant right by the pool area.

“At night you can either stay for dinner in the pousada or go to one of the countless local restaurants in the village of Praia da Pipa. The main streets of Pipa are just a 10-minute walk from your remote work retreat.”

NomadX CEO Gonçalo Hall opened Europe’s first digital nomad village on the Portuguese island of Madeira in 2020 – a year that started a huge global shift towards remote working because of the Covid pandemic.

To set up his Pipa project, he partnered with a local tourism board as well as the Brazilian government – which is keen to attract remote workers to the area to boost its economy by as much as $36 million (£30m) a year.

Mr Hall tweeted that 50 people in the space of 24 hours had registered their interest in joining the project.

After the project, NomadX and the Brazilian government will assess its level of success before deciding whether there could be more similar projects in the future.

In January, Brazil introduced a special visa for digital nomads, which lasts for 12 months with the option to renew it for a second year.

Visa applicants for must prove that they work remotely for an employer outside Brazil, and that they have a minimum monthly income of $1,500 (about £1,240) or at least $18,000 (about £15,000) in savings to fund their stay in the country.

They also need health insurance valid in Brazil and no criminal record.