Grow Remote started in Ireland in 2018 when co-working spaces were full and new spaces were popping up all over the country. Spaces were asking us to help them build communities around their physical spaces and it was obvious that one group wasn’t catered for, remote workers.
There was potential here.
We tried lots of things, but ended up with taking a community approach.
So what does community mean? It means the underlying infrastructure, everything from the spaces to Facebook groups, it means having the people and connecting them, and it means resources and knowledge that people can use to help themselves.
Grow Remote evolved to 20 people in a WhatsApp group who believe that building a community around remote working is key to building thriving rural communities. The Grow Remote community consists of co-working managers, remote workers and remote working companies who believe all 3 need to move together to enable our communities to thrive.
Our aim is to uncover and build a full community around remote working. To do that we need the infrastructure (spaces, broadband, online connection platforms), the people (community leaders & advocates) and the resources (education, tools to make this local or funding).
Grow Remote was incorporated as a CLG (non-profit) in Ireland in early 2019. There are over 130 Grow Remote chapters in 15 countries across the globe, and it’s growing.
The success at the heart of this movement is enabling local leaders to share what we are learning together. To implement initiatives, create meetups, allow people to connect and share knowledge, and while that happens, build a community...
How to get involved
Time: Running your local community should fit alongside the rest of your work and life. You'll have a team to share the burden with. Dedicating approximately 4 hours a week should be sufficient time to get your Chapter up and running.If you're interested in leveraging the opportunity that remote working presents for your local community and would like to connect job opportunities, remote workers and local communities then starting a Grow Remote Chapter is for you. Find out here all you need to get started and connect with other groups around the world.
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