Remote work existed even before Covid, but this operational mode exploded after that period: working from home has also changed the relationship between companies and their employees who, especially among younger generations, place great value on work-life balance. In this regard, an Italian startup that has been offering interesting answers to the search for this optimal balance is Inesto, founded by Paola Balduzzi in February 2020, right at the height of the pandemic outbreak.
With a degree in architecture, Paola was working at Bulgari when she had an accident that somehow became a watershed moment in her life: “during that time, I deepened my interests in researching sustainable living methods,” recalls the founder, “particularly revisiting some themes I had addressed while working with Vittorio Garatti, the professor with whom I discussed my thesis.” She mainly analyzed the “home” environment, with topics ranging from eco-design to urban development.
Paola traveled between Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Paris, where she lived for some time: she began collaborating with the European Community, developing social innovation and urban regeneration projects. She established collaborations between public and private entities, met various digital nomads, and together with them envisioned new participatory scenarios involving local communities. Inesto began taking shape, integrating the idea of sustainable tourism capable of generating positive impact through experiential solutions.
Tourism’s concept evolves
With the support of Politecnico di Milano’s PoliHub incubation program, Inesto was born: “I founded it as a hybrid enterprise consisting of a non-profit Association and an innovative social benefit startup,” Paola tells us. Its mission appears quite clear: to create authentic and meaningful coliving and coworking experiences, integrating sustainability into every aspect of the offering. With this approach, tourism also becomes a growth opportunity for local communities, no longer just a source of profit for tourism operators.
Coliving refers to buildings (where rooms or apartments are rented) that contain shared common spaces. It’s a new way of life that promotes a sense of community and caters, for example, to those relocating for a new job or studies, young professionals, and remote workers. They benefit from a flexible and partially organized lifestyle, appreciating the reduced environmental impact that comes from sharing resources and costs to reduce waste.
“I asked myself what digital nomads need, and it seems the desire to work and be together in beautiful places prevails,” says Paola. “All of us at Inesto are digital nomads, distributed everywhere, engaged in social causes and with very different experiences in the third sector and event promotion: everyone brings their passions and skills to Inesto.”
This has created a network of creatives and professionals who have developed a series of projects where each proposed experience contributes to the economic and social well-being of the people involved. Through intercultural exchange, genuine interactions between participants and residents are promoted, fostering a kind of global citizenship.
Inesto’s offerings are designed to engage visitors in a direct and personal way. These activities not only offer tourists a unique opportunity to learn and interact with local culture, but also help preserve the traditions and practices of the places, which are always in rural settings. “It depends on the length of stays, but we don’t offer just a holiday to any group,” explains Paola Balduzzi: “we ask everyone to offer some of their time to develop activities, organize small events together with local people.”
This way, a synergy is created with the local community, which often becomes mutual promotion and development: Inesto pays specific attention to so-called dead periods, giving impulse to a kind of off-season tourism that brings value to places far from traditional circuits.
Creative experiences for positive impact
“Our approach goes beyond simple environmental respect, but includes a strong focus on social impact,” continues Paola: “sociality between people emerges from the normality of daily life.” By collaborating with local artisans, producers, and communities, Inesto indeed creates an ecosystem where all participants benefit: a relationship develops between tourists and residents, contributing to greater intercultural understanding.
The main experiential solutions offered by Inesto range from creative workshops to gastronomic tours, from ecological activities to cultural events, to fully customised projects.
Those who participate in workshops immerse themselves in traditional crafts and handicrafts, such as ceramics, weaving or woodworking: the local artisans who lead them share their skills and stories, creating a truly profound bond. Similarly, gastronomic experiences give the opportunity to discover the typical flavours of the region, visiting local markets and participating in cooking classes.
Ecological initiatives include cleaning beaches or planting trees, actively involving participants in the protection of the territory. Events celebrating local traditions are also promoted, such as festivals, concerts and art exhibitions, thus giving tourists a unique opportunity to experience the local culture in an authentic and engaging way. Inesto’s regenerative projects have already materialised in locations such as San Marco d’Alunzio and San Vito Lo Capo in Sicily, El Garanon and Meaus in Spain, and the Grain & Sens eco-village in the French Ardèche; the next ones will take place in Essouira in Morocco and Boffres in France. ‘We work with public administrations and companies, thinking, writing and realising cultural projects in inland areas,’ Paola resumes: ’in the last 4 years, we have followed various public administrations in the creation of widespread coliving for artists and digital nomads.
Measuring the impact of each activity
Collaborating with public administrations is often crucial to the success of Inesto’s activities: ‘we ask the PAs for the possibility of managing spaces for a fixed period, in which we organise temporary events for individuals and companies,’ adds the founder, ‘thus transferring some of the logic of the city to a rural context. Apart from the usual bureaucratic difficulties that one often encounters (‘in France it is much simpler and organised,’ Paola confesses), the purely economic aspect should not be overlooked: ‘Inesto’s proposals relocate the money that companies spend on these types of activities, moving them to territories that need them more’.
Among the companies that have already successfully experimented with these proposals are Bulgari, Visa, Cisco, to name but a few: ‘for companies we organise events such as coliving, offsite, company retreats or CSR projects to which we also attach a CSRD-compliant impact report’.
Impact reports are essential tools for measuring and communicating the outcomes of these initiatives, providing transparency and accountability regarding the activities undertaken. They not only highlight the successes achieved but also serve as a guide for continuously improving business practices and further engaging communities.
During offsite meetings, participants engage in interactive workshops, team-building activities, and strategic discussions focused on how to integrate sustainability into their operations. This approach not only enhances group cohesion but also fosters innovation and social responsibility within the organization.
In September 2024, Inesto received a significant accolade by winning the She’s Next Award, an initiative by Visa Italy in collaboration with Corriere della Sera. The award recognized innovative entrepreneurial projects led by women that are making a difference in Italy.
This recognition reinforces Inesto’s commitment to expanding its network of rural communities and partnerships to create greater opportunities for sustainable rural development. It also underscores the importance of continuing to innovate so that work and tourism, supported by technology, can grow with the best possible social impact.
