“All their life was spent not in laws, statutes, or rules, but according to their own free will and pleasure. They rose out of their beds when they thought good; they did eat, drink, labour, sleep, when they had a mind to it and were disposed for it. None did awake them, none did offer to constrain them to eat, drink, nor to do any other thing; for so had Gargantua established it. In all their rule and strictest tie of their order there was but this one clause to be observed: DO WHAT THOU WILT”
L’abbaye de Thélème, Gargantua, CHAPTER LVII (1534)
Such is our ambition: do what we love with people we care about, and make a living from it. That’s how we got involved with coworking.
Mutinerie is a catalytic tool for those who share our values. This project goes far beyond the limits of a working space. We are young, and we dream of an ideal society. And if you peel off the layers of idealism, you’ll find underneath that we are driven by a deep understanding of the changes now occurring in the world, and a willingness to be part of the coworking movement.
The working world is indeed undergoing in-depth changes. The digital revolution is spawning a new class of independent contractors with brand new needs that we want to address. They’re looking for a better quality of life matching their professional and personal interests. The new workforce work with teams as members of multiple networks, rather than work for a company. Their office is the internet, so they are mobile, rather than constrained to required to be in a physical space. They work on projects and short-term gigs. More flexible hours, continuing training, freedom and autonomy… These are just a few examples of what the new generation requires. Mutinerie endorses and embodies these values.
Through the use of new informative technologies, individuals can interact with the world, no matter where they are. Today we can work from any place we like.
Work is not a place but rather what one does – so, might as well work with the people one chooses…
The crisis storming over the western economies is speeding up this process and compels us to rethink our way of living and working. Society conventionally demands that we choose between working from home as an independent contractor, and working in an office for a company. When you work for a traditional company, what you gain from belonging to a community, you lose in terms of freedom and the ability to lead your life by your own rules. When you work from home, you do enjoy a certain degree of freedom. But you must cope with loneliness and the fact that you can get trapped into bad working habits. Freelancers often feel isolated and coworking is an antidote to this. We want a place halfway between home and office, a third place bridging this gap between the two.
A wide range of alternatives is now available for independent contractors (business centers and incubators, coffee shops…) but they fail to fully address the multi-faceted needs of this new generation of professionals.
Here, we welcome project initiators and people willing to share their knowledge and skills.
Co-working is a fast-growing movement. In the past three years, the worldwide number of co-working spaces has gone through the roof, growing tenfold, with approximately 1,000 locations scattered across the planet. Of these 1,000 locations, 200 offer co-working visas that give subscribers free access to any member space across 40 countries. Coworking is not a new technology, but it’s innovative in its way to respond in a coherent and comprehensive way to the needs of a new breed of independent workers.
Today, we can choose the way we want to work and the people we want to work with. The Web is a marvellous platform where kindred spirits can meet outside the realm of traditional social groups. This way, the “Do What Thou Wilt” idealism can be envisioned, because each and every one of us, in the most autonomous and sincere way, is likely to take into account the group interests when making decisions.
Mutinerie is for men and women of honor. The project is an experience.
