Alternative is Becoming the Mainstream
After building an eco village in Costa Rica since 2019 My wife and I moved our entire lives into the first Amagi village in Koh Phangan, Thailand. We are living this model today, not as a someday dream, but as a functioning reality with neighbors, businesses, and shared governance.
Here is why I believe this is the answer to a system that is currently failing most of us.
The System Wont Correct Itself. The current way we live is broken. We face a massive Inequality Gap that forces people into two narrow boxes:
- If you have capital: You buy a home. You get Security, but you lose flexibility. Your life is anchored to one mortgage.
2. If you don’t have capital: You rent forever. You get flexibility, but you have zero security. You are at the mercy of landlords and inflation.
The trap is that wealth building is reserved strictly for those who already have wealth. This happens because traditional housing bundles two things that shouldn't be inseparable: A place to live (a basic utility) and A financial asset (wealth storage).
When houses are treated primarily as assets for profit, communities get pushed out by capital. People call it gentrification. It's also a main stream next to anywhere that's building something nice. I was also called a "gentrifier" trying to build an eco village in Costa Rica. The consequences were heavy.
Have Your Cake and Eat It Too - We’ve introduced a Shared Equity Model.
Amagi's model offers the flexibility of renting with the security of ownership. It’s designed to include people, not isolate them. In an Amagi village, you don’t have to choose between being a tenant or an owner. You can be both.
This is how it works:
- Pay Full Value: You live 100% rent-free Earn village equity.
2. Pay Half: You get a 50% rent discount and still build ownership and also get village equity over time. (you can also pay a portion of the half..)
3. Pay Nothing Upfront: You rent normally, but over time, you still earn equity.
The best parts!
Your equity is portable. As we grow, your stake can travel with you across the entire network of Amagi villages.
Rents are set by community governance, not by a landlord’s whim, and you can earn more equity simply by contributing your skills to the village. It's like a job interview. You offer what you can help with and we (the residents) can agree with the Trust to issue you equity for your work (sweat equity)
Shared Equity: Breaking the rent trap.
Livelihood: Creating real economic opportunities for residents.
Governance: You actually have a say in how the future is shaped. (the site map is done by the residents together with the architect).
The Problem: Most eco-villages fail.
Previously I spent 5 years building two eco villages from scratch in Costa Rica. Millions in sales, large teams, tons of problems from the neighbours which led to big consequences.
But after some years, I realized that I'm gentrifying. I'm "the bad guy" trying to do good. And today I get it, I also had it wrong. I had no access to things. I was heavy lifting.
I’ve seen the patterns:
1. The Trust Gap (fear of investing in foreign land),
2. Isolated Problem-Solving (everyone reinventing the wheel)
3. Extractive Economics --> Angry neighbours yelling gentrification, law suits, financil damages and the investors aren't that aligned.
When I met Ofer Rotem, the founder, I realized this is the way to go. Ofer out smarted me, therefore he got me, and I'm all in.
Amagi solves these by providing a proven framework so villages don't have to spend years in trial and error (like I did I already did)
Real and Happening
Now this isn’t a white paper; it’s a village. May 2025: Our first residents moved into the Thailand village. Current Status: Renovations are live, businesses are generating revenue, and we are iterating on our governance every day. My wife and I are proof of concept. We moved into a village with infrastructure already in place. We are learning, sometimes failing, but always building a regenerative model that isn't just a luxury for the 1%.
What Exactly Is Amagi? People ask me: Is it an eco-village? Co-living? A retreat center? The answer is yes. Amagi is a model for developing communities of 100–1,000 people. It’s a Third Path that combines: Local Integration: Led by locals to honor the culture.
How to Join Amagi: The Pods
This is where my real passion is at. Connection.
We don’t just sign people up. We use Pods. Pods are small-group processes where we build deep trust and alignment before we build anything physical. It’s a space to slow down and really feel: Do I want to co-create a life with these people?Once you experience a Pod, you’ll never want to hire someone or invest your time with strangers again. It is the ultimate filter for building a global community of real friends and reliable colleagues.
The Big Picture:
The world has completely shifted. Between 2020 and 2024, we saw a massive surge in nomadic living, and today right before the end of 2025, there are 40 million digital nomads, 24% of whom are traveling with children. These families are looking for a place to belong. By 2029, I imagine a global Network Mobility. Hundreds of villages using the Amagi framework, allowing you to move between them with your safety and your equity intact.
We are jumping ship from an extractive system to a regenerative one. If this resonates with you, whether you want to live, invest, or collaborate, reach out.
Let’s be the change together.
Write me: liran@amagi.life