Nomadic Times, columnist Mel Candea introduced us to the #ConsumelessMed project in her guest article An American in Sicily: A Workation to Remember. During this project Mel interviewed some of her collaborators and over the coming weeks we’re bringing you a series of digital nomad interview with her team members.
Columist: Mel Candea
Carlo Gatto is a web designer firstly and a little bit of everything else secondly. As he puts it, when you’re working on smaller projects, you learn to be able to do social media/design/whatever at the drop of a hat. There is no one else.
Carlo did a mind-numbing amount of work on the website in the crunched time he had. There were several times he and his wife (not part of the workation team, but part of the co-living) stayed back from the off days for him to work. He was intent on meeting the deadline, with a smooth site ready for the press conference.
He was a still-waters-run-deep guy – but he liked a good giggle. Connect with Carlo on Twitter @carlogatto.
Briefly describe your digital nomad career:
I gained a lot of experience in large companies and I challenged myself with different experiences. Everything from working with the government to having private clients.
Just staying in the system isn’t challenging enough for me, and I discovered it was best for me to go solo and work with different people.
Where do you live now and what do you do?
I live in Malta. It’s a good place for me as a freelancer, because Malta encourages small businesses with a good fiscal system.
How did you connect with the workation/selection?
I was interested in the project, because I believe everyone should take part in improving both the environment and the quality of life. I was selected to develop the website.
What are your immediate plans (after this)?
Resettle in Malta and re-organize.
What are your long-term plans?
I’d like to develop all of the projects I usually set aside for clients. My perfect goal would be 50% of my time devoted to me; 50% of my time devoted to my clients.
What advice do you have for anyone organizing a workation?
Keep a focus on the ‘work’ of the workation, not the ‘vacation’ part. Different people want to do different things on holiday.
The project should be divided into clearly designated roles, with some flexibility. So everyone has their tasks, plus a checks and balances in place.
What advice would you give new DNs interested in your specialty?
For web developers: my only advice is to study a lot 1 or 2 things when you’re in an agency. When you’re freelance – anything goes. Sometimes you have to understand and take over anyone’s roles (designing, SEO, social media), because there’s no one else to do the extras.
Name your favorite quote (the one you live by):
Even if you have one life, you can be anyone.
What’s your favorite Sicilian dish?
The Caponata at Delicatessen in Ragusa, it was a special recipe they used.
Describe the highlight of this workation.
It’s the first time I took part in a project like this that was such a short amount of time to do the job. Sometimes pressure makes you accomplish a lot, without fearing failure.
What are you taking away with you from this experience?
It’s proof that when there’s a good team, it’s not impossible to do.
What would you do if you couldn’t be a digital nomad (imagine no WiFi… gasp!):
I’d be a musician. A guitar player and composer. I play rock, but I’m also into electronic. I’d love to explore scoring compositions – John Williams’ for Jaws was just perfect.
Meet #DigitalNomad @carlogatto, Web Designer on the #ConsumelessMed project @westydigitalnom Click To Tweet
Meet the Digital Nomads who collaborated with Mel on the ConsumelessMed project in the following interviews:
- Introductory Article from Mel Candea
- Alberto, Project Manager and Owner of Digitali Nomadi
- Toni Bullo, Graphic/Creative Designer
- Eleonora, Media Manager and Translator
- Armando, Videographer and Animator
- Giulia, Writer and Storyteller (‘Blocal’)
- Carlo, Web Designer: Coming Soon
- Chris, Social Media Manager and Blogger (‘Blog di Viaggi’): Coming Soon
Author Bio for Mel Candea
Mel Candea has been an online writer for 9 years and a digital nomad for 6. She slow travels Europe with her husband in their van. She splits her time between working from the road and exploring the countries and their cultures. Mel is a voracious reader, an avid writer, a partial photographer and a believer in trying to leave places better than how they were found. If at all possible.
You can find her journeys with her Italian husband Armando (filmmaker), their dog Ziggy and their van Mork here:
- Website: http://westfaliadigitalnomads.
com/ - Twitter: @westydigitalnom
- Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/
channel/UCr1_ gqzd2AyefXke58e1fmg - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
WestfaliaDigitalNomads/ - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/
westfalia_digital_nomads/
I’m going to have to find more projects like this – it looks like a blast to be part of something like this.
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