Djola Ventures · Inaugural Village
Affordable Villages. Rooted Founders. Proximity as Thesis.
Djola Ventures builds workforce housing campuses where care workers live and care economy entrepreneurs build: together, on the same land. The Catskills is where it begins.
The Thesis
"Founders embedded in their communities build better companies."
Djola Ventures is building a network of affordable villages: each one a workforce housing campus paired with a founder residency for the care economy. The model is simple: when entrepreneurs live alongside the people they serve, they build with deeper insight, stronger trust, and more durable impact. The Catskills village is the first. It will not be the last.
The Villages
One model. Many places.
Each Djola village is a six-acre campus: workforce housing at affordable rents, a founder residency, and creek-side space for gathering. Designed to be replicated. Built to last.
Djola Village Catskills
Catskills, NY · Esopus Creek
Six acres on the Esopus Creek, two hours from New York City. Ten tiny cabins at affordable rents. A founder residency. Creek-side gathering space.
Explore the VillageFuture Villages
Locations TBD
Djola Ventures is actively identifying sites for the next villages: prioritizing care worker density, community need, and proximity to urban centers.
Express InterestThe Catskills · The Campus
Three ways to belong.
10 units · Affordable rents
Tiny Cabins
Thoughtfully designed workforce housing for care workers: nurses, home health aides, social workers, and educators. Affordable, dignified, creek-side
Learn More
Care economy entrepreneurs
Founder Residency
A live-work residency for founders building companies in the care economy. Embedded in community. Supported by peers. Two hours from the capital.
Apply to Reside
Events · Retreats · Coworking
Creek-Side Gather
The Esopus Creek as backdrop. Flexible creek-side slots for gatherings, off-sites, retreats, and coworking. Open to the broader community.
Book a GatheringThe Work
Sustainable Health. Economic Development. Infrastructure for the Overlooked.
8,100+
Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) in rural U.S.
65%
Rural counties with critical primary care gaps
$648B
Annual economic output of the U.S. care economy
3×
Higher business survival rate for place-rooted founders
Djola Ventures sits at the intersection of workforce housing, care economy entrepreneurship, and place-based community building. We back overlooked founders building sustainable health, economic development, and infrastructure solutions with the people closest to the problem, building the most durable answers.
The Place
Esopus Creek. The Catskills.
Ninety miles north of New York City, the Catskills Mountains sit at the heart of a region of working farms, artists, and long-rooted communities. The Esopus Creek runs through the property. The mountains hold the horizon. This is not a retreat from the world. It is a return to what matters.
For care workers & founders
Join the Village
Care workers and founders: applications are open for the Catskills village. Come build something real.
The model
Understand the Approach
Read about our model with workforce housing, founder residency, and the capital structures designed to keep wealth in community.