🇸🇻 Exit to El Salvador: Life on a Bitcoin Coffee Farm
Exit Stories: Conversations with friends who’ve already made the leap.
As we get ourselves ready to leave, I thought it would be a good idea to speak with some friends who have already made the leap to the exit door. So, occasionally, as we travel, I’ll drop in an Exit Story from a current or future friend. Think of it as a spin-off series to our main adventure.
This week, I spoke with my friend Harry, a Bitcoiner who left the UK behind to start a new life on a farm in El Salvador. He’s part of a growing wave of people opting out, building on the ground, and living closer to the land, all powered by Bitcoin values.
Here’s our short Q&A on why he moved, what life is like now, and what he wishes more people knew.
📍 Where were you living before, and what made you decide to move to El Salvador?
Before buying the farm, I lived in Stoke-on-Trent, a rather miserable city in England. I’d been working on a project there that came to an end in 2023, so, with a vague idea of working in the coffee industry, I went to Mexico to study coffee agriculture. While there, I was made aware of an abandoned coffee farm for sale in El Salvador. Flights were cheap, so I went to check it out. At that point, I had no intention of moving to El Salvador.
🌱 Why a farm? Was that part of the plan from the start, or did it come later?
My plan in 2023 had transitioned from opening an oyster bar to opening a cafe. The oyster concept was put on ice while I explored ways of selling coffee; the one thing I knew for sure was that my business model was to incorporate Bitcoin. Buying a coffee farm was not a part of the plan simply because it wasn’t on my radar, so to speak. But having had the seed planted in my mind, the idea evolved and soon seemed like the most sensible way to begin a coffee brand.
⚡ How has being a Bitcoiner shaped your decisions, both in the move and in how you live day to day?
I think Bitcoin helped me identify value, primarily by stretching out my time horizon. This certainly played a role in my decision to buy the land in El Salvador. Speaking in Bitcoin terms: the land itself, where the fruits grow, represents the “base layer” of value, whereas a coffee shop or roastery could be seen as layer two (like the lightning network). So I decided to buy a piece of the base layer.
🚧 What’s been the biggest challenge you didn’t expect?
I started the project with no expectations. I didn’t know much about El Salvador, so I moved there with an open mind. It was far from my first time living as an expat (I have lived in France and, to a greater extent, Germany), so the typical practicalities of being away from my homeland didn’t faze me. I knew roughly where the pros and cons lay and more or less how to manage the subsequent highs and lows. That said, living in the jungle as the sole foreigner among Salvadorans, managing groups of farm workers and builders, none of whom spoke a word of English, was at first rather challenging, even daunting. And as the scale of my project started to dawn on me, I realised I could either worry about everything or worry about nothing, so I took each day as it came and tried not to get down when things went wrong.
☀️ What does a typical day look like for you now?
On a typical day, I would wake up between 4 am and 7 am, feed Bruno (dog), shower in my makeshift tree shower, make a coffee, and then discuss plans with the farm manager, Miguel. I sometimes drive into one of the local cities to run errands. On other occasions, there would be work to do on the farm, and some weeks I would have to be in the capital, which is about a 3-hour drive away, so I stay overnight. The sun sets at about 6 pm every day, meaning the evenings on the farm are particularly dark while we have such basic lighting. For food at La Cruz, we mostly cook meat on the barbecue and eat fruit from the trees.
💰 Are you actually using Bitcoin in daily life there?
Day to day, I can buy all my basic necessities with Bitcoin. My farm is situated close to Berlin, one of the world’s most developed Bitcoin circular economies, so I can quite easily live on Bitcoin there.
🌍 What do you wish more people understood about living in El Salvador?
Never take advice off anyone who refers to a place as “paradise”.
🧭 Any advice for someone considering a similar move?
Learn Spanish.
⚡ Quickfire Round
Favourite part of the farm? — I created a small viewing area where I sit on a chair made out of a log and watch the sunset with Bruno. That is my favourite part of the farm.
Go-to local food? — Chicken soup. They put everything in.
Internet connection: 1–10? — The Internet isn’t bad. 6/10 overall.
One thing you brought that you didn’t need? — My autumn coat.
Connect with Harry on Twitter/X and Instagram.
✉️ Know someone who’s exited the system and is living on their own terms? Hit reply or send me a DM, I’d love to share their story in a future issue.
The epitome of, "You can just do stuff".
Love this. Fab little insight