They bought a Caribbean island to start their own country

買個島，建個國家

Richard Collett， CNN • Updated 10th March 2022

Coffee Caye:

This tiny island off the coast of Belize has been acquired by a group of investors who hope to turn it into the world‘s newest micronation。

咖啡島：

這個貝里斯城的離岸小島已經被幾個投資者購得，他們希望把它變成世界上最新的微型國家。

(CNN) —

“Who wouldn’t want to buy an island？” Marshall Mayer asks above the roar of the engine as the boat cuts through the still waters of the Caribbean Sea。 Belize City is fast disappearing behind， as a group of mangrove-covered islands grows larger on the horizon。

“誰不想買個島？” Marshall Mayer大聲喊著，壓過發動機的聲音，船劃過加勒比海平靜的水面。貝里斯城迅速被甩在後面，紅樹林覆蓋的群島越來越近了。

“And I don‘t know about you，” says Mayer， “but I certainly can’t afford to buy an island on my own！”

“我不瞭解你，”Mayer說，“但是我確定我自己買不下一個島。”

Land owners:

The investors paid $180，000 plus tax for the island and are selling shares in it for $3，250 apiece。

島主：

投資者為此島支付了18000美金的稅金，正在以每股3250元的價格份額。

Mayer is co-founder of Let‘s Buy an Island， an ambitious project that in 2018 set out to crowdfund the purchase of an island。 By December 2019， the group’s aspirations became reality， raising over $250，000 to complete the purchase of Coffee Caye， a 1。2-acre， uninhabited island off the coast of Belize。

Mayer是Let‘s Buy an Island專案的聯合創始人，這是一個頗具野心的專案，始於2018年，想要透過眾籌購買海島。截止到2019年12月，這群人的志向變成了現實，他們募集了25萬美元完成了購買咖啡島手續，1。2英畝（約4860平方米），無人居住的貝里斯離岸海島。

The investors weren’t just buying into a share of Belizean property。 They were also investing in an unusual nation-building project， because Coffee Caye， reimagined as the “Principality of Islandia，” complete with its own national flag， anthem and government， is also the world‘s newest “micronation”—— an entity that claims independence but isn’t recognized as such by the international community。Now， in early 2022， Mayer is leading the inaugural tour to Coffee Caye， as a mixed group of investors and intrigued tourists make landfall on the world‘s first crowdfunded island。

投資者不僅僅是買了貝里斯人的一份財產，他們也是在投資一項非同凡響的國家建設專案。因為咖啡島被重新定義為“

伊斯蘭迪亞公國”，國旗、國歌和政府已經就緒，也是世界上最新建立的“微型國家”——雖然已經宣佈獨立，但還沒得到國際社會的承認。如今，在2022年初，

Mayer正在趕往咖啡島的就職之旅，一群由投資者和好奇的遊客組成的一群人，登陸世界上首個眾籌海島。

Guided tour:

In February 2022， a group of investors and would-be investors took a tour of the island to gauge its potential。

2022年2月，一群投資者和準投資者參觀海島，評估其發展潛力。

“That feeling of stepping onto an island that you’ve invested in， and own，” says Mayer， after the 15-minute boat ride from Belize City， “that‘s an amazing feeling。”It takes just a few more minutes to walk from one end of Coffee Caye to the other， but Mayer is keen to take the 13-strong group on the first-ever walking tour of the island。

“踏上你投資並擁有的海島，那種感覺棒極了！” 乘船十五分鐘到達後Mayer說。從島的這一端到另一端只需要幾分鐘，但Mayer很熱情地帶領著13人的團隊踏上本島首次徒步之旅。

Island campsite:

Accommodation on the island is currently only under canvas， but the investors are discussing something more permanent to house potential visitors。

海島宿營地：

島上住宿目前還只有帆布帳篷，但投資者們正在討論永久住房，接納未來的遊客。

Coffee Caye is long， thin and vaguely shaped like a coffee bean。 One side of the island， where a clearing overlooks a small beach that leads down into a shallow bay， had been taken over as a campsite for the night。 The other half of Coffee Caye is thick with scrub and bounded by mangroves。

咖啡島狹長、窄且大體上像一個咖啡豆的形狀。島的一端，遠看是一個小海灘，直插入淺海中，這裡作為過夜的宿營地。咖啡島的另一端寬一些，灌木叢生，佈滿了紅樹林。

'Amazing feeling':

“That feeling of stepping onto an island that you’ve invested in， and own，” says Marshall Mayer， who co-founded the project to acquire Coffee Caye， “that‘s an amazing feeling。”

Investment risks:

Not everyone’s convinced about the project。 Some potential investors touring the island expressed concerns about the island‘s vulnerability to hurricanes or rising sea levels cause by climate change。

投資風險：

不是每個人都相信這一專案。有些來旅遊的潛在投資者表達了對島的擔憂，它容易受到颶風和氣候變化引起的海平面上升的影響。

At home:

Morgan Bourven， a French investor in Islandia， relaxes on his newly acquired land。 So far 89 people have invested in the project。

像在家裡一樣：

法國投資者Morgan Bourven，在剛夠得的海島上的愜意生活。到目前為止，已經有89人投資這個專案。