The Brazilian digital nomad who traded Florianópolis for Rancho Queimado

A new base for working with the world

Some people visit Rancho Queimado on weekends to taste fresh strawberries or admire the landscapes of Morro da Boa Vista. Some arrive in winter to experience the mountain chill so rare on the coast of Santa Catarina. And some, like Felipe Novaes Rocha, simply stay — and start working from there for the whole world.

Felipe is an Emerging Technologies developer and consultant specializing in Blockchain, Security and Artificial Intelligence. At 36, he has more than 18 years of experience in technology and a journey that literally began in childhood: he was using computers at 4, programming in Visual Basic at 10, and before turning 12 he created a complete school registration system for the school where his mother worked.

Today, sitting among araucaria trees in the quiet mountains 65 km from Florianópolis, he serves international DAOs in web3, advises companies on artificial intelligence and blockchain, and is increasingly expanding his work into the Brazilian market.

A choice for peace and quiet

According to the article published in March 2026, Felipe was looking for a quiet, peaceful place to live. His choice of Rancho Queimado brought together mountain scenery, contact with nature and the possibility of working remotely.

The town became the setting for this stage of his journey, after years of traveling around Brazil.

Four years traveling around Brazil before settling down

Moving to Rancho Queimado was not an abrupt step. Felipe spent four years as a traveling digital nomad, exploring Brazil in a KombiHome — a Volkswagen Kombi converted into a home on wheels. During that time, he developed projects remotely while exploring different regions of the country, combining high-tech work with the adventure of discovering Brazil’s countryside and coast.

“I was a nomadic developer for four years, traveling around Brazil in a Kombi,” he recalls. “That period taught me a lot about working from anywhere and about what really matters when choosing where to live.”

It was also during this period that he immersed himself in Web3. Starting in 2021, Felipe joined the Gardens ecosystem, a blockchain governance platform connected to 1Hive.org, where he led development of the second version of the protocol — a project that won first place at an international hackathon.

Blockchain, AI and security: working with the world from the mountains

From the mountains of Santa Catarina, Felipe provides consulting services to companies and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) around the globe. His work covers some of the most advanced frontiers of today’s technology:

Blockchain and Web3 — development of decentralized solutions, smart contracts and analysis of digital ecosystems;

Artificial Intelligence — implementation of AI systems to automate and optimize processes;

Advanced Cryptography — applied research in Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZK) and Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE);

Security and Privacy — secure protocols for blockchain systems and decentralized applications.

“Over the last 4 to 5 years, I’ve mainly served DAOs in web3. Now I’m starting to work with Brazilian clients too,” Felipe explains. The expansion into the domestic market comes as Brazil’s relationship with these technologies matures — and as more companies seek professionals who can work across blockchain, AI and digital security.

The town that became the perfect setting for global work

Rancho Queimado is more than the backdrop to Felipe’s life — it actively contributes to his productivity. The town’s tranquility, which has already attracted enough new residents for its population to grow by almost 20% between 2010 and 2022, offers the quiet and pace that a creative technology professional needs for deep thinking.

Its connection to Florianópolis, just 65 km away, provides access when needed to the airport and the capital’s infrastructure — now one of the most sought-after cities among digital nomads in Brazil and around the world. But it is in the mountain quiet, among the pleasant chill and araucaria scenery, that the best ideas emerge.

“The tranquility of the mountains, the connection with nature and the slower pace give me the mental space to work with the most complex and emerging technology,” Felipe reflects. “I don’t need an office in São Paulo or a connection to Silicon Valley to do world-class work. I need good internet, a quiet place and mental clarity. Rancho Queimado gives me all of that.”

More than a nomad: a creator of knowledge

Felipe is more than a professional who works remotely. He sees himself as someone who shares knowledge about the technologies he has mastered. He hosted daily livestreams on YouTube for more than 140 consecutive days, co-created the “Floripa Web3” project and offers mentoring to professionals who want to enter the world of blockchain and emerging technologies.

His career is also marked by a combination that is uncommon in tech: in addition to being a programmer, Felipe is a Therapist and Conflict Mediator, a combination that he says radically changes how he works with teams, clients and complex projects.

“Technology alone doesn’t solve anything. It’s the people behind it who make the difference,” he says.

Rancho Queimado on the map of digital work

Felipe’s story portrays professionals who choose to live outside major urban centers in pursuit of quality of life. Remote work makes it possible to combine projects for different regions with everyday life in a mountain town.

The article presents Rancho Queimado as a place where local life and connected work can coexist, among araucaria landscapes and the tranquility of the mountains.

About the destination

Rancho Queimado is 65 km from Florianópolis via the BR-282, at the gateway to the mountains of Santa Catarina. The town has around 3,279 residents, an average elevation of 800 m and is known as Santa Catarina’s Strawberry Capital.