They bought a Caribbean island to start their own country

(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. “And I don’t know about you,” says Mayer, “but I certainly can’t afford to buy an island on my own!”Mayer is co-founder ofInvestors will have to weigh up risks from hurricanes and rising sea levels.Richard CollettRice is dressed in his best quick-drying travel trousers and a suit jacket he’s brought all the way from the US, especially for the occasion. Rice was the second investor in the project — after Mayer — and he’s been involved from the start. He even narrowly missed out on being elected Head of State of the Principality of Islandia by one vote in the most recent elections.Rice says that the project is never going to make him rich, but the cost of the share also isn’t going to bankrupt him. For Rice, it’s primarily about having fun and fulfilling the dream of owning (or co-owning) an island.Investors like Rice can visit the island at cost, and they’ll also receive a percentage of any profits that might be made in the future, or if the island is sold. “You might think I’m trying to sell you a timeshare,” says Rice, “but I’m the one paying to be here on my own island.”Let’s Buy an Island is still taking investors on for the next stage of development, with a cap being enforced if investor numbers hit 150. Exactly what the next stage will entail, no one is quite sure, and as the tour group sits around the barbecue cooking up lunch and cracking open beers, Coffee Caye’s future is debated.This being a group of travelers more accustomed to exploring ex-Soviet destinations than tropical islands, ideas range from raising a statue of Lenin to creating an underwater sculpture garden of world dictators, which would include a sunken bust of North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.Mayer’s ideas for the island involve regenerating the surrounding coral reef, while also developing a glamping site or turning shipping containers into basic boutique accommodation. He wants the island to become a “mingling place,” with a small restaurant or bar, and kayaks and snorkeling; not just for investors, but for tourists and locals to visit from Belize City.Potential investors will have questions to ask, though, including concerns about hurricanes and rising sea levels that could affect the island. Velvet Dallesandro, who joined the tour because she was intrigued by the concept of crowdfunding an island, still isn’t tempted to invest because of these risks. “The micronation is a real novelty,” she says. “But with climate change, it’s going to be an ongoing battle to keep it above water. One hit from a hurricane, and that could be it.”A force for good?Shares in the island are still available for $3,250 each. Richard CollettOscar D. Romero, the Belizean real estate agent who found Coffee Caye for Let’s Buy an Island, says the group needs “to balance the environment and economic growth.” Romero explains that they would need environmental permits and clearance from the government for any development, with both mangroves and the nearby barrier reef having protected status.Romero says that if the island can be developed sustainably, involves local Belizeans wherever possible, and helps regenerate the environment, then the project can be a force for good.The future of Coffee Caye and the Principality of Islandia is in the hands of its investors, and it remains to be seen if and how the island is developed, and how far the experiment with micronationalism is taken.In the short term, Coffee Caye and the Principality of Islandia have already helped to create one of the world’s quirkier travel-loving communities. There are investors from 25 different countries, with professions ranging from train conductor to CEO, but all of them have skill sets and enthusiasm to throw at the island.Mayer even brought his girlfriend here to propose (she said yes), while Rice says that Coffee Caye “has totally messed with my travel philosophy of going to one place, only once. I’ve already been here three times already.””People really bought into the concept,” says Mayer as the group leaves the island the next day. “It was a crazy leap of faith to take, but our initial goal of buying an island, we’ve done it. But the next phase, where we go to next, we never had any plans because we didn’t know we’d make it this far.”