Natalja

Netherlands
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Profile information

Travel information
I am currently
At home
Description
Work(away) experience New Zealand:
- Wellington, 4 Mar to 14 Mar 2023 (interior design & gardening)
- Lake Ohau Lodge, 3 Dec to 31 Jan 2023 (paid work as a kitchenhand)
- Dunedin, 16 Nov to 27 Nov 2022 (gardening & general maintenance)
- Timaru, 6 Nov to 15 Nov 2022 (gardening & general maintanance)

I'm an interior architect & engineer at an interior building company. I have a great passion for nature and I find a lot of joy in working outside and physical: in (vegetable) gardens and general maintanance of properties.

I have returned from a 7 month sabbatical which I have been enjoying in New Zealand and I had an amazing journey. I gained experience in working at peoples properties and I really love it. This summer I am looking for a nice place closer to my home in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.

I would love to gain more knowledge about gardening and a sustainable way of living. It might also be fun and interesting to work and care for some animals such as kettle / sheep / chickens / deer / goats.

I have experience with weeding in different gardens, removing ivy, mowing grass, planting trees, washing windows, refurbishing garden furniture, creative projects, helping with the preparation of meals. And I am eager to learn new skills!
Interests
Yoga / Wellness
Sustainability
Plant care
Outdoor activities
Nature
Music
Mountain
Hiking
Gardening
Farming
Drawing & painting
DIY & crafts
Culture
Cooking & food
Camping
Beach
Astronomy
Art & design
Architecture
Animals

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Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Dutch: Fluent
Polish: Fluent
More details about my language interests
This workawayer has indicated that they would be interested in sharing their language(s) or learning a new language. You can contact them directly to discuss this.
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Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn
I'm interested in:
Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Life at a Farmstay
Helping around the house
General Maintenance
Some knowledge of:
Art Projects
More details about your skills
I have worked as an interior designer for homes, shops, offices and restaurants. In the recent years I have been involved in the technical design of custom furniture. I spent a lot of years behind the computer, coming up with creative projects and drawings. Now it's time to do physical work and help with construction projects and expand my interest and knowledge about plants and animals.

My plan is to buy a motorcycle and tour between different work addresses, after I've made a month-long campervan trip in October.
Age
31
Some more information
- Smoker
- Driver's licence
- Allergies
- Special dietary requirements

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23 Aug 2023

Left by Workawayer (Natalja) for host (Help us build our straw bale ...)

25 km verderop, maar in een totaal andere wereld!
Tijdens mijn vakantie zocht ik naar een mooie groene omgeving om aan bij te kunnen dragen. Ik ben ernom blij dat ik voor deze plek heb gekozen! Ik heb een hele fijne week gehad bij Marleen, Peter en de kinderen.
Het is heel inspirerend om te zien hoe jullie hier wonen; een geweldige wilde moestuin,… read more diverse fruitbomen, een kippenweide, een kampvuurplaats, een zelfgebouwde pizzaoven.. En ga zo maar door.
Ik mocht verblijven in een schattige en comfortabele caravan in de tuin, waar je heerlijk in slaap kunt vallen met het geluid van de krekels om je heen (en soms van een roofvogel op jacht).
Ik heb mogen werken in de buitenomgeving: verwijderen van onkruid en verouderde planten, snoeien van citroenmelisse, het opnieuw aanleggen van het looppad d.m.v. houtsnippers. Daarnaast heb ik ook meegwerkt aan de afwerking van het strobalen huis: ik heb de houten trap behandeld met lijnzaadolie en de met leem gestucte wanden bijgewerkt en geschilderd met zelf gemengde verf. Ik heb een grote bewondering voor wat jullie allemaal zelf aanpakken en met de toewijding waarmee dit gebeurd bij de bouw van dit prachtige huis.
De sfeer is heel relaxed en ik heb veel geleerd van de gezellige gesprekken die we hebben gehad. Ze zijn erg flexibel als het gaat om de dagindeling of de taken die je aan wil pakken.
Als je op zoek bent naar een groene en duurzame omgeving om van te leren dan ben je hier op het juiste adres!
---
25 km away, but in a completely different world!
During my vacation I was looking for a beautiful green environment to contribute to. I am very glad I chose this place! I had a very nice week with Marleen, Peter and the children.
It is very inspiring to see how you live here; a great wild vegetable garden, various fruit trees, a chicken meadow, a campfire place, a self-built pizza oven .. And so on.
I was welcome to stay in a cute and comfortable caravan in the garden, where you can fall asleep with the sound of the crickets around you (and sometimes a bird of prey on the hunt).
I have been working in the outdoor environment: removing weeds and obsolete plants, pruning lemon balm, recreating the walkway by covering with wood chips. In addition, I also contributed to the finishing of the straw bale house: I treated the wooden stairs with linseed oil and touched up the clay plastered walls and painted them with self-mixed paint. I have great admiration for what you all tackle yourself and the dedication with which this is done in the building of this beautiful house.
The atmosphere is very relaxed and I learned a lot from the pleasant conversations we had. They are very flexible when it comes to the daily schedule or the tasks you want to tackle.
If you are looking for a green and sustainable environment to learn from, you are at the right place here!

(Excellent )

17 Apr 2023

Left by Workawayer (Natalja) for host (Help with house projects and ...)

Thank you Rachael and Guy for having me and trusting me with the interior design for your house. I felt very welcomed and I had a great time visiting Wellington (Newtown surprised me a fantastic creative neighbourhood and is very close by). It was so interesting to have a personal look into your life and styles by making an interior plan while… read more

(Excellent )

15 Apr 2023

Left by host (Help with house projects and ...) for Workawayer (Natalja)

Natalja joined us in Wellington and happily fitted in. She was happy working solo on tasks and also working alongside us. She shared her design skills and helped us create an interior plan for our house. She achieved this, by carefully listening to what we activities we enjoy both inside and out our house.
Natalja has a spark for life by taking… read more

(Excellent )

8 Dec 2022

Left by host (Come and help us around our ...) for Workawayer (Natalja)

Natalja was a perfect Workawayer. She was just the kind of gardener I needed to get some order in the chaos of my very overgrown garden (the result of 2 1/2 years with no helpers). She was an expert at clearing all the weeds from a garden without it looking as though it had been disturbed - the plants loved her!
She also worked hard at making a… read more

(Excellent )

1 Dec 2022

Left by Workawayer (Natalja) for host (Come and help us around our ...)

I really liked staying at Sandra's! Initially I would stay a week, but I decided to stay a couple of days longer when she proposed it. So I was here 11 days. The garden with its views is just STUNNING and it's a good exercise to move around it up and down ;). I fell in love with the city of Dunedin and with the ocean views so close by her house.… read more

(Excellent )

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23 Aug 2023

Left by Workawayer (Natalja) for host (Help us build our straw bale ...)

(Excellent )

17 Apr 2023

Left by Workawayer (Natalja) for host (Help with house projects and ...)

(Excellent )

15 Apr 2023

Left by host (Help with house projects and ...) for Workawayer (Natalja)

(Excellent )

8 Dec 2022

Left by host (Come and help us around our ...) for Workawayer (Natalja)

(Excellent )

1 Dec 2022

Left by Workawayer (Natalja) for host (Come and help us around our ...)

(Excellent )

15 Nov 2022

Left by Workawayer (Natalja) for host (Help on a small farm on the ...)

I stayed with Nicki for 9 days and I had a fantastic time and an excellent first workaway experience. Nicki is an inspiring woman, with lots of stories from her own journeys and voluntary work. I enjoyed listening to them and I learned a lot. I felt really quick at home with her and we had these wonderful conversations.
The work was great and… read more

(Excellent )

15 Nov 2022

Left by host (Help on a small farm on the ...) for Workawayer (Natalja)

Natalja is an absolute gem and I loved having her stay. She was my first post-pandemic workawayer and also the first since my husband had passed away in August. She fitted into our home easily, helped out with mealtime kitchen clean ups etc and was very adaptable to what we were doing. She did a great job of clearing weeds from two fruit… read more

(Excellent )

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