Profile information
Travel information
I am currently
Travelling
Activities i am interested in:
permaculture and natural building projects :-)
My next destination:
Belgium View all
Description
Originally from Australia of Croatian parents, living across about 7 european countries over past 26years, i have recently (or about 10years ago) been won over by permaculture, and I am going through the long and tough process of trying to gain all the skills required.
There are many!!
In recent years I have been involved in natural building (=bio-construction) on a professional level.
I have also recently completed a professional Water Cycle Restoration course, and I am in some final stages with that as well.
Interests
DIY & crafts
Farming
Yoga / Wellness
Gardening
Culture
Carpentry
Cooking & food
Beach
Architecture
Vegetarian or vegan
Nature
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Croatian: Intermediate
German: BeginnerMore 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.
Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn
Some knowledge of:
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Life at a Farmstay
Eco Projects
Teaching
More details about your skills
Relevant recent education/experiences acquired;
2014
-Permaculture Design Certificate
(Geoff Lawton)
-workshops; Strawbale (loadbearing) small building, and Rocket Mass Heater
(ZMAG -Croatia)
2015
-Electrical Installations Licence A - 2phase systems
(MCAST= Malta Collage of Arts Science & Technology, Malta)
-Rocket mass Heater, Mass Heater creation/construction
(Fornyet Energi, Flemming Abrahamsson -Denmark)
2016
-short courses/workshops; Timber Frame SelfBuild (Walter Segal method), and Timber Frame Joints
(CAT= Centre Alternative Technology - Wales)
-a few volunteer working periods, each lasting a couple of months, at CSA Biodynamic farm (Slovenia), and lifestyle Permaculture farm (Slovenia)
2017
-(European) Certified Strawbale Builder (ASBN=Austrian Strawbale Building Network)
so far have worked on about 7 different projects, before the corona-period lockdowns..
2018
transitioned to non-gluten low-starch plant-based, predominantly raw diet :-)
-worked on Strawbale house build in Hungary..
2019 - 2022 = covid period = back to conventional office-based/remote finance work..
2023 (back to permie and natural building projects life)
-Permaculture Teacher Certificate (Spain; Permaculture Association-UK)
-worked on Strawbale house build in Catalunya (Spain)..
-permaculture projects in Catalunya (Spain), and East of Toulouse (France)..
-worked on Strawbale house build in Belgium..
-permaculture project in N-E Belgium.
2024
-worked on renovation of 18th Century house walls near Koblenz (using natural materials= wood, Cob, clay, straw, lime)..
-worked on maintaining some mature (permaculture style) gardens at historical Monastery building grounds (now a B&B) in Belgium..
-worked on Strawbale house build in German and the Netherlands..
-worked on developing and maintaining land-based project based on Permaculture Design Principles in Belgium..
-worked on Strawbale house build in Austrian Alps..
-completed professional Water Cycle Restoration course; with some elements to be finalised..
(please note: Not all of the above was through Workaway)
Previous conventional life education and experiences in brief form;
mid-1990s
-Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Earth Sciences with Honours majoring in Geology, Geophysics, Geography.
-worked a few years in gold and base metals exploration in the Australian outback.
2000s
-set off backpacking/travelling through Europe, culminating in living in England, Ireland, Netherlands, Croatia, Malta, Belgium and Cyprus over past 26 years.. re-educating and converting to commercial finance/accounting-related work covering multinational corporations to startups.
2020s
-digital Nomad - qualified ACCA Accountant/Commercial Finance professional (from long time ago);
-currently moving back into Natural Building, Water Retention, Regenerative Agriculture, Permaculture full-time..
Age
53
What else ...
[Even though I am Non-gluten and Vegan, I do NOT have issues with other people eating meat/fish, or anything that I do not eat]
My changes were done mainly for health reasons.
On top of my diet changes over the past 7 years, I also have deep experience with various meditation techniques, some of which are now in use on a daily basis.
I have also spent many years (since 2018), with cleansing and detoxification protocols; including things like essential oils, water-fasting, and naturopathic or functional medicine routines..
I have considerable understanding of the various many permaculture concepts and methods;
1 plant the water
2 grow the soil
3 put in the seeds and seedlings
=enjoy the abundance :-)))
Some more information
Smoker
Driver's licence
Allergies
I was allergic to a few things as a child. Nowadays I do NOT really have any, because I changed my diet , and I have not looked back since :-)Special dietary requirements
Non-Gluten Vegan (with honey sometimes) = mainly fruit, vegetables, and nuts/seeds, legumes..
Feedback
We worked on both properties; the Yin Yang field, and the more wild food forest.
It was quite enjoyable to eat apples directly off the tree and also raspberries off the bush :-)
The small cat they rescued some time ago, was a lot of fun...
He was… read more
It was an interesting project; mainly working on putting together the wooden structural skeleton, and mounting it on metal plates going into the foundations, as well as through the floors/ceilings of the house.
It was very enjoyable with… read more
I was renovating an upstairs cob wall, with some parts having to be re-worked, and completed the base coat plastering... this was done as a preparation for the internal wood-fibre insulation boards..
I really loved handling that cob, because it was actually put… read more
Photos
Friends
Feedback
We worked on both properties; the Yin Yang field, and the more wild food forest.
It was quite enjoyable to eat apples directly off the tree and also raspberries off the bush :-)
The small cat they rescued some time ago, was a lot of fun...
He was… read more
It was an interesting project; mainly working on putting together the wooden structural skeleton, and mounting it on metal plates going into the foundations, as well as through the floors/ceilings of the house.
It was very enjoyable with… read more
I was renovating an upstairs cob wall, with some parts having to be re-worked, and completed the base coat plastering... this was done as a preparation for the internal wood-fibre insulation boards..
I really loved handling that cob, because it was actually put… read more
There I worked on their property, mainly renovating the walls of the house, and some elements outside as well.
We had time to explore their entire property and make friends with the neighbors as well. (There are some very interesting characters :-) )
It was a lovely place, and the… read more
They are both very lovely and very relaxed people, and completely accommodated my different eating habits.
They have done a really good job with their renovating, and change in lifestyle towards self-sufficiency.
I helped out with various things in the back yard/field, which is… read more
It was quite a challenging experience, for which I was prepared for, seeing that I had previously been through similar.
I ended up staying in the hut on the 2nd or 3rd terrace level...
There were many many mosquitoes trying to get into the mosquito net while… read more
It was a very enjoyable experience, revising my previous Strawbale-ing and earth-plastering skills...
It was really cool to have so many indepth conversations with Jorge about this topic (seeing that we both previously completed the same certified programs, but… read more
