Profile information
Host rating
85 %
Last replied
15 May 2025
Reply rate
100.0 %
Usually responds within 15 days
Feedback
2
ID verified
Email verified
Badges (3)
Details
Description
We, Nikki and Pol, today are respectively 71 and 77. We are both retired. Nikki worked as a make-up artist for television, Pol as an editor for an Antwerp daily newspaper.
We live in Schilde, a green municipality northeast of Antwerp, for about 30 years. Surrounding our house, which is spacious enough since our three daughters left it, is a rather labour-intensive garden of about 1,350 m². That is the domain of Nikki, who (among many other things) as a 'garden ranger' also gives other people advice for making their gardens bird- and insect-friendly. Pol spends a lot of time behind his laptop, but also volunteers at the local Oxfam World Shop.
And together we really enjoy travelling. Within Europe, we do so with our own camper. A regular destination outside Europe is Australia, as our youngest daughter lives in Perth.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Gardening
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Interests
Languages
Van life
Events & social
Charity work
Plant care
Drawing & painting
Gardening
Cooking & food
Books
Art & design
Fitness
Cycling
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
In return for the help in the garden, Nikki will gladly share her extensive plant knowledge.
Drawing is another of Nikki's passions. She takes classes at an academy and will be happy to initiate interested Workawayers into various drawing techniques.
Port city of Antwerp, with its wide and exciting range of restaurants and cafés, museums and shops, and events of all kinds, is very easily accessible by public transport. Naturally, we will show our guests around the city.
Help
Nikki would love to get help in the garden. Workawayers with some experience in weeding and pruning and planting are therefore very welcome. In addition, the garden shed needs to be cleaned up and freshened up, and there is also some wood that needs to be cleaved or sawed into firewood. At this moment, we are hoping to find a Workawayer with experience in pruning, to help Nikki with hedge pruning during the first two weeks of july.
The house needs some maintenance and repair tasks: painting, wallpapering, tiling the balconies if possible, a touch-up here and there. The handy Harry or Henrietta who wants to undertake this, can count on Pol's help (to the best of his ability).
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Dutch: Fluent
French: Intermediate
Spanish: BeginnerThis host offers a language exchange
Most welcome if you want to learn some Dutch (or Flemish, different name for same language). The working language can be English and possibly French.
Accommodation
We offer the helper(s) their own spacious bedroom overlooking the garden, above which the sun rises in the morning. We share the rest of the house (including the bathroom), as well as the electric bikes.
Our home cuisine is very varied and fairly international, although we are happy to prepare typical Belgian dishes.
The village centers of Schilde and Wijnegem are within walking and cycling distance.
What else ...
Period and duration of stay are negotiable.
Since we are a tiny bit older ourselves, we prefer helpers from at least 30 years and older. We think younger people can discover much better new things with young people of their own age.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Photos
Feedback
We had the incredible good fortune that Leo(nara) and Daniel, a Brazilian couple in their late 30s, were our first Workaway guests. They lived with us from 3 June to 30 August, with a break of about 10 days for other activities. And… read more
