Workaway reviews, feedback and ratings - page 7

We had an incredible stay! You immediately had us feel very welcomed to your Mdumbi family and your beautiful home. The place, the owners, the staff and the animals were wonderful, very loving and fun to be around with. We got a good insight into the open minded Xhosa culture and their great people and delicious food. The work felt meaningful and varied from reception shifts to flexible/self-managed gardening, maintenance, painting, guest interactions etc. We had more than enough free time and off days to enjoy the many beautiful things that Mdumbi has to offer. We had countless Braais and pizza nights with the owners and other volunteer, surfs with dolphins, whales and turtles, play dates with little Liwa and the dogs Zanzi and DJ, game nights, chats and giggles. We will for sure keep coming back to our new second home. We miss you all so much already <3

Moi aussi, je n'ai qu'un mot à dire : fantastique ! Cecile et Michel sont toujours de bonne humeur, spontanés et enthousiastes. La maison est entourée par la nature, on peut aussi faire de très belles promenades ! Si vous recherchez le calme dans la nature, vous êtes au bon endroit ! La nourriture était fantastique ! C'est toujours préparé à partir des produits du jardin. Comme il y a des chasseurs dans la famille, nous avons également mangé du chevreuil et du sanglier. Les sorties au restaurant étaient bien sûr inoubliables ! Les soirées cinéma étaient géniales, cela m'a aidé à améliorer mon français ! Cecile et Michel étaient toujours patients lorsque je ne connaissais pas un mot (alors, ils sont souvent patients :) ). Merci pour tout !

**can not recommend this place, unless you don't care about meaningful work or learning As an experienced volunteer, I've seen challenges from both the hosts and the volunteers side. My main concern here is volunteers contribute to owner's personal business goals instead of learning. good Communication, effective work structure, and good attitude from hosts are the areas with issu 1. This expereince is a BUSINESS for profit. despite the NPO goals for local kids. Volunteers receive work order and execute based on owner's personal preferences. One of the host, Manee, was there each morning to had out her requests on what to be done, while the other host Pinot, rarely spoke to any of us. he refused to show me how to ferment cacao beans (which was an agreed upon task before my arrival) 2. at the time I was there, the biochar work was finished and volunteers were instructed to make chocolate, build a concrete toilet, and some general maintenance around the garden. except the chocolate work which I managed it myself with another volunteer, all of us were expected to work autonomously. that's OK, but neither hosts worked along side volunteers. I learned nothing else, or almost anything from my host. 3. the most significant negative feelings I had at the farm was the ungrounded authority from the hosts. while appearing to be friendly, the hosts give orders rather than working with volunteers. while claiming to be open to ideas, she defends her idea of the business by repeating similar stories to everyone, yet when I challenged her way of communicating work, I was given the response "this is my place, I do it my way". if this place was advertised as it is, and there is sufficient, and mindful communication, my experience wouldn't t have been this negative. I appreciate the opportunity to make chocolate there.

No tengo palabras para expresar nuestra experiencia con Anastasija. Es una persona maravillosa, servicial, entrañable, de conversación interesante y por supuesto, magnifica cocinera. Apenas hemos podido compartir 2 semanas y media, ya que por motivos personales, ha tenido que marcharse antes de lo previsto. Pero aun así, ha tratado de cubrir, parte de la ayuda que nos podría prestar en las siguientes semana, dejándolo todo organizado (comida cocina para 2 semanas), para que, para mi, fuera mas fácil. Solo tengo palabras de agradecimiento, porque siempre ha estado dispuesta, y nunca le he tenido que pedir nada. Es muy organizada y sabe aprovechar muy bien el tiempo. Trabaja rápido y es resolutiva, y, a la vez, es capaz de disfrutar, recorriendo los nuevos lugares que le depara su nuevo destino. En cuanto a la convivencia en familia. Maravillosa, hemos podido disfrutar de ratos de conversación, a pesar que mi nivel de ingles, deja mucho que desear, ella siempre ha tratado de ayudarme y corregirme, aparte de tener la paciencia suficiente de esperar al traductor, lo cual no ha hecho que se aburriera, ni desesperara, y fuera capaz de continuar con la conversación. Con mi marido que no habla nada de ingles, igualmente, ha sido paciente, esperando que mi hijo tradujera, y pudiera entender, lo que queríamos decirle. Respecto a la relación con mi hijo, adolescente, a pesar de que no ha podido ser muy continua, ya que él tiene muchas actividades fuera de casa. El tiempo que han pasado juntos, ha sido genial, él ha podido practicar conversación en ingles, y las 2 clases que pudieron dar de gramática, le supieron a poco, y estaba ansioso por dar la siguiente. Ayer precisamente, cuando llegó a casa despues de su entrenamiento, y vio, que ya no estaba, no podía creer, que una experiencia tan maravillosa, hubiera llegado ya a su fin. Esperamos ver a Anastasija, pronto, y volver a compartir con ella. Le deseamos todo lo mejor. Y siempre tendrá su casa aqui en Granada. Si estas pensando en recibirla en tu casa, no lo dudes ni un momento. Quedaras totalmente encantado con su personalidad y trabajo.

Evan came with a particular range of skills that I was desperate for and he did not disapoint. He took on everything that was needed and ran his own ship. The days just ran to plan and everything got done that was on the list. He arranged a new job and accommodation around his work and while sad to see him move on after some weeks it was good to see him get on with life in NZ. Trees, clean up, helping going car racing - it all just happened AND he cleans up after him including the tools. A pleasure to have Evan and he enjoyed Xmas dinner with us later. Chris and Pam

Meine Zeit bei Selena zu Hause war unglaublich bereichernd. Ich konnte zahlreiche neue Erfahrungen sammeln, wertvolle Einblicke in die australische Kultur gewinnen und die beeindruckende Vielfalt der Natur erkunden. Die Arbeit war stets fair und angenehm, und Selena zeigte sich sehr flexibel bei den Arbeitszeiten, sodass sie sich gut mit meinen eigenen Plänen vereinbaren ließen und wir alle eine fantastische Zeit hatten. Ich kann Selena als Gastgeberin wärmstens empfehlen, um diese wunderbare Erfahrung selbst zu machen.

We had a lovely 3 weeks at Caroline’s homestay. We often ate food with her friends meaning we tried more dishes than we would have on our own. We got to meet lots children who told us about their lives in the village. And enjoyed experiencing Vietnamese culture, we saw and ate at a temple with local monks, we were guided in meditation and massage at her friends house and were able to go into town to buy food from the market. Caroline was very open for feedback and if you asked for anything she would respond and help quickly. Although she was often not at the house with us, when we did sit down with her she share a lot of information about her culture and was open and very funny. She trusted us to look after and teach the classes alone. Although we didn’t know what we were doing at the start of our stay and this was a little confusing as we were expecting to assist the class not lead them and the classes themselves were 2.5hrs. When we asked, Caroline sent us lesson plans and explained that the children are here more to meet foreigners and connect with English. We were told to have fun with the lessons as many children have busy study schedules. I believe these past few months have been unexpectedly busy for Caroline due to many reasons, meaning the volunteers had more responsibility and work hours than usual. And communication in both sides could have been better. Overall we enjoyed our stay and feel we learnt a lot about Vietnamese people and culture and made connections with the children. We wish Caroline well and hope other volunteers looking at this workaway enjoy their stay as much as we did. (The beach near cà phê Nu Nu is a lovely way to spend your day off btw). -Anna and Peggy.

Three weeks with her were an interesting time for all of us. She knows everything . Being intelligent and humorous, she knows how to capture everyone’s attention during the lessons. The children learned a lot and made great progress. All we can say is thank you for coming and for choosing us.

Angie and Timo stayed with me for a few months and were the perfect workawayers for me. They helped with my house renovation, garden work, cooking for a big team of volunteers and also kept the place clean and tidy , not to mention their positive attitude and good company - I couldn’t have asked for more! Highly recommended! Thank you both and I hope to see you again sometime :-)

I am sorry Lidia about not writing you a feedback long time ago. Thank you for helping for everything. For cleaning, for helping the chef, and my brothers to answer tourists. And thank you and again sorry for not writing you before.

We initially arranged a two-week stay, but due to a cancellation from our following host and because we were enjoying our time in Mamihara very much, we asked for a third week, which Rie-san kindly accommodated. Our days in this project were very pleasant. We helped with a variety of housekeeping, gardening, and maintenance tasks in the mornings, and had a lot of free time in the afternoon to enjoy the cosy place and to explore the beautiful surroundings. We were staying in a super authentic traditional Japanese house - recently renovated with great taste - with tatami floors, sliding doors, futon beds and our beloved kotatsu. Mamihara is a small village in rural Kyushu, but its size should not undermine its greatness. Its main street is beautiful, with an amazing coffeeshop selling delicious home-made donuts, our favourite, heartwarming konbini aka "Grandma shop", a very nice restaurant serving local cuisine, and the best tofu ever produced and sold in a little shop around the corner. Its surroundings are equally beautiful, with fields, forests and shrines that we could explore thanks to the two fantastic bicycles that Rie-san lent us. And even more beautiful were its people: the kindest and friendliest we came across in Japan, always ready to help, smile, have some conversation despite the language barrier, and (especially) feed us! Rie-san was quite busy at the time of our stay, and actually she got a pretty bad cold that left her without her otherwise immense energy for a few days. Yet she showed us around when she had the chance, offered a ride whenever she was leaving town, recommended places and events, got us nice coffee and lunch in cool places, and even organised a day out for us with her friend Yuuko, who was an absolute star. We are grateful to her for the memorable stay we had in Mamihara._ Best of luck in all your projects, we'll wait for your visit in Catalonia!

Walid is a good person. He helps here for everything, with tourists, with food, with goats. We are sad that he had to leave because he is kind.

Soy and Bee are lovely, warm, and generous, and communication with them is very easy. We loved the three days we spent in their ger, during which we learned so much about Mongolia and their way of life. An authentic, human, and absolutely unforgettable experience ✨

Sam was so easy to share this experience with, he had such a nice chill but busy nature which made him super productive and easy to instruct! He was fun to be around and got on well with us all. Thanks for staying with us Sam!

2 weeks volunteering in this place is such a great experience from taking care of our accommodation to visiting local school, i love attending every workshop. the island is so magical too. first time volunteering and i love it! thank you. ❤️

We could not have imagined a better family to start our Workaway journey with! It was our first ever Workaway and Bella, Frank, Lowis and Pepper treated us like family. We were pinching ourselves with how lucky we felt to have met such kind, intelligent humans and we will forever be grateful for all the memories and experiences we had in our 2 weeks with them. The gardening was a blast, Bella always worked alongside us and the conversations were great. We had so many shared DELICIOUS meals with beautiful conversations and in our free time Bella and the family brought us on hikes and daytrips to show off the beautiful country. The property and garden are inspiring on what you can do with land. We love climbing and Lowis let us come along with him as well. We can't wait to see you guys again. P.S if you are into plants and animals Bella is a book of knowledge, we felt like we had our own private tour guide the whole trip.

Kaiden was a fantastic Workaway volunteer, especially for this being his very first Workaway experience. He is smart, capable, and highly independent, which made hosting him easy and enjoyable. He was always helpful, willing to learn, and able to work on tasks with minimal supervision. We really appreciated his ability to take responsibility and follow through on what needed to be done. Kaiden has a good attitude, is respectful, and fits in well in a shared environment. For any host looking for a reliable and independent volunteer, Kaiden is a great choice, and we would absolutely recommend him. We’re confident he’ll do well in future Workaway experiences and wish him an awesome adventure and safe travels.

We were delighted to host Chantal, Ybo and their lovely children. They are a wonderful family and brought value to our work and mission well beyond what they physically did. Not only did they settle in so well with what we had, they endeared themselves to our team here and supported them in everything we did here. They were actively involved and took a lot of initiative to make long lasting impact beyond their stay. Everything they did including the oven, the training and video, they did it as if it was for themselves which made everything all the more awesome. They are very gifted and have extraordinary commitment to complete what they started. We couldn't be happier and more blessed to all that they did for us and would be more than delighted to have them again with us anytime. Thank you so much, Ybo and Chantal. Your family is awesome! We look forward to having you with us again. Very highly recommend them to all hosts.

I had an absolutely amazing month with Tereza, Roman, Rozi, and Viki. Tereza and I felt like long-lost sisters—we had so many common topics and shared interests. She even taught me how to cook local dishes, and we never ran out of things to talk about! Even after parting ways, we will definitely stay in touch. I feel truly fortunate to have met such a wonderful friend! Roman prepared a detailed travel guide for Prague using a map and taught me how to mix drinks and chop wood. He is truly a perfect father and husband—emotionally stable, thoughtful, principled, great at problem-solving, skilled at household chores, and an excellent cook! Rozi and I became the best of friends. She is like a little princess—beautiful, adorable, sweet, and very independent! I jokingly said I wanted to bring her back to China with me—I really couldn’t bear to leave her. Although Viki is not yet one year old, she has a strong personality—brave, resilient, and incredibly cute! I look forward to meeting her again someday. By then, I’m sure she’ll be talking and walking. This past month has been incredibly precious to me, and I feel truly lucky to have met such a wonderful family.

Great place to learn about Buddhism and participate in meditation and teachings for those interested. The work was very reasonable and flexible, and the hosts are very friendly and have the health and safety of all volunteers in their best interest. Would highly recommend, thanks for having me :)