Profile information
Travel information
We are currently
At home
Description
Dear people from Workaway,
We are a family of three and we are looking for a way back to our origins. In fact, our life trip began thanks to Workaway itself.
Our journey started not so long ago, but from very distant places and realities.
Mariya studied tourism and is a professional yoga teacher. She left home in 2022, out of a pure inspirational thought, barely one month after the former threat of an invasion concretized into war in her country. Countless adventures followed, both with and without Workaway, accompanying her through Europe and some of the best friends and memories to remember.
Alessandro, is the one who left his birthplace in Italy to find its real self, on the other side of the world in Canada. All thanks to Workaway he abandoned everything, his job and his old life to travel the world. He crossed back the Atlantic to journey through Europe as he always desired, rebirthed, to blossom into the best place he could fall in love after pruning his old self off.
Eventually, Belgium was the pot where these two purified lonely seeds landed and rooted.
Among the most enchanting dance of wind, our souls experienced many adventures with Workaway in Europe and, magically, blossomed together into each other. The fruit of this meshing flowered into something as tiny as infinite, our daughter Aura.
We chose Italy as our nest, in terms of the safest and best place where to grow a tiny human. We went back to Ale’s hometown in fact and now, after 16 months of seasoning, it’s time to change the air again and move away from these tight valleys to open up our minds and grow into a more civilized environment. In between this transition, we desire to get back to Workaway together as a family for some months. We are looking for projects in northern Europe, also as a means to escape from the scorching Italian summer. We are willing to share our experience and learn from families alike, while of course enjoying the stunning landscapes of our dreams.
Lately, it crossed our mind the idea to harness this opportunity of Workaway to actually travel in Italy and visit some of the most remarkable landmarks nation-wide.
Ale is a so-called “jack of all trades”. He fixes and builds things, from industrial machines to houses, and sometimes even people, or their bellies at least with delicious food. Ale is indeed specialised in electric industrial maintenance, electronics, IT and he worked with wood, concrete and metal in DIY projects and home renovation. He’s been a chef and a professional window cleaner.
Mariya fixes people instead, directly and indirectly through yoga and love. The experience of pregnancy and her first steps into motherhood brought her to study and practice about postpartum rehab and natural parenting, to name a few. She's a professional yoga teacher but she started her path out of a bachelor in tourism, she has been tour guide and hotel manager. Mariya pushes on natural living and she’s one of the best at cooking vegetarian/vegan food but she also loves to take care of the green and plants.
Aura is that bright and smart creature who follows us everywhere by both our and her feet, without spitting a word yet. Like a colorful bouquet of flowers on a festive coach.
There’s so much to learn, it’s an endless process of discoveries and Mary’s passion is bringing Ale the will and desire to get back to studies in a couple of years, eventually, almost 10 years after his diploma. She’s getting deeper and wider consciousness about parenting and women's health and she desires to learn from other’s experiences and share her knowledge. On the opposite side, Ale wants a bachelor to become a technician, hopefully freelancer, into industrial safety or inspections and lay the stones for a path on his own so to have the most free time possible to spend with family and passions (them being technical too).
About passions Ale loves to invent, fix and create things in general. He collects Lego, plays PC games, writes sometimes and he just got into photography.
Mary loves to read, write her diary, walk in nature and of course to practice yoga.
We are reaching the end of our life chapter in Trentino (Italy) and Ale is ready to quit his job to leave everything and volunteer with Workaway. Rent contract is expiring at the end of June and we want to find a project where to go by then. What comes after is a mystery but the real truth is how much we miss traveling and volunteering because, as you read, that's how our family was born.
We are passionately looking forward to live more mesmerizing adventures, together with you, and for the first time along with our daughter.
Alessandro, Mary and Aura from Trentino, Italy, with love.
Interests
Books
Yoga / Wellness
Cycling
Camping
Drawing & painting
Culture
Architecture
Carpentry
Writing
Technology
Sustainability
Self development
Plant care
Photography
Pets
Outdoor activities
Nature
Music
Movies & TV
Mountain
Languages
Hiking
Gardening
Farming
DIY & crafts
Events & social
Charity work
Cooking & food
Art & design
Animals
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Italian: Fluent
Russian: Fluent
Ukrainian: Fluent
German: Beginner
French: BeginnerMore details about my language interests
Our mother languages are Italian for Ale and Russian and Ukrainian for Mary. Ale has some good understaning of Russian (thanks to Mary and her mother), German and French. Mariya fluently speaks Russian and Ukrainian while she's surplisingly proficient in Italian. Our common language is English meanwhile Aura speaks her own.
Skills and knowledge we'd like to share or learn
We're interested in:
Charity Work
Art Projects
Eco Projects
Gardening
Life at a Farmstay
Babysitting and creative play
Hospitality/Tourism
Some knowledge of:
Animal Care
Able to teach about:
Languages
DIY and building projects
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Helping around the house
General Maintenance
Helping with Computers/ Internet
More details about your skills
Both of us proficiently cook, Ale mostly Mediterranean and Mary mostly vegetarian. We take care of the house like grown-ups are supposed to.
Alessandro is capable of fixing almost everything, is very creative and resourceful. He can operate any kind of tool and machine.
✍️Mary – Creative Plant-Based Chef, Event Organizer & Yoga Teacher, Prenatal & Postpartum specialist
🍜Culinary Skills:
○Passionate creator of vegan and vegetarian cuisine, known for unique, nourishing, and beautifully presented dishes.
○Specializes in vegan desserts and international fusion recipes.
○Experienced in cooking for large groups in various international projects like:
- Community vegan kitchen (Austria)
- Yoga retreat center (Belgium)
- Sustainability project (Denmark)
- Yoga & surf camp (Netherlands)
○Skilled in food planning, procurement, preparation, and presentation.
👍Event & Project Management:
○Successfully organized yoga tours, wellness events, and conscious gatherings
○ Brings structure, creativity, and heart into every project she joins.l
🧘♀️Yoga & Movement Teaching:
○Over 5 years of teaching yoga to diverse groups
○Offers 3D movement training focused on body alignment (hips, feet, chest, head)
○Certified specialist in prenatal and postnatal yoga, supporting women through pregnancy and recovery by natural methods
👱♀️Our daughter Aura
She is a conscious and independent child. Since birth, we’ve practiced elimination communication and never used diapers. She’s very aware of her natural needs, which makes life and travel much easier.
Aura is friendly, curious, and enjoys interacting with both children and adults. Raised in a loving and free environment, she explores the world with joy.
She walks, runs, eats by herself with a spoon and fork, and helps with small tasks. She’s adaptable, social, and happy to spend time with others.
We’re fully ready to join a volunteer project as a family. One of our travel goals is to immerse her in a creative, nature-connected, and enriching environment.
Age
30 & 26
What else ...
Since we're traveling with our toddler daughter we expect comprehension and flexibility and we cannot be working at the same time as one of us should always be with Aura. This means we'd be alternating in our daily shifts but still work our due hours per week.
Some more information
Smoker
Driver's licence
Allergies
Mary -lactose intolerant, Ale -sesame and pollen, Aura -there is a slight reaction to bananasSpecial dietary requirements
Mariya doesn't eat meat and she avoids lactose.
Feedback
The food was provided on a very essential… read more
Photos
Friends
Feedback
The food was provided on a very essential… read more
I don't know where to start. Such a kind and gentle person. Very independent and capable. He is a quite person and at the beginning i was not aware of his skills. When one of the other workawayers mentioned that he was a skilled electrician i asked… read more
I spent two months in a place that is definitely not my natural environment and for this, among others, reason it's been a pretty interesting period between highs and lows. I originally joined this… read more
I absoulutely loved the place from the very first moment and I got along marvellously with all the volunteers and Lawrence. The best thing was to be in a big group, with people from all around the world (if half the… read more
During his stay, he mostly worked on a house building project, and his attention to detail gives him an advantage in jobs demanding accuracy. This really showed for instance on the assembly of the kitchen counters, which was excellent craftmanship.… read more
I love to choose projects mostly at sentiment and I can’t deny that the stay by Marianna’s literally took my heart. Skipping the cultural shock at the very beginning and all the complications deriving from life in a… read more
It has been a special bounce back year after covid and I believe Alessandro got part of the hardest part of the season. He performed… read more
He kept his work areas very neat, organized and always cleaned by the end of his workday.
Alisandro also… read more
I felt really welcomed and in no time we were already talking as old friends. I felt more home at Joe's place than at my real home in Italy. I had a big bedroom and bathroom all for… read more
He went above and beyond in his contributions. He achieved all the outlined goals for his stay, and more.
Was very polite, considerate, and helpful. A pleasure to work, and live with.
I would offer him permanent employment if it was an option.
He was well received by all whom he was introduced to.
Happy to say… read more
