Ben & Ella

Travel information

We are currently

Activities we are interested in:

Ella: meeting new people, writing/blogging and music/singing

Ben: hiking/ trail running in nature, forestry/conservation and reading

We both have a passion for travel and exploring new places!

Description

Hi,

We're Ben and Ella, a couple from the UK, passionate about travel and meeting new people. We have found Workaway an amazing way to do both these things, giving our travels a real sense of purpose and meaning.

We have been travelling since June 2019, and have helped at 10 Workaways, across 4 different continents. One of our highlights included staying for 3 months on a Buffalo Ranch in the Rocky Mountains, Canda during winter, where we lived in a wooden cabin.

We have enjoyed meeting a variety of people on our trips, as well as learning about different cultures and giving back to people who welcome us into their homes.

Ella:
As a person who loves to travel and meet new people, Workaway seems like the perfect opportunity to fulfill both these passions!

Having spent 3 months travelling South East Asia, 2 months living in New Zealand and exploring the rest of the world on our most recent trips, I've become more and more passionate about discovering a new way of travel to incorporate meeting and living with local families and experiencing a new way of life. As a sociable and friendly person, I love interacting with all kinds of people and sharing stories along the way! It would be wonderful to feel part of a local culture and share the family-orientated experience with like-minded individuals.

Ben:
My passion is hiking and trail running. I'd love to find a workaway that has access to some awesome trails to explore!

An aim of mine is to live more sustainably so it would be amazing to find a workaway that gives me the opportunity to learn as much as possible about sustainable and ecological living. I'm really interested in eating homegrown crops as much as possible and trying to be as self sufficient as possible.

As well as our world travel trip I have previously taken part in a 3 month volunteering project in Burkina Faso, Africa. It was an amazing experience living in a rural village with a local family and getting involved with the community. I'm hoping to be a part of more local cultures through workaway and have the priveledge to experience living in a different country again.

Interests

Languages spoken

English: Fluent
Spanish: Beginner
French: Beginner

Skills and knowledge we'd like to share or learn

We're interested in:  

Eco Projects

Gardening

Life at a Farmstay

Art Projects

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Some knowledge of:  

DIY and building projects

Creating/ Cooking family meals

Helping around the house

General Maintenance

Babysitting and creative play

More details about your skills

We are competent Workawayers, having spent a total of 11 months living and working at 10 seperate Workaways, across North and South America, Europe and Oceania! Our duties ranged greatly, but have mainly consisted of DIY and construction projects, help in the garden/farm, and general housekeeping. We have experienced living with people who were on their own as well as being in the same house as whole familes.

Here is a full list of the workaways we have helped at:
- Golden, BC, Canada (6 weeks) - Living with a family of 4, helping build their large wooden workshop and house. Tasks included lots of sawing, sanding, drilling and assembling parts for the strutcture of the frame. We were using electric tools on a daily basis.

- Golden, BC, Canada (3.5 months) - Living on a Buffalo ranch in a wooden cabin in the middle of winter! We were chopping lots of wood and stacking it, snow shovelling, cleaning and house keeping for several air bnb tiny cabins for guests, and various DIY/maintenance tasks around the ranch.

- BC, Canada - We spent 3 weeks on seperate workaways in locations around Canada. We were both involved in light maintenance and cleaning duties.

- New Mexico, USA (3 weeks) - Helping on a permaculture homestead in the desert. We were primarily helping with getting the land ready for the growing season. Duties included pruning, weeding, raking and collecting leaves for composting.

- Colorado, USA (3 weeks) - Living in a remote setting in the mountains, helping with garden bed construction, and landscaping projects, which included lots of tree and bush removal.

- Temuco, Chile (3 weeks) - Helping on a campsite, getting ready for the upcoming season. Lots of gardening, including mowing the lawn, collecting trimmings for composting, odd jobs and maintenance of gates.

- Kalamata, Greece (3 weeks) - Lots of outside work, including weeding, cleaning the pool, painting, and gardening. We also assisted with the shopping runs and cooking dinners on a regular basis.

- Montenegro (3 weeks) - Stayed in a remote farmhouse, working on the land primarily. We were helping with landscaping jobs, which involved stone wall building, garden bed construction, and gravel path making. Lots of wheel barrow runs as well!

- Dawesville, WA, Australia (3 weeks) - Mainly gardening style work. From filling in vegetable beds, building chicken coops, to peeling garlic...!

Our more personal skills include:
Ben - The skills that I can bring to workaway are DIY/maintenance, cooking, and getting my hands dirty outside.
Prior to our travels I spent 6 months working at a water cress farm and spray gun factory, where I was working the land and building/making industrial pray guns (respectively). At the farm I spent the majority of the time cultivating the crops and doing general farm maintenance. I loved being outside whilst doing this.

I'm pretty handy with the tools, having renovated our family garden and working at a spray gun factory where I was building mechanical spray guns. The garden work included laying cement and then the patio, ripping a huge hedge down and replacing it with a fence. We then laid a large flower bed and planted a few fruit trees/bushes as well. We have enjoyed harvesting the fruit and enjoying fresh raspberries, blackcurrants, courgettes, and tomatoes!

Ella - With a love for all things creative, I can bring my art, crafts and writing skills as well as over 2 years experience within Childcare. Having spent a summer placement at a local Nursery, I am a reliable individual who can help care for your children. Also, I'm First Aid trained so your kids are in trustworthy hands!

I also enjoy cooking, and testing out new recipes. When it comes to household chores, I'm definitely not afraid of getting my hands dirty and am happy helping out with washing, cleaning, etc. I also love spending as much time outside as possible, and enjoy tasks like painting, sanding, and weeding. Hard work never scared me!

With a passion for blogging/photography, I have also created my own travel blog and would love to share my expertise with anything digital/social media related. The opportunity to utilise this skill and share my knowledge would be great!

Age

29 & 25

Some more information

• 

  Smoker

• 

  Driver's licence

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  Allergies
  No

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  Special dietary requirements
  No! We're happy to indulge in the local delicacies.