David

& Daniela (Ela)

Travel information

We are currently

Activities we are interested in:

Language, local food, and cultural immersion
Learning and adding to skills in permaculture, wine & cheese making, leather craft, DYI building projects
House/Pet sit + household maintenance

Description

Hello! We are David and Ela from Australia—a well-aligned couple traveling with curiosity, care, and a desire for meaningful exchange.

This year, we are seeking to experience Mediterranean culture while contributing to Workaway projects and homes with our skills, knowledge, and enthusiasm; while also learning some things along the way. We would love to learn and share skills, practice our Italian, and be part of local life

We are taking a month or so off this year to escape the Melbourne winter and to slow down while traveling. We are curious about the potential to reimagine our work-life balance, and are open to the idea of living part-time in the Mediterranean...who knows! For now, we’re traveling to be inspired by people, projects, and ways of living that value community, nature, and creativity.

Between us, we bring a broad and complementary range of skills. We both have strong backgrounds in restaurants and cafes, along with gardening, cooking, and general hands-on help. We’re curious foodies, and would love to share and exchange some of our creations (current concoctions include coffee kombucha, GF lacto-fermented crackers, and fermented hot sauce).

We’ve also recently started making barefoot leather sandals, and launched a skills platform called Self Preservation (selfpreservation.com.au); focused on preserving practical skills, nurturing curiosity, and living more consciously. We love exchanging ideas, skills, and stories, and are always happy to learn something new.

We are equally enthusiastic about house sits and pet sits. We enjoy caring for pets, gardens, and homes, and understand the trust involved in looking after dogs and cats. We’ve both done pet sitting through Mind-a-Home and for family and friends. We see house and pet sitting as an authentic way to immerse ourselves in local culture, connect with community, and build relationships we may return to in the future.
We’re willing learners and enthusiastic contributors - when we commit, we show up fully: punctual, reliable, adaptable to routines, and approaching tasks with a strong work ethic and a team mindset. We’d happily help with cleaning, gardening, creative tasks, cooking, and practical projects.

A little more about us individually:
David has studied architecture, horticulture, and permaculture. He spent many years working in and around food; in restaurants, cafes, food production and food education. He has also spent much time working in gardens and plant nurseries. Currently he works fabricating architectural windows and doors, and otherwise is a digital nomad; drafting for Australian design businesses. He loves all-things-plants, DYI building, making soap, and torturing his poor guitar.

Ela studied performance making and education (German & Drama/Dance), dance therapy, peer coaching, and tuning fork sound healing. She currently works as a Relief Teacher, and Bowen Therapist. She also produces for a small experimental festival (hillscenelive.com), is an Artist creating self-devised dance-theatre works, site-responsive improvisation activating public spaces. Ela has previously lived and worked at an international boarding school in Switzerland as a teaching artist and family-head for 14 students. She speaks fluent German.

We try to keep ourselves fit, active, young, and strong—enjoying yoga, swimming, bicycles, and hiking—and are generally early-risers. We have a slight addiction to morning coffee. While we are GF, mostly plant eaters, and sometimes carnivores; we have a no-judgement policy to food. We are social and warm, yet also value having some quiet, private time to recharge and regenerate. We value curiosity, health, respectful connection, and nature.
This last summer, we spent driving up and down the east coast of Australia in our van, enjoying simplicity: sunrises, ocean baths, op shops in small towns, cooked meals, and the smell of nature.

We are unapologetic word nerds and bookworms (recent and perennial favourites include Paulo Coelho, Eckhart Tolle, Mattias Desmet, Milan Kundera, Herman Hesse, Alain de Botton, Jack Kerourac, Marcus Aurelius, and Dr. Seuss) and are often found buried in a novel, pretending briefly that the rest of the world doesn’t exist.

Our hope this time around is to find a 1–3 week stay between mid-June and July 2026 in Sardinia, or maybe a quiet Greek island (open to other suggestions too). We would appreciate having our own space to retreat to. We are happy to fend for ourselves most of the time, yet keen to share meals and stories. We are hoping to connect with trustworthy, ethical, like-minded hosts who value kindness, joy, and knowledge sharing.

We are responsible, respectful over-40s with kind hearts, youthful spirits, curious minds, and sincere intentions. We’d love to connect and see if we’re a good match. Thanks so much for taking the time to read our profile!

Interests

Events & social

Sustainability

Self development

Culture

Van life

Writing

Performing arts

Photography

Languages

Gardening

Books

DIY & crafts

Art & design

Architecture

Cooking & food

Mountain

Outdoor activities

Yoga / Wellness

Nature

Hiking

Beach

Camping

Languages

Languages spoken
German: Fluent
English: Fluent
Italian: Beginner

More 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.

Find a language partner

Skills and knowledge we'd like to share or learn

We're interested in:  

House & pet sitting

Languages

Teaching

Creative DIY projects

Life at a Farmstay

Creating/ Cooking family meals

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Some knowledge of:  

Eco Projects

Light gardening

Light maintenance

More details about your skills

Ela studied performance making and education (German & Drama/Dance), dance therapy, peer coaching, and tuning fork sound healing. She currently works as a Relief Teacher, and Bowen Therapist. She also produces for a small experimental festival (hillscenelive.com), is and Artist creating self-devised dance-theatre works, site-responsive improvisation activating public spaces. Ela has previously lived and worked at an international boarding school in Switzerland as a teaching artist and family-head for 14 students. She speaks fluent German, gardens, ferments, hikes, sings in the car, reads and podcasts a lot! Interested in what makes us human, fascia, quantum physics, energy medicine and community.

Age

46 & 46

Some more information

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  Smoker

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  Driver's licence

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  Allergies

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  Special dietary requirements