Els

Netherlands
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Travel information
I am currently
Travelling
Description
Hi all!

My name is Els I am 23 years old and from the Netherlands.
So here is a little bit about me :)

As long as I can remember my parents have been taking me and my siblings on long sailing holidays all around Europe. The feeling of peace and the incredibly beautiful sunsets and marine life we encountered during those times is something I will never forget. I think those holidays were the base for my love for the sea and nature overall.

I have completed the study water management en worked in this field for a little while. I really enjoyed getting to know more about marine ecosystems and worked for a bit at a diving center in Tenerife. This was a really great time in my life, but I realized that my real passion was to work with animals. This is why I am currently studying to become a veterinary assistant and work at an animal shelter in my free time.

At the moment I am in between school assignments and have the time to explore again! I am really interested in Scandinavia and living close to and with nature. I would really like to learn how to become self-sufficient and some handywoman skills. Also, I would love to work with animals and gain a bit more experience in this field, before returning to the Netherlands where I will start with my internship at a veterinary clinic.

Overall my interests are: Nature, camping, hiking, swimming, sailing, canoeing and of course animals.

I look forward to meeting like-minded people!
Interests
Pets
Plant care
Mountain
Animals
Carpentry
Self development
Charity work
Camping
Hiking
Water sports
Yoga / Wellness
Adventure sports
Fitness
Sailing / Boating
Outdoor activities
Sustainability
Beach
Nature
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Dutch: Fluent
More details about my language interests
I would really like to learn swedish and if requested I can teach dutch or english
Find a language buddy
Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn
I'm interested in:
Languages
Teaching
DIY and building projects
General Maintenance
Life at a Farmstay
Babysitting and creative play
Some knowledge of:
Eco Projects
Charity Work
Gardening
Animal Care
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Helping around the house
Hospitality/Tourism
More details about your skills
My skills:

* I work at an animal shelter and study to become a veterinary assistant

*I am a divemaster!

*I have experience in executing marine research

*I have worked quite a lot on surfcamps, my duties there where:
-cooking for 100+ people
-cleaning
-housekeeping
-hospitality

*I have worked a little bit in a kitchen garden as well, I am not very experienced in that field, but I did enjoy it and I am willing to learn more about it.

That basically counts for any other type of job, I am open and excited about learning new skills!
Age
24
What else ...
-
Some more information
- Smoker
- Driver's licence
- Allergies
  no
- Special dietary requirements
  no

Feedback

10 Jul 2023

Left by host (Small regenerative farm with ...) for Workawayer (Els)

Els was an absolute joy to have around. She was kind, funny, helpful, full of humour, but took the work that we did very seriously.

Els is currently studying to become a veterinary assistant. This proved to be a great for our operation, where sheep and rabbits are the most important elements of the work.

Both sheep and rabbits had a… read more particularly tough early spring. The warmest winter on record (I'm pretty sure), followed by a very dry early spring, left us with unusually low quality hay. Never before has this led to loss of condition of both the sheep and rabbits, but this spring it did. The loss of condition coincided with the arrival of the lambs and the little bunnies, which further worsened the condition of the mature females. When Els arrived, we were dealing with having to bring the mothers and their young back in condition. Unfortunately we had to deal with two bunnies which didn't make it through. But with Els' knowledge we did manage to nurse one mother rabbit back to health who was truly skin over bones. Els also treated a few wounds that the male rabbits managed to inflict upon each other, which then healed very nicely.

Her knowledge and care and love for animals showed in everything she did with the sheep and rabbits, as well as in how she was with the cats and dog.

She learned very quickly how to shear sheep with hand scissors, on a shearing table which we built from scratch together. She arrived with fairly limited building skills, but she picked up how to work with drills, hammers, screwdrivers, debarking tools, axes, saws, etc., very quickly. The table was constructed using mortice and tennon connections, and several other somewhat advanced methods. I think she'd be able to build one by herself now!

Working with sheep on our farm is a very intensive thing. We use the holistically planned grazing method, which involves daily and sometimes twice daily moves to fresh paddocks. To do this well, and plan the moves well, you have to read the state of both the vegetation in the paddocks, as the gut fill, condition, and behaviour of the sheep. Els picked this up very rapidly as well. By the end of her stay she could have managed the sheep by herself.

Yet another thing she picked up quite easily was scything. We use the scythe daily during the growing season to harvest grass for the rabbits. But we also try and produce as much hay as we can for winter use for both the rabbits and sheep. She took part in that whole process, from scything, turning the hay, and collecting it for storage in the barn.

We also built a large wooden structure as an outdoor rabbit hutch. Here, too, we made mortice and tennon connections for a roundwood skeleton for the building. But while the mortice and tennons were made with a special drill setup for the shearing table, for this structure we worked only with chisels and saws. Once the skeleton was up, we made a door, and finsished the structure with planks.

Some of the wood used for the hutch came from trees from our own woodland. Els learned how to use an axe to safely and effectively cut down trees with a diameter up to 20 centimeters, and then process the whole tree into debarked roundwood of desired length for building purposes.

Some of the wood she helped make into firewood with a splitting axe.

Other jobs included turning large compost heaps (hot composting method), planting vegetables in the vegetable garden, weeding and general maintenance of said vegetable garden.

Last but not least, she taught us new Dutch children's songs, and helped us remember old ones.

Els, it was really lovely to have you here, and if you'd ever want to come back, you would be most welcome!

(Excellent )

2 Jul 2023

Left by Workawayer (Els) for host (Small regenerative farm with ...)

I stayed with Arthur and Carla for 7 amazing weeks (in spring and summer). It was my first workaway experience and even though I did not really know what to expect it exceeded my expectations. They really made me feel at home and there was not a moment that i felt uncomfortable. They both have a really great sense of humour and you can have good… read more

(Excellent )