Essan

Netherlands
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Travel information
I am currently
Travelling
My next destination:
Plovdiv, Bulgaria - from Jun 2026 until Jul 2026
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Description
Versatile Problem-Solver & Consultant | Passionate about Community, Nature, and Meaningful Connections

Hi, I'm Essan. I'm a 40-year-old traveler from the Netherlands, currently exploring the world at my own pace.

My background is in Industrial Engineering and Human Resources, with a focus on leadership and organizational culture. After years in the corporate world, I decided to build my own consultancy. I help organizations rethink leadership beyond just revenue and profit, rooted in servant leadership, genuine connection, and sustainable growth. Alongside my travels, I dedicate time each day to developing this work, so I really appreciate calm, well-organized environments where I can contribute meaningfully and still have space for my own projects.

I am a calm, rational person who gets highly energetic about good ideas. I consider myself a lifelong learner. I love deep conversations, psychology, philosophy, and exploring new concepts. When I am not working or learning, you can find me enjoying nature, hiking, camping, cooking delicious vegan food, or geeking out over technology, gaming (chess!), and a good dance party.

What I Bring
I am a reliable and hands-on person. I naturally bring structure, calmness, and organization to my environment. My engineering brain means I am solution-oriented and a quick learner. If I don't know how to do something, I will figure it out.
• People & Mind Work: I enjoy people-oriented tasks like reception, hosting, bartending, guest services, staff training, and organizing workshops. Teaching comes naturally to me, and I love making people think.
• Quiet & Practical Tasks: I am equally happy with quieter responsibilities like house sitting, pet sitting (can train dogs), light maintenance, and keeping things running smoothly behind the scenes.
• Cooking: I am vegan and absolutely love preparing healthy, hearty plant-based meals.

My Workaway Experience
I have been fortunate to volunteer in some really diverse settings over the past year:
• Portugal (2.5 months): Permaculture project in the mountains where I learned about sustainable farming, soil regeneration, and eco-building practices.
• El Salvador (2.5 months): Taught English to children, organized leadership and self-development workshops, and supported a local community foundation.
• Guatemala, El Paredon (1 month): Bar work, guest services, organization, and general maintenance at a popular hostel.
• Guatemala, Antigua (1 month): Staff training and process improvements for a hotel, bar, and restaurant.
• Chirpan, Bulgaria (2 months): I took care of two lovely dogs, trained them and did some gardening work.

What I'm Looking For
I am drawn to longer stays of a few months when the connection and fit are right. I am in no rush and value quality over quantity, both in work and in relationships.

Ideally, I am looking for a fair balance. I will give you my absolute best energy during volunteer hours, and in my free time, I need a quiet space with decent Wi-Fi to work on my business. Because I am seeking a mature, respectful exchange, I prefer to avoid heavy physical labor or high-energy party hostels.

Right now, I am exploring Eastern Europe starting with Bulgaria, and I am also very open to the Turkish and Middle Eastern regions. I thrive in places with milder climates and where English is easily spoken.
Interests
Pets
Languages
Photography
Events & social
Camping
Yoga / Wellness
Vegetarian or vegan
Technology
Team sports
Self development
Politics / Social justice
Outdoor activities
Nature
Music
Movies & TV
Hiking
Fitness
Dancing
Cooking & food
Books
Beach
Adventure sports
Animals
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Dutch: Fluent
Persian (Farsi): Intermediate
More details about my language interests
I'm interested in learning basic new languages.
Find a language partner
Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn
I'm interested in:
Charity Work
Art Projects
Eco Projects
Light gardening
Creative DIY projects
Animal Care
Life at a Farmstay
Helping around the house
Light maintenance
House & pet sitting
Able to teach about:
Languages
Teaching
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Hospitality/Tourism
Helping with Computers/ Internet
More details about your skills
Essan is knowledgeable about computers, food, sports, business, leadership. He likes to coach and teach.
Age
40
What else ...
Essan loves board games, strategy games and in general to learn new things.
Some more information
- Smoker
- Driver's licence
- Allergies
- Special dietary requirements
  Vegan

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11 Aug 2025

Left by Workawayer () for host (Become a co-creator on our ...)

We spent 2.5 months at the beautiful place that Eric and Joelle have created in central of Portugal. The communication upfront was frank and nice and we had immediately a good connection with both of them. You do sense that they are caring and want to make sure that there is a good fit between your expectations and what they can offer. I found it… read more pleasant that there was a lot of room for your own wishes and that you can talk about it. After a good talk by phone we went there in May 2025 and were introduced to the 2 hectare of land and the communal house.

All kind of basic needs was there, from a good stocked kitchen of herbs, to the plentiful fresh garden of vegetables. The wifi was stable, fast also. Though you do have to bring biodegradable shampoo/toothpaste/soap, although they do make their own soaps. Electricity and water was also good, though they do like to put chlorine in their water in Portugal. Tip, go to the natural sources of water from the mountains, which there are in some villages surrounding Sobral (where they live). They have a small male cat which we do have to discuss: one of the best pet ever! Super cute and playful, foodie, and sleepy head.

The work itself was mainly DIY projects or work on the land. For instance taking care of the existing plants but also planting new baby's. Giving water especially in the dry season and brush mowing the long weed grass. It's all doable and you can discuss what your preference is, in what order you want to do something throughout the day and see which one has more priority. Freedom of choice but also autonomy is important for Eric, so if you're the kind of taking responsibility and care then it will work out for you. A typical day was about 4 hours work a day, with free weekends, although there were instances that we wanted to finish a project in the weekend. There is freedom to schedule your own work week. If you like to communicate, then you'll fit the place.

We are vegans ourself, that wasn't a problem at their place. Eric bought the groceries that we couldn't get from the land and was fine with getting the things that we needed, though we only wanted the basic plant-based foods like fruits and vegetables. We cooked mainly the daily dinner and shared it with them, which caused that we had nice talks at dinner time. We are talkers ourself and they too, so we shared a lot of stories, which Eric also really likes to do.

Eric is a wonderful human being which has a heart full of love, for plants, animals and other humans. He is kind of a hipi, spiritual soul which likes to share stories and help you out if you're struggling with something. One of his goals is to give you the possibility to learn new things which you can do on the land, from projects to taking care of plants. Joëlle is also lovely soul, which makes them both together very pleasant to interact with. She loves to teach you about permaculture and healthy eating/lifestyle. Spirituality is also important for her and if you need female help then you should definitely ask her. We are happy to have them meet and see them as our new friends in Portugal. We hope to have the opportunity to go back in the future to see how the place has shaped.

Good to know for the volunteer:
There is a compost toilet in the garden but also a bathroom of the communal house, though you can't flush toilet paper because the waste is made compost of.
Keep in mind that land attracts all kind of insects, for instance fly's and spiders. If you are very sensitive to this, then you should avoid this opportunity.
The washing liquid for the washing machine and the dish washing liquid they make themselves biodegradable.
The friendly neighbor has three dogs, which get exited sometimes and start to bark, though never at night.
There is a black cat in the village which fights with the pet cat at night now and then, which makes you suffer because you can't help out.
Keep in mind that you are like 40 minutes by car from the nearest city center, which makes it hard to get groceries for yourself or go to a restaurant for instance if you don't have a car.
About 17 individuals live in the village of Sobral, so don't expect a lot of social life and interaction.

In conclusion we found it a very beautiful place to stay in the mountains with a lot of variety of plants, flowers and animals. We really enjoyed the hikes from village to village throughout the mountains and enjoyed exploring the rustic houses of Portugal. We can recommend the host and place for anyone who likes to escape the city life and work with their hands.

Love Essan and Klaudia.

(Excellent)