Jelmer

Travel information

I am currently

Activities i am interested in:

Anything outdoors! But open to meet people in general, also happy to just meet up and chill :)

Description

Hello! I'm Jelmer from the Netherlands and for the last few years I have been a machine learning scientist. Although I think technology is very interesting, I've realized that an office job does not bring me happiness; I need to be out in nature.

For the last four years, I have therefore been growing my own vegetables (permaculture style) in the garden of my rented apartment. I couldn't grow enough vegetables to feed myself, but it was so much fun that I decided to quit my job indefinitely to start traveling through Southern Europe in search for a place to move to and start my own self-sufficient homestead.

In the year that I've been traveling through Spain and Portugal, I have had 10+ great experiences that taught me more about farming, permaculture and self-sufficiency. I have really fallen in love with (and focused my projects on) bioconstruction and hope to build my own strawbale house one day. Other than that I also really enjoy hiking, traveling and physical activity in general, and workaway has been the perfect opportunity to combine all of the above while also meeting amazing people and improving my foreign language skills.

After a short break back in the Netherlands I'm now very eager to explore beautiful Greece, this time not as a tourist like in past visits but with an eye on moving there permanently. At this point I speak (besides English and Dutch) confident Spanish, broken Portuguese and I'm eager to add Greek to the mix as well!


Note that I've been using both Workaway and WWOOF, so I have received some WWOOF reviews as well. I've included a screenshot but they're in Spanish, so here are a few of them translated if you're interested:

- SARA (BIOTZABE): Very communicative, autonomous and responsible. It has been a pleasure to share these weeks. Thank you very much!

- NATXO: Although short, Jelmer's stay with us turned out to be very interesting and profitable. We can highlight that he is a very intelligent, polite, generous, considerate, caring and very willing to listen and collaborate. It would be great to have the opportunity to share knowledge and conversations with him again for a longer stay and we can only recommend him as a volunteer to any farm that has the opportunity to host him.
Best of luck in your future endeavors Jelmer!

- IRATI: Jelmer is a very nice, polite and interesting guy. We have enjoyed very much sharing experiences with him for 3 weeks and he has helped us a lot in the project. He speaks Spanish very well and has also been interested in Basque. He has understood very well with our 3 year old daughter and with the people he has met here. As for the work, he likes to do things well, learn and finish the tasks he has started.
It has been a pleasure.

- NATHALIE: Jelmer is a fellow countryman of mine from Holland.
He is a very polite and respectful person, I have enjoyed having him in the house and we have been able to move forward with the irrigation installation which is a very important part of the farmhouse, he is very interested in nature and I like that.
I wish him the best of luck.

Interests

Books

Self development

Vegetarian or vegan

Technology

Sustainability

Gardening

Mountain

Music

Outdoor activities

Nature

Languages

Hiking

Events & social

Farming

DIY & crafts

Camping

Languages spoken

English: Fluent
Dutch: Fluent
Spanish: Beginner

Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn

I'm interested in:  

Eco Projects

Life at a Farmstay

DIY and building projects

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Some knowledge of:  

Gardening

Helping around the house

General Maintenance

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Able to teach about:  

Helping with Computers/ Internet

More details about your skills

So far, I have experience with various permaculture practices, garden work and growing food in general, and am also very passionate about (bio) construction.

In previous workaway-style projects (also WWOOF) and around my own home I have independently done minor construction projects such as installing a sink, building a compost bin and garden table, installing an irrigation system, insulating a cabin with wood fiber and cork, applying lime plasters, etc.

I also have experience helping others do bigger tasks such as building walls (out of bricks or a straw/clay mixture) and large wooden structures.

In general, I'm a fast and very eager learner and I like trying new things and figuring out how they work, so I'm open to whatever needs to be done. I even get excited when I simply get to use a new kind of tool ;)

Age

28

What else ...

I think my description is already quite descriptive ;) But I'm a man of many interests, and beyond learning and generally trying new things I really love music, reading, board games and good conversations.

Probably useful to know: I travel around in my own little car, so don't need help with transportation!

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
  I'm a vegetarian but I do eat eggs and milk-based products when available.