Monika & Thomas

Travel information

We are currently

Description

Hi there, thank you for looking at our profile!

I (Monika) come originally from Slovakia but I spent the last 9 years in New Zealand where I've done volunteering all around the country. I met my partner Tom, together we traveled across Europe in 2019 and volunteered on 3 different olive farms in Southern Italy, picking olives traditional way and learnt how to make olive oil, we picked mushrooms in Tuscan forest, did lots of gardening, general help around the house and much more.

We love cooking, baking, gardening, landscaping, all sorts of outdoor activities and DIY projects.

We care a lot about the environment and try to produce as little waste as possible, we use organic eco-friendly products, recycle & re-purpose, and love to give things a second chance...we try to be good to this planet in general.

'Real Jobs':

Dental technician- currently resigned from my job so I can go back to Europe to visit my family and hopefully do more volunteering :)

Also I am a (paid sometimes) photographer, I love upcycling furniture, landscaping, baking bread and making preserves from the food we grow.

Tom is a "blogger", his business is a website about the craft of meat curing (dry-cured & smoked goods). Tom loves camping, passionate people, fishing, gardening, talking:) (if you want to improve your English he is the right person).

Tom has worked in business/retail sales, and renewable solar energy, govt and managed several businesses with staff up to 20 people.

It would be awesome to meet like-minded people and maybe learn new skills :)

We are autonomous if needed, and work hard! :-)

We are interested mainly in woofing on farms in a rural environment, we love to work with animals and nurture plants. Learning more about permaculture, food forests, and how to cook your traditional dishes is definitely what we would love :-)

Interests

Languages spoken

English: Fluent
Slovak: Fluent

Skills and knowledge we'd like to share or learn

We're interested in:  

Gardening

DIY and building projects

Creating/ Cooking family meals

Life at a Farmstay

Eco Projects

Helping around the house

Animal Care

Charity Work

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Some knowledge of:  

Being an elderly companion

More details about your skills

We both grew up in the countryside so growing & propagating plants, doing the lawns, looking after animals and general work around the house are very common for us.
I have a Masters Degree in Natural Sciences, after University, I decided to travel and got ''stuck' in New Zealand for almost 5 years. I traveled all around New Zealand and seasonally worked around various horticultural industries. Including kiwifruit orchards, cherry orchards, organic/biodynamic vineyards, blueberry farms, and citrus farm - I am not afraid of getting my hands dirty! I worked in clean eating organic cafes as well both in the kitchen and service aspects.
My last role was a customer service role for a small family business, LilyBee Wraps which hand makes eco-friendly products - beeswax wraps which are used as a replacement for cling foil/plastic cling film. This job definitely changed our lives.
We started to see plastic everywhere around us and we became more aware of what we buy. We are far from being zero waste but we try to do our best. For example, choosing paper packaging, using refill stations for our soap, shampoo, saying no to plastic bags, recycling...
I have a big passion for upcycling old furniture, just give me a sander and paint and I can do miracles. :) She loves landscaping, baking sourdough bread, photography.
Tom worked as a renewable energy consultant & commerical energy auditor in Australia and New Zealand. He has had other professional jobs in the commerical and government sectors. (but he has never really liked working in an office environment).
He is technically minded and very good around digital or computer technology. Social media and internet marketing is now one of his passions.
He recently started writing a blog (www.eatcuredmeat.com) about cured meat. He loves making his own bacon, salami, sausages...He is an ethical hunter, hunting for meat and only harvesting what he can use and share.
He is a handyman, together with me we have built furniture we are quite proud of!
Tom is an english native speaker and has a gift for talking, if you want to improve your english, he is the right person to talk to :)
We both Love animals so If you have a furry friend thats a big + :)

Age

34 & 45

What else ...

gardening, sourdough/baking, fishing, foraging, renewable projects, animal training - lots of varied experiences to draw from!

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