Margaret

Travel information

I am currently

Description

So, what brings me to Workaway?

I'm Canadian-born, and a world citizen in my early 50s. Most of my life I have been self-employed and I currently work online, part time, leaving me plenty of time to contribute to a Workaway project. I love meeting people, discovering how others carve out their path to creating home, shaping their lifestyle, and I'd like to participate in helping others move toward those goals.

From 2009 to end of 2019, I lived in Mexico. I have travelled much of that country and coordinated food tours and cooking courses in multiple cities. This experience was full of complexities and personal growth. I am still working on a project that is related to food biodiversity in Mexico.

I am open to travelling anywhere and would especially like to learn from others who are building co-housing, retreats, eco-communities, hosting travellers in various ways, Within the next 5 years, I hope to start building something of my own and hosting Workawayers! I have an Irish passport, which is handy for opportunities in Europe and am most interested in living along the Camino de Santiago.

I'm an asset in the kitchen as I have many years experience in restaurants and as a private chef and caterer. I love learning about wild foods, and cooking with what I find! I would like to learn more about permaculture and am happy to help out in a garden or small farm, though I don't have any particular expertise with that (I did have chickens, once, but a fox ate them!)

In my life, I have participated in refurbishing 3 houses of my own. I am comfortable with painting, plastering, tiling, small repairs, and basic construction and always happy to learn more especially alternative builds. I learned some metal sculpture skills many years ago so I am reasonably comfortable with power tools and welding torches, though I wouldn't want to be leading a project like that, myself.

I am somewhat of an introvert, though I like to be around small groups of people and do enjoy cooking/sharing meals with others!
Meditation is an important part of my morning routine and I have done dhamma service at Vipassana courses. This kind of service brings me great fulfillment.

Each day I must attend to my online job for 2-4 hours (at any time of day and not continuous) so I will need a good internet connection. I set my own hours so I can work around your scheduled tasks without any problem!

I'd also love to connect with travel buddies... travelling solo can become rather expensive and it's so nice to build new relationships and share memories (and good meals!)

Looking forward to meeting you!

Interests

Languages

Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: Intermediate

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.

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Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn

I'm interested in:  

Gardening

DIY and building projects

Life at a Farmstay

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Some knowledge of:  

Eco Projects

Helping with Computers/ Internet

Teaching

Charity Work

General Maintenance

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Able to teach about:  

Creating/ Cooking family meals

Hospitality/Tourism

Languages

Art Projects

More details about your skills

-cooking. I'm especially resourceful with ingredients-- no waste, making something delicious from very little. Wild foods/ foraging
-English speaking/ coaching. Often, communicating in a foreign language is more a question of confidence than actual vocabulary or verb conjugations. I have learned this to be true in my own Spanish-speaking, and the same applies to people who are trying to learn English. I hope I can help!
- Hospitality/Tourism. Ensuring guests and customers have a great experience.
-light carpentry and basic construction (I can hammer nails, screw in screws, drill holes, measure twice, cut once... )
-painting and plastering
- cleaning (as long as it's not for a perfectionist!)
-eagerness to learn, fun to be around (though I do need some quiet time for my own thoughts and meditation)

Age

57

What else ...

I try to meditate every day, but am not deeply into a lifestyle that would be considered spiritual. I do eat meat on occasion but I make that a very conscious choice (especially as it relates to the source) and generally when cooking for myself it is 90% vegetables. Finally, I cannot be around smokers.

Some more information

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  Smoker

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  Driver's licence

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  Allergies
  no

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  Special dietary requirements
  General rule is that I avoid processed foods. Otherwise, I eat what is offered, prefer plants, limited animal proteins