Marieke

Travel information

I am currently

Description

Marieke in a couple of key words: open-minded * eager to learn * lots of energy * caring * looking for an inspiring (farm)stay to connect with myself, people and nature, while getting my arms tired and my hands dirty.

And now, Marieke in some more words :)

* Me *
I am an enthousiastic student from the Netherlands in love with life - or a little more specifically, in love with people, nature, music, sports, science and agriculture. I am bright-minded and I love challenges and adventure. I can be around people for a long time, and I easily adapt to my surroundings, but sometimes I can be a bit introverted and need some time to re-charge.

* Study and Agriculture *
I am currently finishing my Master's of Plant Sciences / Agronomy in Wageningen, where I have been driven by one question: how can we feed the world in a sustainable and future-proof manner? As it turns out, that is quite a complicated question. The more I learned, the less I knew. But one thing becomes clearer and clearer to me: that we will not find the answers if we look only at theory behind our laptops... And on a broader sense, that we will not find the answers in technical solutions, or perhaps in science at all. I believe that people, especially in countries such as The Netherlands, have lost connection with nature and food, and ourselves, and each other. As long as food is considered purely a commodity, no substantial changes to the food system can be made. I believe in bringing people and nature back together - starting with myself. After years of studying plants and agriculture, I have barely experienced the practical side of food production. I want to go back to the basis and connect with the soil, plants, nature - in real life, not from my laptop! Therefore I would love to gain experiences from many different farms worldwide to get this experience, inspiration and connection.

* Hobbies *
Apart from my studies, I am a busy bee with a lot of hobbies - partly because I love learning new skills, partly because there are simply too many things to choose from. This includes music (at this moment: harp, piano, and ukelele), sports (volleyball, squash, mountainbiking, swimming), and some drawing and painting (not very good at it, but I love the process). At the same time, I also really like to just sit down now and then, do some yoga, read some books and relax.

* Workaways *
Workaway strongly attracts me because it combines the beauty of travelling with the joy of connecting with others, and learning a lot in the process. I truly enjoy seeing different places in the world, but I also dislike the consuming, one-directional nature of tourism, and as a result I actually haven't travelled a lot - but Workaway seems the perfect solution for this! What I'm hoping for is to find a place where I can work on a farm and learn about the practice of sustainable agriculture, while really connecting to the people and the surroundings.

I have been on two workaways before and both have been very valuable experiences. In both cases, the experience was not purely positive, but it taught me so much about myself! The main thing I learned is that I really appreciate concrete instructions and some clear guidance on what to do - it is all about expectation management. So if your project is very free and open and creative, it may not be the place for me. If we can communicate about this before, I can contribute most to your place, and it would be very helpful for all of us :)

Interests

Languages

Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Dutch: Fluent
French: Intermediate
German: Beginner

More details about my language interests
I'd like to enhance my skills in French, German or any new language, and I can teach Dutch and English.

Find a language buddy

Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn

I'm interested in:  

DIY and building projects

Life at a Farmstay

Art Projects

Languages

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Some knowledge of:  

Gardening

Eco Projects

Charity Work

More details about your skills

I would describe myself as an "eager beginner" in a lot of things - I love learning new skills so I'm usually about 50% skill and 50% enthousiasm.

* Agronomy, Science & Farms *
I study agronomy so I know a bit about sustainable agriculture (including organic, biodynamic, circular, permaculture, food forestry), so I can have nice theoretical discussions about this topic. Also I'm just generally at home in scientific studies so always up for interesting conversations about that.
Sadly, my study has been very theoretical so I do not have a lot of practical agricultural experience. I tried my best to get some experience here and there, by helping out a farmer nearby, participating in a community student farm, and following a beekeeping course. Still, I have a lot to learn and experience on this topic and I hope you will help me with that!

* Cooking *
I enjoy cooking and although I'm not a chef, I think I can do a fine job at it! I especially like cooking for bigger groups because somehow I just love the challenge and the feeling of cutting a ton of onions and stirring in big pots. I'm a vegetarian with a hint of vegan so you should not let me prepare meat, but I know my way around plant-based meals :)

* Practical skills *
Practical jobs are also among my favorites. I've never really learned a particular skill so there's nothing I'm excellent at, but I do have a lot of small practical experiences, from work in the garden to painting, placing wooden fences, general carpentry, doing things with wood and saws and screws et cetera. So with the right instruction I can quickly pick up new practical skills!

* Music *
Lastly, I love music! I play the harp and piano pretty well and I'm trying to learn guitar and ukelele now, and I'll probably bring my ukulele with me on my trip :) I really believe that music can unite people, and to me, few things feel better than playing some music together and singing along to the same song. I would also love to learn some new instruments or songs!

Age

24

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
  vegetarian or vegan