Matthew & Joanne

  • United Kingdom
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Profile information

  • Travel information

    We are currently

    Travelling

    Our next destination:

    Czechia
    View all
  • Description

    *please note we do not require payment for volunteering. We are happy for the workaway exchange of food and accommodation for agreed hours worked*

    Hi, we're Matt and Jo, a married couple from England and we have sold our house and given up our jobs to become permanent 'work-awayers'. We've now been volunteering for several hosts since summer 2013.

    Matt is a qualified Land Surveyor and wanted a change from living in a city and from the job he had done for years. Jo was an institutional fundraiser for a wildlife conservation charity.
    We love travelling and when visiting a new place we like to learn about the history and local culture and sample local food. We spent 12 months from April 2011 travelling around the world to lots of interesting countries that we'd never visited before. Upon returning, we always wanted to continue the travelling lifestyle.
    We enjoy wildlife and regularly visit nature reserves and National Parks in the UK to see what we can spot. We also love breath-taking scenery and most of our photo albums are filled with landscapes, mountains and water scenes, with the rest being animals/wildlife.
    We like to do our bit for the environment and think it is important to maintain as much green space for nature as possible.
    We enjoy listening to a huge variety of music (nothing really 'mainstream' though) and attend gigs, concerts and festivals whenever possible. We also enjoy watching a variety of live sports especially cricket.
    We both enjoy reading, from old classics to more current novels. We enjoy watching films and comedy, and Jo loves Harry Potter (books, films, magic, anything related!).
    We enjoy visiting interesting pubs and bars to have a pint of craft beer or cider.
    Jo loves crafts and making things (knitting, crochet, feltwork, needlecraft etc). She makes anything from flowers and cats to scarves and jumpers in any array of colours and wools.

  • Interests

    Technology
    Carpentry
    DIY & crafts
    Photography
    Self development
    Vegetarian or vegan
    Sustainability
    Pets
    Outdoor activities
    Movies & TV
    History
    Hiking
    Gardening
    Charity work
    Books
    Architecture
    Farming
    Culture
    Plant care
    Music

    show more
  • Languages spoken

    English: Fluent
    Icelandic: Beginner

  • Skills and knowledge we'd like to share or learn

    Some knowledge of:  

    Gardening
    DIY and building projects
    General Maintenance
    Creating/ Cooking family meals
    Life at a Farmstay
    Eco Projects
    Helping around the house
    Animal Care
    Charity Work
    Art Projects
  • More details about your skills

    We've both been home owners in England and undertook maintenance of inside and outdoor areas.

    We are both physically fit and not afraid of hard work. In addition, we would love to learn new skills and are always willing to help out where needed.

    We’ve worked for many different workaway hosts giving us experience in:
    Farming
    Estate management
    Maintenance and building
    Gardening
    Tourist Accommodation & Guesthouses
    House-sitting - At several places, we have been lucky enough to be given the responsibility of looking after the farms, businesses, homes and animals whilst the owners were away.


    Projects we helped with include:

    Maintenance and building:
    Repair and insulation of stable roof
    Kitchen and tourist apartments renovation
    Building 'free-range' chicken house
    Building raised flower beds
    Painting
    Wallpapering
    Putting up shelves and flat-pack furniture
    Measuring up, cutting and laying carpets

    Estate Management & Gardening:
    Mowing lawns and fields
    Strimming
    Weeding and pruning
    Planting
    Fruit and vegetable picking
    Tree Clearance
    Leaf blowing
    Fencing and gate hanging
    Road repairs
    Landscaping
    Preparing gardens and grounds to host events
    Clearing garages and steadings

    Farm work:
    Hay-making using tractor
    Sheep and horse gathering
    Feeding animals including cows, calves, sheep, chickens, ducks, dogs, horses
    Milking cows and goats
    Cleaning chicken houses, cow-houses and milking systems
    Assisting with lamb and calf births
    Sheep tagging and marking
    Using small tractor/loader to distribute hay/straw bales

  • Age

    46 & 43

  • Some more information

    • Smoker

    • Driver's licence

    • Allergies
      No

    • Special dietary requirements
      if we have the choice we prefer plant rather than animal based food

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