Nicole & Gijs

United States & Netherlands
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Travel information
We are currently
Travelling
Description
We are a hardworking couple, who originally met in Budapest, Hungary in the summer of 2015 while traveling, and we've been on an adventure together ever since! Gijs is a Forest & Nature Conservationist and Nicole is an educator by profession. We are both invested in environmental justice activism and are eager to support community-lead/managed, regenerative projects related to the protection of local/native flora and fauna.

We have been on the Workaway platform for quite some time, backpacking Latin America from Guatemala to Peru from September 2018 until February 2020. When we returned, we spent the better part of three years as live-in caretakers for a Bed & Breakfast in Amsterdam, which gave us a tremendous amount of experience in hospitality (from running a hotel to organizing/hosting social events to operating social media accounts to managing a community garden). We later continued doing workaway in South East Asia, where we spent substantial time in the rainforests and helped out on several local smallholder farms. And most recently, we have spent the last year in Spain (6 months in Catalunya and 4 months in Asturias, so far).

After these diverse and enriching experiences, we hope to find a place where we can put down our bags for a longer period and be(come) part of a lasting community of living beings. We continuously look forward to forging new friendships, embracing unexpected opportunities, indulging in novel experiences, and immersing ourselves in the cultures of the communities we will help & live in. :)
Interests
Writing
History
Cooking & food
Beach
Photography
Hiking
Sustainability
Gardening
Camping
Vegetarian or vegan
Outdoor activities
Cycling
Books
Animals
Van life
Politics / Social justice
Nature
Farming
Culture
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: Intermediate
More details about my language interests
Nicole is a certified TEFL teacher and public school teacher. Gijs is fluent in: English, Dutch, and Spanish (with the ability to teach English)
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Skills and knowledge we'd like to share or learn
We're interested in:
Life at a Farmstay
Eco Projects
Animal Care
Charity Work
Some knowledge of:
Gardening
DIY and building projects
General Maintenance
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Helping around the house
Art Projects
Able to teach about:
Babysitting and creative play
Hospitality/Tourism
Languages
Teaching
More details about your skills
Nicole: TEFL certified, BS in Elementary Education, Hotel/Restaurant/Hospitality experience, Gardening/Composting experience, some Social Media marketing experience, Strong writer/editor

Gijs: BS in Economics, Business, & Life Science, Masters student of Forest & Nature Conservation, Circular business owner, writer for Wageningen University (Environmental Science), Hotel/Restaurant/Hospitality experience, English teaching experience, Fluent in Dutch, English, Spanish
Age
44 & 28
What else ...
We are very passionate about sustainability, food sovereignty, and social/environmental justice.
Some more information
- Smoker
- Driver's licence
- Allergies
  Nuts
- Special dietary requirements
  Mainly vegetarian / vegan when possible

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26 Aug 2024

Left by host for Workawayer ()

Thank you Nicole & Gijs. We truly enjoyed having you stay with us here in Asturias . You’re a great team and know what it’s like to follow through with a job from start to finish. Good luck with your project of restoring the forest.
Judy

(Excellent )

22 Jun 2024

Left by Workawayer () for host (Join us in the spectacular ...)

Wow..Judy and Juan Carlos have such a special spot on the map, and we were so lucky to be able to indulge in a little bit of it for about 3 weeks. We were spoiled with a super comfy accommodation, complete with spectacular mountain views from inside the national park. They are culinary professionals and made sure that we had a fully stocked… read more

(Excellent )

20 Mar 2024

Left by host (Help welcomed to create a ...) for Workawayer ()

Nicole and Gigs spent 2 weeks here and left it full of nice memories of creative helping and enjoying simple life.. and also they left it with a lot of nudges! Everything they touch becomes better! 👏
When they stay in your place they are going to do everything with love. We were very confortable resolving needs with a mix of creativity, management… read more

(Excellent )

17 Oct 2022

Left by Workawayer () for host (Give us a hand around our ...)

Awe, we love this sweet coffee-loving family so much! We spent about 10 days with Maria, Martin, & family keeping them company in this remote lil spot next to the national park. Martin insisted that we didn't work too much and Maria spoiled us with her home cooking. Maria is endlessly generous with food and taught us a lot about Indonesian cuisine… read more

(Excellent )

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26 Aug 2024

Left by host for Workawayer ()

(Excellent)

22 Jun 2024

Left by Workawayer () for host (Join us in the spectacular ...)

(Excellent)

20 Mar 2024

Left by host (Help welcomed to create a ...) for Workawayer ()

(Excellent)

17 Oct 2022

Left by Workawayer () for host (Give us a hand around our ...)

(Excellent)

5 Sep 2022

Left by Workawayer () for host (Experience the local way of ...)

We loved our stay with Ismail and his family in the small village of Taun Gusi outside of Kota Belud. :) During our 9-day stay, we helped with deep cleaning the guest lodging, moving soil for a new volunteer hut, and beautifying the homestay with a DIY-planter for the bathhouse. On our day off we visited a great lil desolate beach called Nanamun… read more

(Excellent)

28 Jan 2020

Left by Workawayer () for host (Enjoy our space and live in ...)

We stayed for one charming week in Richard's rustic little lodge in the super tranquil town of Cuispes. The journey to Cuispes itself is amazing and mostly accessible by tiny moto (which costs 5-15 soles/pp, depending on the time of day you arrive) high up into the Andes. We were received warmly by the local community, who live largely… read more

(Excellent)

31 Dec 2019

Left by Workawayer () for host (Explore stunning beaches and ...)

We loved our stay with Anna and Steve (and their resident animals)! ❤ Anna has thought of everything when it comes to creating a lovely symbiotic space for workawayers and host...she provides fair and balanced work, clear expectations, flexible hours (which allowed us time to work online, as well), privacy, and super comfy accommodations. We even… read more

(Excellent)

30 Dec 2019

Left by host (Explore stunning beaches and ...) for Workawayer ()

Hosts, don’t miss the opportunity to have these two workawayers.
Nicole and Gijs have the Triple R’s. Responsible , Reliable, Respectful !
Great communicators, always keep their room/kitchen clean, self starters, completed their jobs and Are always so positive and fun.

I loved having them around, and will miss them during our sunset… read more

(Excellent)

17 Jul 2019

Left by Workawayer () for host (Help in our hostel and nature ...)

We stayed about 10 days with Juan Camilo and family back in April. Anna, the Workaway organizer at the time, was super-duper sweet and welcomed us warmly. :heart: We contributed to weekly groceries and prepared delicious foods together in a shared kitchen.

Juan Camilo was very patient, warm, sweet, and kind. He gave us tasks working in the… read more

(Excellent)

6 Apr 2019

Left by Workawayer () for host (Help with gardening at a ...)

Thank you Greg for this amazing :asterisk_symbol:once-in-a-lifetime:asterisk_symbol: opportunity (no exaggeration). Words cannot express our gratitude for the trust, patience, and generosity you provided us. :heart:

We stayed three months in Greg's jungle tree camp, with the task to help upkeep the property and prepare the camp for future… read more business. Greg gave us complete trust with his business and provided us 2.5 months to live independently in his jungle lodge, during which time we created camp lots, hiking paths & steps, & campfire spaces; built signs & outdoor furniture; helped in the general upkeep of the lodge, and managed online marketing. We also hosted several guests toward the end of our stay (for whom we cooked breakfasts, organized local tours, and created communal campfires). We would occasionally walk 40min into town and visit Greg's beach front hotel, where we could enjoy a breakfast buffet, connect to the WiFi, and manage social media accounts for the tent camp. The hotel offers a lovely space, but the staff is quite close-knit, making it difficult for us to create connections or build relationships, despite our best intentions and efforts. Carlos, the lead manager, is a wonderful resource and very helpful with all your needs, but we found it difficult to communicate (perhaps related to our intermediate Spanish, although we did make efforts!) with the rest of the staff and preferred our independent time in the jungle. This kind of workaway is for highly self-motivated, independent workers, who share Greg's vision and love for the outdoors and camping. It's dirty, hot, and uncomfortable hard work, but rewarding and beautiful at the same time.

If you ever get the chance to live in the jungle or hang from suspended tree tents, we recommend seizing this moment. We lived fully isolated in the camp, amongst Howler monkeys, humming birds, and all the creepy crawlies (must love nature!!!). But the lodge was fully equipped with private room, bathroom, laundry facilities, and kitchen for cooking all meals (groceries provided).

The bay area itself is stunning, and we had several opportunities to leave the jungle for the beach (beautiful beaches are within hiking distance) and we even went snorkeling at the famed Caño island!

This area on the map is truly special and we leave with part of hearts in the trees with the monkeys :heart::broken_heart::heart:

(Excellent)

21 Mar 2019

Left by Workawayer () for host (Become social hosts at our ...)

We spent a beautiful three weeks in December sharing our time between this lovely hostel on the volcanic lake and the nearby sister hostel in downtown Granada. The scenery was super tranquil, the people generally friendly, and our hosts (who were in Europe, at the time), were very generous with accommodating volunteers (3 full meals, + bar… read more

(Excellent)

7 Dec 2018

Left by Workawayer () for host (Volunteers with a desire to ...)

Matteo and Se Lena have created an ever-evolving, quaint little beach hostel with impeccable workmanship and charming hospitality. The small staff is welcoming and the entire vibe is relaxed, matching the atmosphere of Las Peñitas perfectly. Everyone speaks Spanish, so it's a great place to practice the language if you can leave the comforts of… read more

(Excellent)

2 Dec 2018

Left by Workawayer () for host (An experience you'll never ...)

Our visit to here could not have been more perfectly timed. Just having recovered from an illness, we entered Tegucigalpa exhausted from 3 months of hard backpacking. But this special little space, created by Emma and her sweet family, was just the medicine we needed (complete with 9 of the fluffiest puppies you've ever seen :heart_eyes:). The… read more

(Excellent)

28 Nov 2018

Left by host (Help out at the coolest ...) for Workawayer ()

Nicole and Gijs jumped in and jived with the hostel immediately. Both energetic, capable and fun to be around. They picked up all the tasks quickly and were thorough while on shift. They were here in our slow season and might have wished for some of that low season monotony if they were here now.
It was great getting to know them through out… read more

(Excellent)

6 Nov 2018

Left by Workawayer () for host (Help out at the coolest ...)

We began our exploration of central America here and had such a positive introduction into workaway through Bryan & Sarah's hostel. The hostel attracts interesting, inspiring backpackers (workers, travelers, & locals, alike) who are always eager to share experiences and engage in stimulating conversations. We felt immediately welcomed by Alex, the… read more

(Excellent)

11 Nov 2018

Left by Workawayer () for host (Come Help us with a ...)

We were very happy to meet Thilda and make a nice connection with her in her adorable self-built house and beautiful garden.

While we were working at a different workaway at Lake Atitlan, we helped Thilda out for a couple of days renovating the volunteer housing. We were welcomed with open arms and got the chance to meet some of the locals she… read more

(Excellent)

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