Öykü & Eren

Travel information

We are currently

Activities we are interested in:

We’re Öykü and Eren, a chef couple from Türkiye on a journey to reconnect with life. We love animals, nature, and hands-on projects. Excited to learn, share, and meet fellow travellers.

Description

🌿 About Us

Hello! We’re Öykü and Eren — a married chef duo who hit pause on the traditional work life and pressed “let’s go find ourselves in Thailand.” After years spent in busy kitchens and fast city rhythms, we’re choosing a path that feels more human: nature, meaningful work, real people, and stories worth carrying.

We’re not traveling for a vacation — we’re traveling for transformation. We want to learn new skills, contribute with what we know, and grow through every experience, every community, and every person we meet. Workaway, for us, is not a break from work; it is the work we’ve been craving — purposeful, grounded, and connected.


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👩‍🍳 Öykü

The creative energy of the team. A trained pastry chef who can turn flour into happiness and yarn into art. She loves cooking, crafting, knitting, gardening, and any hands-on project that brings color and warmth. She adapts quickly, learns fast, and adds a gentle, joyful touch to every task — whether it’s in the kitchen or in the garden.

👨‍🔧 Eren

The practical problem-solver. A chef who also knows how to fix things — mechanical work, basic electricity, carpentry, gardening, maintenance… If it requires tools (or curiosity), he’s already halfway there. Calm, hardworking, and reliable, he’s the one who brings structure to the adventure.


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🧭 Our Working Style

We’ve both just stepped out of demanding professional kitchens, so working hard is natural for us.
We don’t complain — we do.
We appreciate clear communication, teamwork, and mutual respect.

Volunteering, for us, is not “free labor in exchange for a bed”;
it’s shared effort for shared value — we give our best, and we’re grateful to learn.

We’re disciplined, punctual, and efficient, but also kind, curious, and easygoing.


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💛 Our Relationship

Like every couple, we sometimes have ups and downs — but after nearly 5 years of living together and working side by side in hot, stressful kitchens, we’ve learned how to handle everything calmly and privately.

If we ever have a disagreement, you won’t notice it.
We resolve things quietly, respectfully, and never let personal emotions affect work, people, or the environment around us.

We’re a team — one that knows how to stay steady, warm, and respectful no matter what the day brings.


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🌏 Why Thailand?

Because Thailand is a place where life flows softer, hearts open quicker, and nature feels alive.
We want to learn from local communities, support meaningful projects, and become part of stories bigger than ourselves.

We plan to stay 3–4 weeks in each place, depending on connection and mutual needs.

We come with:

skills,

willingness to learn,

respect for your space and culture,

and genuine gratitude for every opportunity.


We’re here to work, grow, help, share, and find pieces of ourselves along the way.

Wherever we go, we hope to leave behind good energy, good memories, and good stories. 🌺🌻


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🌙 Why We Left Our Jobs, Our Home, Our “Normal Life”

Because somewhere along the way, life became louder than our own voices.
The world around us began moving faster than the human heart was ever meant to move.
We watched how ambition turned into hunger, how hunger turned into greed, and how greed slowly silenced genuine connection — the kind that makes life warm, simple, and honest.

We realized we were working harder but feeling less.
We were earning more but becoming emptier.
The city lights grew brighter while the inner light grew dimmer.

So we chose to step out of the race.

Not to escape life,
but to return to it.

To return to conversations that matter, to communities built on kindness, to work that smells like soil and bread instead of stress.
To return to a way of living where humans see each other — not as competition, not as noise, but as mirrors, teachers, stories.

We left because we wanted to feel life again.
To rebuild ourselves with the small things that still have soul: shared meals, shared work, shared mornings in nature, shared silence.

If we’re lucky, this journey will give us what the modern world has forgotten:
connection without greed, purpose without pressure, and peace without price.

And we hope to carry that spirit wherever we go.

— With love,
Öykü & Eren

Interests

Farming

Sustainability

Events & social

Plant care

Carpentry

Mountain

Hiking

Water sports

Nature

Yoga / Wellness

Vegetarian or vegan

Van life

Pets

Outdoor activities

Music

Gardening

Drawing & painting

DIY & crafts

Culture

Cooking & food

Camping

Astronomy

Beach

Art & design

Animals

Languages

Languages spoken
Turkish: Fluent
English: Intermediate
French: Beginner

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 we'd like to share or learn

We're interested in:  

Eco Projects

Art Projects

Babysitting and creative play

Gardening

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Some knowledge of:  

House & pet sitting

Helping around the house

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Able to teach about:  

Animal Care

Creating/ Cooking family meals

DIY and building projects

Hospitality/Tourism

More details about your skills

We’re both chefs 🍳 with strong teamwork and creativity.
Öykü specializes in pastry and enjoys cooking, gardening, animal care and handcrafts.
Eren is skilled in repairs, gardening, basic carpentry and electrical work.
We’re both practical, adaptable, and happy to learn new things while helping with daily life, eco projects or community work 🌿

Age

31 & 32

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