Peter & Elaine

From: United Kingdom

Account Type
Couple account
Travelling to
Poland
Travel dates
07/07/2020 - 01/10/2020
Nº of Facebook friends
209
Badges

Our status
Travelling
Description
8 years ago now, we decided to escape from the conventional life of endlessly working to buy a nice house and car and lifestyle that we realised we didn't really want anyway. We sold our house and nearly all our possessions and decided to go travelling in a motorhome (It was supposed to be a sailing yacht, but that's another story).
We've spent the last few years driving around quite a bit of Europe and beyond. We’ve been as far East as the Black Sea and as far South as The Sahara in Morocco and this year we plan to cover more of Eastern Europe before heading north to Scandinavia. To say this experience has broadened our horizons is an understatement! It has been interesting; challenging at times, and left us hungry for more. We do however feel that we often struggle to understand the local way of life and have little opportunity to get to know anyone. Joining Workaway has much improved this and we have enjoyed the endless and varied opportunities it can provide. We’ve done painting, pointing, bathroom rebuilding, bottle window building, mud plastering, established vegetable gardens, looked after goats, chickens, donkeys and cats. We've helped to build a ‘Super-Adobe’ house, planted and harvested for an organic veg box scheme, tried and attempted to cook a variety of new recipes, built compost loos and solar showers and even attempted to learn some French with a bunch of Belgians in Portugal. We’ve also spent some time as campsite wardens and house-sitters.
We are probably on the introvert end of the spectrum. We like a meal and a chat with a small number of people rather than a noisy party. We are happier in the natural world than in the city. Peter has skills in many aspects of the building trade and is happy with a paint-brush in his hand. Elaine has recently been rediscovering her love of gardening and vegetable growing. Neither of us are as fit and agile as we'd like to be but hopefully maturity and sincerity make up for that. We are particularly interested in learning more about permaculture and natural building techniques.
There are so many cultures and people we haven't met, experiences we haven't had... let's bring it on!
Skills and knowledge we'd like to share or learn
We're interested in:
Being an elderly companion
Hospitality/Tourism
Charity Work
Some knowledge of:
Gardening
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Life at a Farmstay
Eco Projects
Helping around the house
Animal Care
Able to teach about:
DIY and building projects
General Maintenance
More details about your skills
Building maintenance - cleaning, painting, general maintenance, plumbing, electrics. Administration and customer care. Gardening. Limited animal care. Driving, Cooking.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Age
52 & 52
Nationality
British
What else ...
Our motorhome is 3.5t weight. It is just over 6m long, 2.4m wide and 3m high. We will need a safe and level place to park it when we are visiting you and obviously your access road needs to be suitable. Dependent on circumstances we are often happy to stay in it.
If you have concerns / queries about this, please ask.
Some more information
- Smoker
- Driver's licence
- Allergies
  Some pollen (hayfever). Bee stings.
- Special dietary requirements

Photos

Elaine is happiest in the garden

Pisé floor relayed by us

Bringing goats home for the night with Bessie the dog.

Repairing water pipes, with a little help from the 'ladies'.

Super-Adobe: Fixing barbedwire

Super-adobe: Tamping the adobe mix!

Show all photos

Enjoying the harvest!

Peter's penthouse compost toilet!

Preparing the main veg field!

To make a window....

Mix sand, clay and donkey poo!

Recycling bottles!

Travelling - Exploring Dades Gorge, Morocco.

Feedback

23/09/2020

Left by Workawayer (Peter & Elaine) for host for (Little Saffron and Olive farm ...)

Hi Bodo. Sorry this is SO late..
We stayed at Bodo's for 2 months. It was supposed to be 3 weeks! ..but then came Caronavirus and lockdown. It was a very difficult and uncertain time for us all and this somewhat clouded our experience. That said, Bodo was a good host to us. He provided lots of good food and wine and he is an excellent cook! We did… read more

(Very good )

06/07/2019

Left by Workawayer (Peter & Elaine) for host for (Help out on our organic goat ...)

Staying with Laila and her family was a great experience for us.
Everything was very easy going and we appreciated being given responsibilities and then being left to get on with it. Milking goats and making cheese was all new to us, but after a few weeks we mostly knew what we were doing. Good to have learnt new skills that hopefully we can use… read more

(Very good )

05/05/2019

Left by Workawayer (Peter & Elaine) for host for (Help with garden and small ...)

Muchas gracias Pierre y Joaquina!
We stayed 2 weeks. What an experience! Joaquina (80!) is an excellent cook and was constantly providing us with interesting and varied food.
There is much to do here, but never any strict working hours. If you are a hands-on practical person who can work on your own initiative you will do well. I spent most of my… read more

(Very good )

17/04/2019

Left by Workawayer (Peter & Elaine) for host for (Help us with our sustainable ...)

David and Katty were an open, friendly couple. They live in a beautiful location surrounded by mountain scenery. It is quiet and dark at night. Accommodation is likely to be very basic at the moment but we have our own motorhome so that was no problem for us. If you are arriving by car, be sure to get good directions - it is not obvious with the… read more

(Very good )

05/03/2019

Left by Workawayer (Peter & Elaine) for host for (Help us at a beautiful ...)

Naomi and Paul were hospitable, generous and flexible in their requirements. There was plenty to do, but never any pressure or clock watching. We were pleased to be included in their lives; visiting local cafes, the weekly pub quiz and the market etc. They also offered us their car for trips out on our own too.
We liked the fact that we had our… read more

(Excellent )

01/03/2019

Left by host (Help us at a beautiful ...) for Workawayer (Peter & Elaine)

Peter and Elaine were a great help during the three weeks they spent with us, and were pragmatic and effective workers. They tackled a variety of tasks , including , between them, lots of weeding and pruning in the garden, some heavy work laying gravel on a new path, some skilled carpentry jobs and helping with the basic care of two stabled… read more

(Excellent )

02/01/2019

Left by host (Looking for some help with ...) for Workawayer (Peter & Elaine)

Peter and Elaine - What can we say but ..... an enormous thank you for your very fine and intelligent work you did for us. You were great members of the team here and the work you did not the pisé floor bears testiment to your thoughtful dilligence, it is really looking great, amongst all the other tasks you completed. We will keep you posted with… read more

(Excellent )

20/12/2018

Left by Workawayer (Peter & Elaine) for host for (Looking for some help with ...)

Thank you to Adrian, Joanna and all the family for a great stay. Your hospitality knows no bounds! Nice to be just part of the family and to be given tasks and just left to get on with them. We hope all our efforts with the floor will be worthwhile! We wish you good fortune in all your many endeavors.
Best wishes,
Peter and Elaine

(Excellent )

02/01/2019

Left by host (Volunteer on an Organic farm ...) for Workawayer (Peter & Elaine)

Many thanks to Peter and Elaine for their help during their stay with us. We were left with a warm feeling- especially because they installed our shower-room radiator for us! .Excellent work. Apart from practical tasks they contributed to the daily running of the house by pitching in with meal preparation and such. We hope they may return one day.

(Excellent )

20/12/2018

Left by Workawayer (Peter & Elaine) for host for (Volunteer on an Organic farm ...)

We enjoyed our month long stay with Peter and Louise. They were very hospitable and happy to share their lives and their knowledge with us. We stayed in our campervan but there is also a spacious gite available if you desire.
The work was varied and interesting. We liked helping with the goats but there was also gardening, gutter clearing, walnut… read more

(Excellent )

20/12/2018

Left by Workawayer (Peter & Elaine) for host for (Help care for our animals and ...)

What a lovely spot surrounded by countryside.
We joined a large team helping out in the difficult circumstances brought on by Adrian's ill health. We spent most of our time looking after the chickens, collecting and sorting the eggs. It was interesting to experience this on a properly commercial level. We also repaired gutters, varnished the… read more

(Very good )

20/12/2018

Left by Workawayer (Peter & Elaine) for host for (Come and help in a large ...)

Thank you Margaret and Stewart for your hospitality. We were offered a lovely room for our short stay and were certainly not overworked in exchange.
Unfortunately both our hosts were not at all well during our stay and we decided it was best to move on early. Hopefully we can return again one day during happier, healthier times.
Best… read more

(Excellent )

14/09/2018

Left by Workawayer (Peter & Elaine) for host for (General help mucking in and ...)

What a great place to stay and what a great host Nicky is! Everything was easy going and very flexible which suited us fine as it was an ideal place to do a bit of work on our own van.
Nicky has a heart of gold and is very knowledgeable and skilled in so many ways. You can learn much here ( you may need to hold her down to get the information… read more

(Excellent )

07/05/2018

Left by Workawayer (Peter & Elaine) for host for (Come and help us with ...)

Thanks Julien (and all the other volunteers) for a great experience, and a warm welcome. We came almost 'by accident' (recommended by another Workaway host) and we're glad we did. We are English and our fluency in any other language is sadly lacking. Most of the volunteers spoke French which was not easy for us, but Julien tried very hard to… read more

(Very good )

21/04/2018

Left by Workawayer (Peter & Elaine) for host for (Carpenter and handy-person at ...)

Thank you Jane and Louis for a great introduction to Workaway!
We found it hard to find a reason to leave - I think we actually stayed a little over 2 months. They were both very laid back and hospitable and treated us a part of the family. Louis is a chef and effortlessly created amazing meals - you will not go hungry here! Jane was keen that we… read more

(Excellent )

20/04/2018

Left by host (Carpenter and handy-person at ...) for Workawayer (Peter & Elaine)

Peter and Elaine stayed with us for 6 weeks. They were extremely conscientious and meticulous, investing time, care and attention into everything they did. If they lacked knowledge or information in some area, they would use their free time to research it so that they could help more efficiently. Peter, we discovered, was very capable and skilled… read more

(Excellent )

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