Svetlana & Burak

Russia & Turkey
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We are currently
Travelling
Description
Hello! We're a married couple traveling around the world, helping people with our skills (massage, education and permaculture) and learning new things.

About Svetlana:

My name is Svetlana (or Sveta or Lana - as you prefer), I'm a former literature teacher from Russia. Four years ago I quit my job and started travelling around the world doing workaway and trying to gain experience in permaculture and natural farming.

My dream is to buy a piece of land and to create an open space for art, education, healing, research, farming and ecological projects. My special interest is educational projects based at a farm.

I consider myself to be friendly, respectful and curious. I love learning new things and I'm a fast learner. As a volunteer I have worked a lot helping with the renovation of old wooden churches in different parts of Russia, repaired ecological paths in the mountains, taught children and helped on the farms (gardening, repairing, herding, animal care).

In March 2024 I completed my Permaculture design course.

From 2021 on my traveling way I've been working as a Thai massage therapist, and I'm happy to help people with my massage.

About Burak:

Hello! My name is Burak, I'm from Turkey.
I'm a massage therapist, energy healer and yoga teacher. I've been a full time traveler since 2015. Everything I know I learnt from different experts in different countries.

I had a training with Dalai Lama in 2016 in India.
I had Hatha Yoga and Kundalini Meditation lessons from a Guru of Kundalini Meditation.
I had spine therapy and energy healing training under supervision of a Yogi.
I completed Vippasana Silence Course successfully.
I attended 2 courses and 1 international conference of Spine Therapy. While I was attending courses I was assisting the teachers.
I completed a course of Thai Massage in Thailand.
I practiced qigong and tai-chi with Chinese masters.
I took lessons about anatomy and physiology at the University for one year in Turkey (2017-2018).
When I went back to Thailand in 2018, I taught and practiced thai massage.
I stayed with a shaman in Kazakhstan gaining some energetic experience.
I practiced breathing meditation with a monk in Myanmar.
I learnt a bit of African healing system from a Nigerian healer in Gambia.
I learnt baby massage from a Tanzanian healer in Zanzibar.
I learnt bone setting techniques from Italian osteopath in Korea.
I gave lessons about energy healing, qigong, hatha yoga, pawanmukta yoga (joint yoga), meditation and massage in 12 different countries.

I'm traveling to learn local healing practices and to help those who need to be healed.
Interests
DIY & crafts
Carpentry
Books
Camping
Yoga / Wellness
Sustainability
Outdoor activities
Nature
Mountain
Hitchhiking
Hiking
Gardening
Farming
Culture
Animals
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Russian: Fluent
Turkish: Fluent
Czech: Intermediate
French: Intermediate
Italian: Intermediate
German: Beginner
Skills and knowledge we'd like to share or learn
We're interested in:
Eco Projects
DIY and building projects
Some knowledge of:
Gardening
General Maintenance
Life at a Farmstay
Helping around the house
Animal Care
Able to teach about:
Teaching
More details about your skills
Svetlana:

I have master's degree in Education, which means I have special skills in designing all kinds of educational programmes, online-courses, summer camps and so on. I'm really interested in finding a connection between farming and education.

I'm also always happy to do any physical work. I can feed animals and clean them, work in the garden, do anything you'll be ready to teach me to do.

During my workaway and other volunteering experiences I have
- herded goats
- restored old wooden churches (basic woodwork, painting, plastering etc.)
- repaired ecological paths
- participated in a natural building project (doing earth plastering and lime plastering)
- done different kinds of farming tasks (planting, sowing, pruning, harvesting etc.)

I also have some experience with horses which means I can ride them and have learnt a bit of caring.

I've completed a Permaculture design course, so I can assist you in designing your land according to permacultural principles.

I can do Thai massage therapy and teach some simple physical exercises for your health.

Burak:

I can teach yoga and do massage. I'm good with children and I can do some simple farm tasks.
Age
28 & 32
What else ...
We're used to living in a tent with a sleeping bag, so it won't be a problem if you don't have a room or a bed for us.
Some more information
- Smoker
- Driver's licence
- Allergies
- Special dietary requirements
  Svetlana doesn't eat meat and Burak prefers the food without onion and garlic.

Feedback

27 Mar 2023

Left by host (Help our farm become ...) for Workawayer (Svetlana & Burak)

After we done learning by doing about The Virgin Coconut Oils & some of the possibilities uses about coconuts, Its was great pleasure spending time at my weekend DIY project together with Sveta & Barak, you guys so amazing couple! We did great team work, a lot of field works progress for our project here, and for these, especially we have done the… read more

(Excellent )

24 Mar 2023

Left by Workawayer (Svetlana & Burak) for host (Help our farm become ...)

We stayed with Umar for two weeks and we really enjoyed this time. The farm is a really beautiful place, a piece of jungle in the middle of the town with a lot of animals, birds and butterflies inhabiting this small land. The place needs some care to recover after COVID time, so it really needs volunteers. Umar is managing the farm completely… read more

(Excellent )

17 Dec 2022

Left by Workawayer (Svetlana & Burak) for host (Help local kids with language ...)

We came to volunteer for one week with Baira's family in Murun. We were told that we will teach Russian and do some small tasks in the household. But when we came we found out that Baira hadn't managed to organize people for learning Russian, so there was basically no work for us. Baira told us we could teach English to his children, but they just… read more

(Very good )

16 Dec 2022

Left by Workawayer (Svetlana & Burak) for host (English speaking corner and ...)

We were planning to stay with another Workaway host, but there was nothing to do, so Tugsuu took us from them, which was very lucky for us. We stayed just a few days teaching English to two groups of students. It was very nice to talk with them, they're super open, friendly and they speak English quite well, so we could really discuss different… read more

(Excellent )

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27 Mar 2023

Left by host (Help our farm become ...) for Workawayer (Svetlana & Burak)

(Excellent )

24 Mar 2023

Left by Workawayer (Svetlana & Burak) for host (Help our farm become ...)

(Excellent )

17 Dec 2022

Left by Workawayer (Svetlana & Burak) for host (Help local kids with language ...)

(Very good )

16 Dec 2022

Left by Workawayer (Svetlana & Burak) for host (English speaking corner and ...)

(Excellent )

4 Nov 2022

Left by Workawayer (Svetlana & Burak) for host (Join us at our Vegan Haven in ...)

We're sorry for writing this reference when almost one year passed since we stayed at Brett's farm, but later is better than never :)
We spent three amazing weeks at Brett's place in December 2021 and we would recommend anyone who is interested in permaculture, organic gardening and veganism to stay at this place. Brett's garden in extremely… read more

(Excellent )

7 Aug 2021

Left by Workawayer (Svetlana & Burak) for host (Experience the beauty of ...)

We stayed for a week with Martha's family and we really enjoyed this time. Martha is a very smart and talkative person, which is a great combination, because we learned a lot from her and Daniel about Tanzania. She is eager to share her knowledge and thoughts about her country. She's also a great cook, every meal was a small feast, very… read more

(Excellent )

7 Aug 2021

Left by host (Experience the beauty of ...) for Workawayer (Svetlana & Burak)

My family and I had a wonderful time welcomed Svetlana and Burack for one week, they are such a lovely couple, easy going, very friendly and charming
Lana worked on our social media write article for our company blog and website
Burack worked on our crowd fund campaign for our community eco farming project, they are very committed people and they… read more

(Excellent )

27 Jul 2021

Left by host (Agroecology for sustainable ...) for Workawayer (Svetlana & Burak)

Lana and Burak came in my project in NIAGUIS and it was very nice to welcome them.
they help a lot in cleaning the farm and In construction.
they also help in our inglish club and at primary school where they gave some important matériels.
thank guys, your are always welcome.
i didn't our yoga sessions.

(Excellent )

2 Jul 2021

Left by Workawayer (Svetlana & Burak) for host (Agroecology for sustainable ...)

Me and my boyfriend stayed with Bourama for about 3 weeks and it was really great time. The project is very inspiring and once the farm is fully established, I hope, it will be a great support for the local community.
Bourama is a very shiny, smart and humble person. He is involved in lots of activities to help his community and he is always full… read more

(Excellent )

10 Jul 2021

Left by Workawayer (Svetlana & Burak) for host (Come meet and experience ...)

Me and my boyfriend wanted to stay in Tabatô for more time, but we had to leave the country earlier, so we got a chance just to visit the village and stay for one night and it was an amazing experience. Everyone in the village is a musician, and the music is everywhere. It's a unique place that should be protected by UNESCO, but surprisingly is… read more

(Excellent )

28 Jan 2021

Left by Workawayer (Svetlana & Burak) for host (Help with maintenance of my ...)

It was a great experience to stay at Tessa's home and look after her wonderful animals! If you can call this place a farm, then the main production of this farm is tonnes of LOVE that is transmitted from everyone to everyone. Tessa is an extremely kind and shiny person, all the animals are super nice and cuddling and the house is always full of… read more

(Excellent )

27 Jan 2021

Left by host (Help with maintenance of my ...) for Workawayer (Svetlana & Burak)

She is a very smiling happy amazing sweet girl!!! It was a pleasure to host her at my place... very good with the animals, very good in the kitchen and generally for everything!!!!! She will be always welcome

(Excellent )

5 Dec 2020

Left by Workawayer (Svetlana & Burak) for host (Learn about gardening with ...)

I'm a bit confused to write not very good reference after staying for a month at Karim's place, but it would be an honest description of my experience.
I'm endlessly grateful to Karim for his hospitality and openness, he really shared all his life with me: working, eating, hanging out etc.
I was working in a beautiful garden with traditional… read more

(Good )

20 Jan 2018

Left by Workawayer (Svetlana & Burak) for host (Biological Station and wolf ...)

I stayed at here for almost a month (even though I was planning to spend there just a couple of weeks) and I couldn't imagine this experience to be better.
The farm is situated in an extremely beautiful place with a very particular type of nature: quite a dense forest and plain rocky hills. The farm itself is a traditional Apulian stone building… read more and on the pastures around you can see some old "trullo" and other types of traditional Apulian rural stone architecture which is quite impressive.
The work I did was mostly just helping the shepherd Giuseppe with his everyday works: feeding animals, repairing stone walls, building fences and, actually, herding beautiful Gargano goats. I'm not sure my help was absolutely necessary (there is not so much to do in winter, in other seasons you can also participate in milking goats, making cheese etc.), but for me everything we did was a great experience.
But the main experience was just knowing and communicating with these wonderful people: Rocco (the owner, a research biologist) and Giuseppe (the shepherd) (an important thing to mention is that we were speaking Italian and otherwise I wouldn't have known them so well, cause Giuseppe, as far as I know, doesn't speak much English). Both are incredibly passionate to what they do: Rocco to his project and his research and Giuseppe to herding the goats, and they really transmit their passions so convincingly that I wanted to leave everything and stay at Corte Cicero for the rest of my life herding animals and conducting biological research :)
From Rocco (who is a big scientist and a talented teller) I learned a lot about animals, birds, forest, biodiversity and animal conservation, so it was also a very challenging intellectual experience, not only just regular work on a farm.
Exactly this combination of the very intense traditional farm life (animals, traditional food, rural scenery) and the intellectual motivation of it (the project of wolf conservation and breeding autoctone species in order to preserve the biodiversity of the region) is something that makes this place so special. I'm happy I could contribute at least a little bit to this very inspiring and promising project and acivity.
I could write more and more here about this wonderful place, wonderful project and wonderful people, but you'd better come and see by yourself :)
Grazie ancora a tutti i bei conducenti, mi mancate e spero di venire a trovarvi in un prossimo futuro! Un abbraccio e saluti alle caprette!

(Excellent )

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