Thomas

United Kingdom
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Profile information

Travel information
I am currently
At home
Description
Hi my name is Thomas, I'm 27 years old from Sheffield, England.

I've experienced voluntary exchanges a fair few times now and each time it's been amazing. Previously I've always travelled abroad but my desire now is to connect more with people and the land at home. I love Britain, though I'm not the biggest fan of the socio-economic system and the conventional lifestyle it promotes. I want to feel even more connected to my home, around communities of similarly like-minded people and I'm really keen to learn more, live in new areas and have great experiences! I recently spent a year working/travelling/volunteering around New Zealand which was an incredible time and I thought why not keep a similar thing going here.

I have my own campervan which makes moving around easy and allows me a lot of flexibility. Though proper accommodation would probably be preferable at this time of year! I thought it might also be worth mentioning as being able to drive perhaps means I can be more helpful in some situations.

My work background is in gardening/tree surgery so I'm used to working outside and hard physical labour. I keep fit and I'm very eager to learn new skills so hopefully I should be pretty helpful to have around regardless of what you need me to do.

I'm hoping to head out on this next adventure early-mid January and see where it takes me! If you have an opportunity for me please get in touch. I look forward to hearing from you! 😁
Interests
Dancing
Team sports
Water sports
Writing
Yoga / Wellness
Winter sports
Sustainability
Self development
Plant care
Pets
Outdoor activities
Nature
Movies & TV
Music
Mountain
Fitness
Hiking
History
Gardening
Art & design
Architecture
DIY & crafts
Farming
Culture
Cooking & food
Beach
Books
Astronomy
Animals
Adventure sports
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn
I'm interested in:
Eco Projects
Languages
Animal Care
Some knowledge of:
Gardening
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Helping around the house
General Maintenance
DIY and building projects
Life at a Farmstay
More details about your skills
I suppose my main skill is a willingness and interest in learning new things so whatever the work is I'm confident I can adapt and be useful in any situation.
That being said I work doing gardening/tree surgery so I'm especially suited to working outside and doing physical labour.
I run my own business which has taught me many skills such as how to communicate effectively, an ability to work independently using my own initiative and need to take responsibility and hold myself to a high standard.
Again though I think the most important thing is that I'm eager for new experiences and just excited to meet new people and try new things!
Age
27
Some more information
- Smoker
- Driver's licence
- Allergies
- Special dietary requirements

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5 Apr 2024

Left by host (Join us to create a mindful ...) for Workawayer ()

It was such an honor to receive a professional gardener at our place! Tom is so sweet and has become an important part of our family. Both of our children - two daughters (15 and 7 at that time) - loved spending time with him. Tom was always there for Aylani: to play UNO, to do some gymnastics, he was open to any conversation. Layra - our teenage… read more

(Excellent )

9 Feb 2024

Left by Workawayer () for host (Join us to create a mindful ...)

I spent almost 3 months staying with Ellen, Sven, Layra and Aylani over the winter and it was a wonderful time!
From day one they were so welcoming to me and made me feel right at home.
They are set up in such a way that the volunteers are very intergrated into the family, mainly due to sharing meals together and as I developed a great… read more relationship with the family, including Ellen and Sven's two daughters, I found this to be very nice as all are great personalities and there is a lot of fun to be had playing with the little one 😄
This close connection was lovely as you would be hard pushed to find more helpful and caring people, they truly made me feel part of the family and went above and beyond to help me when I had any problems and generally showed me so much love!
Their house and surrounding land is stunningly beautiful and is ideal for nature lovers and those that enjoy the peace and quiet of the countryside.
It's also very possible to explore Köln and Bonn in your free time with bus/train connections and potential lifts with Ellen and Sven or even better if you have a car, then there's a limitless variety of things to do and see. I was fortunate enough to have this possibility which allowed me to travel and really see a lot however if you enjoy a more relaxed paced I'm sure you can still really enjoy the local area, especially as the days get longer and warmer throughout the year.
The food is excellent, always delicious and of the highest quality. Especially great for vegetarians/vegans and even though I'm neither I always really enjoyed the meals here. Sven is also a master at baking delicious sourdough bread 😋
The accommodation is also very good, volunteers are housed in a separate apartment at the back of the house. I had my own room while I was there which was very nice. A bathroom is shared between the volunteers and while I stayed there was only ever one other volunteer at a time though I don't know whether they intend to have more when it is Spring/Summer.
In exchange for all of this of course there is work to be done. Though I wouldn't say it ever particularly felt like work to me as I love to work outside (even in winter), I really enjoyed the vast majority of what we did and I definitely learned a lot!
Work days were split between caring for the animals (walking Ibo the dog, feeding and looking after the goats, chickens, ducks), then working on the projects that are currently being undertaken plus any other necessary tasks.
Ellen is very passionate about permaculture and their philosophy is to utilise the land for creating food in the most sustainable, biodynamic ways possible. As I find this topic fascinating, being able to learn practically what it takes to live in this fashion was very enjoyable and Ellen is very generous and patient with sharing her knowledge.
If there was any downside it was that as I stayed throughout the winter there was less opportunity to work with growing food directly, however a lot of the focus was then shifted onto tree work which is a large part of my trade anyway so I enjoyed that a lot and was glad to be of help in that regard!
I'm really scratching the surface of my time here but I hope I've been able to convey a bit about why I enjoyed my time here so much!
I'd also like to point out that Ellen is very open and direct with her communication so it should be very easy to find out if this is the right opportunity for you.
Thank you so much guys and I'm looking really forward to hopefully seeing you again later in the year! 😁

(Excellent )

23 Feb 2023

Left by host (Help on a sustainable eco ...) for Workawayer ()

Tom spent almost 6 weeks at our Finca and we had a wonderful time together. As he mentioned before, he works in tree surgery and he could help us with his professional experience, even if we are just at the beginning to build up the finca. Apart from the skills Tom already brought with him he was always open to learn new tasks and help with any… read more

(Excellent )

23 Feb 2023

Left by Workawayer () for host (Help on a sustainable eco ...)

I spent almost a month and half at Nadine's finca and had the most wonderful time!
Nadine is a lovely host, so accommodating, helpful, interesting and has a very positive, fun and constructive attitude!
In exchange for a very reasonable amount of work Nadine provides everything you need to live comfortably, food, accommodation, a living space as… read more

(Excellent )

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