Andy

Travel information

I am currently

Description

Hi, I'm Andy - nice to meet you!

I’ve spent many years working a number of jobs, volunteering on projects that have caught my eye, and living in different countries – but I have haphazardly collected meaning, experiences, photographs, and friends along the way. There was no order to it.

Now, at 38, I’ve decided to get organised, and I want to write a book.

I want this book to be a collection of people and places that have created something special and are having a positive impact on the world. I would like to spend time working as a volunteer and also find out how these projects started from an idea and became a reality.

How did the plan form? How were land and buildings acquired? How did it work with money and local councils? Were there any obstacles, setbacks, or changes of direction? Can everything be overcome with just unrelenting passion, or were compromises made?

This book is intended for the undecided and the curious. For the people who want to both tread lightly and fight the good fight. For those who roughly know what they want to do but have no clue how to begin. It wouldn’t be a step-by-step guide on how to do any one particular thing, but rather a holistic overview of all the aspects that allowed the project to get rolling.

Interests

Sustainability

Nature

Farming

DIY & crafts

Cycling

Outdoor activities

Yoga / Wellness

Writing

Photography

Plant care

Mountain

Gardening

Hiking

Cooking & food

Animals

Languages spoken

English: Fluent
Vietnamese: Intermediate
Spanish: Beginner

Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn

Some knowledge of:  

Gardening

DIY and building projects

General Maintenance

Creating/ Cooking family meals

Life at a Farmstay

Eco Projects

Helping around the house

Animal Care

Hospitality/Tourism

Charity Work

Helping with Computers/ Internet

Teaching

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Able to teach about:  

Languages

More details about your skills

My background (in no particular order):

- Volunteer coordinator in Vietnam for 5 years, working on organic farms, English language programs, disabled childcare facilities, and kids' summer camps.
- Taught English in Thailand and helped build a Thai stilt house as part of a forest project.
- Joined a natural farming school in Japan, growing rice.
- Restored buildings, kept bees, and farmed on the mountainsides in the Pyrenees.
- Three years studying in Kyoto, Japan (International Relations).
- Volunteered at two permaculture sites in Australia (Geoff Lawton's PRI Zaytuna & Sugarloaf).
- Copywriter for opticians/eye health.
- Online and offline English tutor (Poland, Mexico, Thailand, Vietnam).
- Various customer service/shop-floor jobs in supermarkets, cafes, and kitchens.
- Several years working on small-scale farms/homesteads in the UK, Lithuania, and Germany.
- Ran my own bicycle-based business in the UK (shopping, errands, composting).
- Opened a cafe/restaurant in South Korea.

Age

38

Some more information

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  Smoker

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  Driver's licence

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  Allergies
  Seafood

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  Special dietary requirements