Erik

United States
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Travel information
I am currently
Travelling
My next destination:
California, United States - from Feb 2026 until Aug 2026
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Description
Español abajo :)

I'm an easy-going guy interested in plants, nature, culture, languages, and music.

At this moment I'm most interested in learning about permaculture, horticulture, beekeeping, mushrooms, and anything to do with sustainable agriculture or different crops.

Anything that would get me out exploring nature is a plus :)

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Soy una persona muy agradable, muy relajado, y con sentido de humor.

Mi interés principal es la vida agrícola. Quiero aprender los principales de la permacultura o de la agrícola regenerativo.

Me interesan particularmente la viticultura, el café, el cacao, la apicultura, los champiñones, plantas medicinales, y los productos fermentados.

Me gustaría aprender más de idiomas y ayudar en la traducción.

Además tengo un interés en aprender de las culturas Sudaméricanas. Su comida, su gente, sus idiomas, su música, sus costumbres. Sería muy chévere aprender canciones de varios lugares :)
Interests
Writing
Plant care
Charity work
Mountain
Farming
Animals
Hiking
Nature
Books
Culture
Outdoor activities
Music
Self development
Languages
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: Fluent
Portuguese: Beginner
More details about my language interests
Quiero continuar desarrollando mi español, pero también me interesan el chino mandarín, el vietnamita, y el portugués. Puedo ayudar a otros con su inglés.
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Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn
I'm interested in:
Eco Projects
Some knowledge of:
Teaching
Life at a Farmstay
Helping around the house
General Maintenance
Gardening
Animal Care
Able to teach about:
Languages
More details about your skills
Español abajo

My main work has been in agriculture with vegetable harvests and with farm maintainance. Some tractor driving.

I've done some odd construction work here and there, but pretty basic stuff.

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Trabajé tipo 10 meses en un cafetal en Puerto Rico, un mes en una finca orgánica en Ecuador, y varios temporadas en una de verduras en EEUU.

Experiencia sembrando arbolitos, abonando, limpiando con machete y con motoguadaña, cosechando y preparando verduras, etc. Conocimiento básicos de podar.

De construcción tengo experiencia muy básica, principalmente con concreto, y algo de ladrillos.

Otras experiencias incluyen enseñar inglés y trabajos simples en alojamiento.
Age
35
What else ...
I play guitar and speak Spanish if you have an interest in either.

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Toco la guitarra y puedo enseñar de la gramática musical y como leer la música.

Los libros y meditación son chéveres. También explorar sitios, hacer senderismo, etc.
Some more information
- Smoker
- Driver's licence
- Allergies
- Special dietary requirements

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2 Sep 2024

Left by Workawayer () for host (Join us on our organic farm ...)

La casa de Arturo y Beatriz es un lugar especial. La familia es muy bonita, su forma de vida es muy inspiradora, y la tierra también es hermosa.

Compartimos comidas 2 veces al día con la familia, siempre rica y saludable. Durante mi tiempo trabajé instalando postes con el equipo y luego pintando fuera de la casa solo. No fue muy difícil.… read more

(Excellent )

27 Jul 2023

Left by host for Workawayer ()

He is the best volunteer! We are really happy with him, he hepls a lot :) is really flexible

(Excellent )

10 Jan 2023

Left by host for Workawayer ()

Erick has been here for a couple of days. He has been so supportive in our institute. During all days he works efficiently and kindly. I recommend him for any volunteering job.
Hope he can come here again. Thanks for everything Erick.
Take care!
Katy

(Excellent )

19 Dec 2022

Left by Workawayer () for host (Join our English language ...)

This is an excellent workaway.

The work is easy. The hours are few. You are in an excellent location. The people are all very nice and accommodating.

I only stayed for 9 days, since I had to shorten my trip due to unrelated factors.
I worked 3 hours, 3 days of the week. The day is split into two shifts (10-11:30 and 4-5:30). The conversations… read more

(Excellent )

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2 Sep 2024

Left by Workawayer () for host (Join us on our organic farm ...)

(Excellent)

27 Jul 2023

Left by host for Workawayer ()

He is the best volunteer! We are really happy with him, he hepls a lot :) is really flexible

(Excellent)

10 Jan 2023

Left by host for Workawayer ()

(Excellent)

19 Dec 2022

Left by Workawayer () for host (Join our English language ...)

(Excellent)

19 Dec 2022

Left by Workawayer () for host (Join our organic farm close ...)

I stayed at Andres and Aurora's farm for the month of October, 2022.

I'd say my experience was a good one. I was able to practice Spanish, learn more about organic farm life, and get to hang around some nice and interesting people.

Knowing Spanish or French will help you a lot here. Aurora knows English, but her Spanish is stronger. Andrés only… read more speaks Spanish. That being said, if between the 3 you only know English, it'll probably still work, but it will be harder to interact in a more meaningful way. All the other volunteers who came also spoke English.

Each morning we'd all get together about 7:15 to walk to the farm. It's maybe 10m away from the house. We'd do various things in the morning, like weeding, planting, harvesting strawberries and uvilla (a new favorite fruit of mine), or any number of tasks. In the afternoon I soon took to feeding the animals (chickens, ducks, goats, pigs, etc), though others would cook, continue the general work, or maybe help load wheelbarrows of animal feed. I liked feeding more than doing other things, and certainly more than cooking.
The work changes a bit through the week, but is more or less the same. 5 days a week, and the weekends off. If you need to shift days for something, it is unlikely to be an issue.

We'd eat 2 meals a day. Breakfast about 9 o'clock. Lunch after work, about 2. Often times Aurora would send us home with a bit of the left overs from lunch. Completely vegetarian in my experience.

There were between 3-4 volunteers at a time during my stay. At that time we each had private rooms (excluding couples). I'm not sure if that will be the norm in the future, but it was during my month here. Shared kitchen, bathroom with hot shower. Accommodations are fairly basic, but this is the farm life, embrace it.

The farm is somewhat isolated, but not too bad really. An 8m walk gets you to a bus that goes to Tabacundo and Cayambe. I never went, but I heard Quito is only about 2 hours away. There are a few stores around too for beer, bread, shoelaces, basic things like that.

During my stay, I was the only non-French visitor. If you want to practice your French in a Spanish-speaking country, this is an excellent chance to do so. Even if that isn't the case, you'll still find your time at Andres and Aurora's farm to be a good time. My advice is to come here if you're in Northern Ecuador!

(Excellent)

27 Nov 2022

Left by host (Join our organic farm close ...) for Workawayer ()

Muchas gracias por tu ayuda durante este mes!! Tu ayuda fue muy valiosa, siempre de buen humor, con la sonriza y todo el tiempo con buena voluntad. Aprendiste y fuiste autonomo muy rapido por todos los oficios de la Finca : trabajar en la huerta, dar de comer a los animales y mas.
Muchas gracias Erik por todo. Le recomandamos mucho!!! Que te vaya… read more

(Excellent)

30 Sep 2022

Left by host (Come have a language and ...) for Workawayer ()

Erik taught English at our institute for three months and it was a real pleasure to have him here. He is a great teacher, very dedicated and adaptable. He helped us with new teaching methods we were implementing, and our students loved learning with him. He got along well with the rest of the team and I enjoyed our conversations a lot, whether it… read more

(Excellent)

28 Aug 2022

Left by Workawayer () for host (Come have a language and ...)

Stay here. You'll love it.

I volunteered here for 3 months (2022 April-May, and then again 2022 July). I completed my tefl certification here. And more than that, I had the most amazing time with some really amazing people. This place seems to really attract a good crowd.

Every one at the volunteer house was extremely friendly, and it was always… read more a great time sharing meals with them after coming home from the institute. We'd hang out on the weekends eating out together, going dancing, exploring Villa, and sometimes even the surrounding towns. Going out for lunch and talking to each other during our breaks was great and full of laughs.

When I showed up I had next to no teaching experience, so I was a bit worried. Anaïs gave all the room in the world to experiment and to find what works for the different teachers. When I was here there were text books, but nobody used them. We all had different methods and were able to work with our students. Everyone talks about their classes at the house and everyone helps each other, it's an incredibly supportive environment.

The students are great by the way. Most are teenagers, but there are young kids, and a few adults as well. The classes are mostly in person, but there are a few online ones as well. All individuals or small groups. I never had more than 4 students in a class.

My Spanish teacher was Natalia. Our lessons were great and she helped me out a lot. We had a lot of laughs in our classes with the different classmates I had. I took a month long break from the institute, but continued my classes during the break, and it was always fun biking up to the lesson to say hi to Anaïs, the other teachers, and talk with Natalia for an hour.

Villa is a great place, incredibly safe. The landscape is beautiful. The people are nice. There are various festivals throughout the year, including an astronomy festival, and a jazz festival. Not bad for such a small town. The restaurants are quite nice. It's a bit more expensive than some of the other areas nearby, but coming from the US / Europe it'll still seem quite cheap. Knowing Spanish will definitely help you, but most of the volunteers had a very basic level and were able to get along just fine.

Finally, Anaïs is truly wonderful, and she is very easy to work with. If there's ever any issue or concern, she always handles it well. She's really running a good show in Villa, and I was glad to help her out during my time there. I admire the work she does here and I wish her and the institute well.
I'll definitely consider coming back in the future.

(Excellent)