Ipek

& Selim

Travel information

We are currently

Description

We are a travelling family and digital nomads, originally from Istanbul, Turkey. These days, we combine remote work with travelling, volunteering, learning new skills and spending time in different communities.

Our family background is very mixed. My roots connect Anatolia, Armenia, Georgia, Pontic Greece and Italy, while my husband Selim is half German and half Turkish/Kurdish, with family roots stretching from Norway to Mongolia and from Italy to Russia. So yes, our family tree is a little chaotic :) But beyond DNA, we have always felt more like citizens of the Earth than citizens of any one country.

About me:

I worked for many years as an editor for a popular history magazine, working with historians, researchers and linguists. After my daughter was born, my lifestyle gradually changed. I first started working remotely and eventually followed an old dream of mine: becoming a cook.

Today I work remotely as an AI tutor, helping train and evaluate AI systems, while continuing to work as a vegan cook and explore my many other interests.

I graduated with honours from the Culinary Arts department of Anadolu University in 2023 and became a professional vegan cook. I love experimenting with food and especially enjoy Turkish, Greek and Mediterranean cuisine, Asian street food, mezze and all sorts of flavours from around the world. I also teach vegan cooking and nutrition to small groups of friends and enjoy creating spontaneous little food events wherever I happen to be. If someone starts a barbecue, there is a good chance I will appear with something delicious from the plant-based side and try to lure the carnivores over. I am also fascinated by fungi. I completed Natural Mushroom Training covering edible, inedible and poisonous mushrooms, as well as identification, collecting and cultivation. I find fungi endlessly fascinating, from their culinary uses to their role in ecosystems.

Another passion of mine is natural dyeing and ecoprinting. I was lucky enough to train with ecoprint master Beste Bonnard, and I am still amazed by how many beautiful colours and patterns can be created simply from plants.

And then there are the things I could talk about for hours: cinema, music, art, history, animals, nature, food, traditional crafts and sustainable ways of living.

About Selim:

Selim runs a family company working with natural latex. He is also a digital nomad and has travelled extensively since childhood.

He is a calm, positive and easy-going person who enjoys meeting people, travelling, science fiction, sports, games and pretty much any interesting conversation. Over the years he has become an experienced Workawayer and Wwoofer and is always happy to get involved and lend a hand.

We have a daughter, Defne (10). She is an easy-going, sweet and polite girl. She can speak English, Italian and Turkish fluently. She loves dancing, drawing, playing games (of course :), discovering new places and meeting people. Having travelled and volunteered with us from a young age, she is quite used to different environments and communities.

Our life as digital nomads:

Because we both work remotely, we have the freedom to move around and spend longer periods in places rather than simply passing through as tourists. We enjoy becoming part of local communities, learning how people live, sharing our own skills and contributing wherever we can.

Over the past few years, this has taken us from Italy to Germany and Greece, as well as through different communities and volunteering projects in Italy. We have stayed with hosts, worked on farms, volunteered in educational communities and learned an enormous amount from the people we met along the way. I have references from my reliable network, including permaculture practitioners, animal rescuers, cooks, life coaches and kids :)

About being vegan:

I have been vegan for many years and, as a cook, I am completely comfortable taking care of my own food. So there is absolutely no need to worry about hosting a vegan.

Selim and Defne are omnivores, and we are very relaxed about other people's food choices. I am not interested in telling anyone what they should eat. I simply enjoy my own way of eating.

The one important exception is animal welfare: I would not feel comfortable working on a farm where animals are mistreated or raised for slaughter. Apart from that, we are very easy-going and happy to live alongside people with different lifestyles and diets.

What kind of people are we?

We are curious, sociable and adaptable. We like getting our hands dirty, learning new things and being useful. We are hard workers, good talkers and quick learners.

We enjoy both meaningful conversations and completely silly ones. We love sharing skills, food, stories and experiences, but we also understand that sometimes people just want a quiet evening and their own space. For us, Workaway has never been only about finding somewhere to stay. It is about the people we meet, the skills we exchange, the places we discover and the little communities we become part of, even if only for a while. We are still travelling, still learning and still collecting stories.


My Instagram account: @jpegsent (Ipek Cent)
Selim's: @merkezekrem (Selim Atas)

Interests

Dancing

Astronomy

Carpentry

Sustainability

Farming

Movies & TV

Technology

Vegetarian or vegan

Pets

Culture

Charity work

Drawing & painting

Writing

Plant care

Music

History

Languages

Gardening

Cooking & food

DIY & crafts

Books

Art & design

Architecture

Animals

Outdoor activities

Nature

Mountain

Camping

Beach

Adventure sports

Languages

Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Turkish: Fluent
Italian: Beginner

More details about my language interests
This workawayer has indicated that they would be interested in sharing their language(s) or learning a new language. You can contact them directly to discuss this.

Find a language partner

Skills and knowledge we'd like to share or learn

We're interested in:  

Babysitting and creative play

Life at a Farmstay

Animal Care

Hospitality/Tourism

Art Projects

Teaching

Charity Work

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Some knowledge of:  

Light gardening

Creative DIY projects

Light maintenance

Eco Projects

Helping around the house

Being an elderly companion

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Able to teach about:  

Creating/ Cooking family meals

Languages

Helping with Computers/ Internet

More details about your skills

I am good in cooking, recycling, upcycling, repairing toys and simple stuff, mending clothes, sewing, composting, DIY, internet, social media and so on. Since I worked in a monthly magazine for years, I love doing fanzines and basic magazine projects with kids as well. It is so fun!
I also love organizing workshops for children that explore world cuisine through stories about the history of food, spices, smell, taste and that dive into the wonders of molecular gastronomy, a very fun way to learn about the chemistry behind what we eat.
Selim is good in wood work, house repair, computer repair, DIY, general maintenance, all kinds of games, sports (mostly football, tennis and skiing) and so on. He is also a very experienced automobile and van driver. He built a lovely tree-house in our backyard. The most popular secret club in the neighbourhood :)
We all love board and card games a lot. And we are good at it. Beware the king of Catan and the queen of Ligretto!
We all are good in taking care of animals. I am a registered animal rescuer in my country.
We both love garden work.
I know about permaculture and eco farming, but I want to know more about it.

Age

55 & 49

What else ...

We do not believe in borders yet we are so excited getting to know so many different cultures.

Some more information

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  Smoker

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  Driver's licence

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  Allergies
  No

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  Special dietary requirements
  Ipek is vegan. Selim is omnivore. Defne is vegetarian.