Shakeel

Mauritius
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Profile information

Travel information
I am currently
At home
Activities i am interested in:
Adventure, cultural experiences, nature-related activities and photography.
My next destination:
Denmark - from Mar 2024 until May 2024
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Description
I am originally from Mauritius; a small tropical island in the southwestern Indian Ocean. I'm open-minded, easy-going, a good listener and curious to discover the world and learn more about different cultures and various ways of living. Above all, i really value honest, truthful and lasting friendships. I am eager and motivated to help and make a positive impact around me.

For many years, i have volunteered in various organisations and in different countries during my free time. I strongly believe that to get the best possible experience for both volunteer and host, the relationship should be centered around the following key aspects: honesty, respect and gratitude.

If I have enough time, I prefer slow travelling, so i would stay sometimes a few weeks in one location to explore and develop a stronger and more meaningful connection with the local people and learn more about their culture and traditions. I enjoy a down-to-earth approach and I'm curious to learn and experience the local ways of living.

I have work experience in IT. I also worked as a tutor in Mathematics. I can also teach English and French (which are among my native languages), as part of language or cultural exchange. I also have a background in electronics so I can help to repair various equipments. I would be very happy to contribute my knowledge and skills to any volunteering activities.

I am particularly interested in DIY (Do-It-Yourself), especially community projects for the betterment of people's lives or to protect our natural environment. I am always willing to improve my skills and I like to keep an open mind to learn from those around me. I welcome and appreciate constructive criticism. I enjoy working alone but also as part of a team.
Interests
Drawing & painting
Art & design
Languages
History
Cooking & food
Astronomy
Yoga / Wellness
Sustainability
Writing
Technology
Videography
Self development
Mountain
Nature
Outdoor activities
Photography
Music
Movies & TV
Hitchhiking
Events & social

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Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
Hindi: Intermediate
More details about my language interests
I can teach English and French.
Find a language buddy
Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn
I'm interested in:
General Maintenance
Eco Projects
Art Projects
Being an elderly companion
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Some knowledge of:
DIY and building projects
Life at a Farmstay
Helping around the house
Hospitality/Tourism
Charity Work
Animal Care
Able to teach about:
Languages
Helping with Computers/ Internet
Teaching
More details about your skills
I have several years of experience as a private tutor in mathematics for primary and lower secondary education. I can teach or assist other teachers in the classroom. I am also interested in alternative education programs.

I speak and write fluent English and French. I can teach these two languages. I also speak Creole which is the native language from my island country and some Hindi, which could be interesting as part of our cultural exchange.

I also have a background as a computer technician and i can help with IT-related tasks or to teach computer classes to primary or lower secondary school students.

I am very interested to learn, help and assist with DIY (Do-It-Yourself) projects. I am always very passionate about discovering new or better ways of building or fixing various things.

I feel naturally inclined to contribute in community projects, especially to help the less fortunate among us.

Some of my volunteering activities while living in Denmark:
1. I volunteered regularly at the Red Cross, Blue Cross, Salvation Army and Danish Church Crusaders. I helped at their donation centers to check and fix various donated items. The verified items were then put on sale in their second-hand shops and the profit was used to help poor and homeless people, provide food and education to children from poor/difficult family backgrounds and organize charitable social events.
2. I helped regularly at a local meditation centre to prepare the venue and during special events. I felt motivated to contribute towards a peaceful cause and to help the local community.
3. I managed a friend's apartment on Airbnb while he was travelling for several months. I welcomed new guests and i also provided them with helpful information, such as, interesting places to visit, etc.
4. I hosted several people from various countries via Couchsurfing, which is a popular website used by travellers. My Couchsurfing profile: https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/alienbackpacker
As a host, i also shared my meals with the travellers and i always did my best to make my guests feel safe and comfortable. I would also offer to take them around the city to visit some of the tourist areas.
5. I often took care of my friends' pets when they were on vacation for several weeks. I also had the responsibility to check their house or apartment to make sure that everything was in order.

Some of my volunteering activities while travelling in other European countries:
1. I stayed for a few months on a self-sustainable and eco-friendly farm in Algarve, Portugal. I helped to design an automated water pump and irrigation system based on my background in electronics.
2. In Portugal, i also learned how to operate a Bobcat to collect and carry stones to build a wall.
3. In Portugal, i also tutored the farmer's children in mathematics in the evening.
4. I helped for several weeks to renovate a friend's hostel in Tarifa, Spain. I also helped to cook the meals for the team.
5. I helped for several weeks at a no-kill animal rescue centre in Pula, Croatia. I felt very proud to be part of a hard-working team whose goal was to find those abandoned animals a loving home through adoption.
6. I stayed for a few months in Labin, Croatia where i learned about car mechanics and helped with restoration of classic cars.
7. In Croatia, i also participated in an ecological effort to support a self-sustainable way of living via organic food growth.
8. I did house-sitting on several occasions while in Croatia for several weeks and i was in charge of the house, garden maintenance and taking care of several pets.
9. At my host, in Croatia, i also helped to care for a child with special educational needs and disabilities.
10. I stayed for about 2 months on an ecofarm in Hrvatska Kostajnica, Croatia. I participated in various building and repair tasks with a DIY approach.
Age
39
What else ...
I enjoy cooking together with my host and try local recipes. In my spare time, i love to read and write. I like to share personal stories about life and travel experiences. I enjoy daily walks in nature to relax, feel peaceful and stay healthy. To capture all the beautiful sights and experiences while travelling, i have taken a growing interest in photography and i also try to make short videos to immortalise the many precious and unforgettable moments.
Some more information
- Smoker
- Driver's licence
- Allergies
  lactose intolerant, shellfish
- Special dietary requirements

Feedback

14 Mar 2023

Left by host (Help us build an off-grid ...) for Workawayer (Shakeel)

Thank you so much for the kind words and thoughtful feedback. I apologize for taking so long to leave feedback for you. It was an absolute pleasure having you stay with us and be a part of our family for almost 3 months. Others who left feedback for you mentioned that you were very polite, discreet, and friendly. We agree wholeheartedly with these… read more

(Excellent )

17 Apr 2020

Left by Workawayer (Shakeel) for host (Help us build an off-grid ...)

I stayed at the Algarve farm with Lucio and his wonderful family for almost 3 months and i am very grateful for everything. I experienced the unique and heart-warming Brazilian hospitality. I was involved in various projects and on the farm as well as activities with the family which i will always remember very fondly, such as mushroom hunting and… read more pizza night.

The most interesting and common aspect of all the projects on the farm is the DIY or maker approach. The farm aims to be self-sustainable and eco-friendly with a Fablab at its heart and a lot has been achieved in that regard with still many improvements ongoing towards turning that goal into reality. For example, the water is pumped from the well on the property and filtered for drinking and the electricity is mainly from solar panels. Any food leftovers are fed to the animals (pig and chickens) to reduce waste.

A few times every week, i had the privilege to be invited to some delicious meals shared inside the family home and i was introduced to the tasty homemade kombucha. The rest of the time, i was provided ingredients to cook in the outdoor kitchen. I stayed in the family's previous home which was a caravan shared with another volunteer. I was there during the winter months but the caravan had insulation and i was given enough blankets to stay warm.

Lucio is an inspiring man who is determined, very passionate about the maker culture and has a lot of different interesting projects going on all the time. He is truly like a real-life MacGyver.
Natalia is very caring and she also shares the DIY thinking in daily life. While Lucio is busy with projects, she picks up the slack and organises a lot around the house and with the kids. On one occasion, i was able to assist and observe how she made soap from all-natural ingredients.
Luc is an intelligent boy, passionate about sailing and who i was happy to help with some tutoring in the evening. Bianca is very gifted in martial arts (she has an impressive collection of medals) but also good at artwork (origami, etc) as well as her older sister, Nicole who is very studious and loves drawing comics. I was also warmly welcomed and befriended by their grandfather who is very kind and has strong emotional ties with his country of origin, China. Even the gardener/mason/do-it-all, Joachim, is a quiet and jovial guy. While living on the farm, i also met several other volunteers and overall, it turned out to be quite an interesting experience.

In the late afternoons, i explored the area around the farm and discovered the beautiful Algarve nature. I was lucky to arrive a few weeks before the end of the Medronho season - when ripe, it is a bright red, soft, sweet and delicious fruit. After about a month, the dogs on the farm got used to me and they started following me during my daily walks. Milu, Chewie, Bramble and Lebao were such loving animals and always great company. Lebao 'Big Wolf' is the alpha dog and guardian of the farm.

I was able to apply my knowledge of electronics and programming into some projects on the farm and i also had the opportunity to learn during development. I helped to design an automated water pump and an irrigation system controlled via WiFi. I also learned other skills, such as, how to operate a Bobcat, which i drove around the property and down the hills to retrieve stones to build a wall.

If you decide to volunteer on the Algarve farm, be ready for lots of maker adventures - building and troubleshooting various projects. Lucio and his family are amazing and i really hope that you will appreciate your time with them as much as i did. If not for my visa limit, i would be happy to stay longer with this incredible family. I left with a heavy heart as i had realised that as the months went by, i felt very close to the family. All the best!

(Excellent )

25 Feb 2023

Left by Workawayer (Shakeel) for host (Bhakti Yoga Eco village ...)

My stay in this engaging and dedicated community was a uniquely beautiful experience. It is a place where people genuinely put a lot of effort to keep everything working as smoothly as possible with mutual respect, affection and consideration for each other and the world around them.

I originally intended to stay for two weeks but i felt very… read more

(Excellent )

31 Aug 2020

Left by Workawayer (Shakeel) for host (Help develop a self ...)

I spent almost 2 months at Marko's (Pepe) farm. It was an interesting experience and a nice discovery in many ways. The property was abandoned for many years but a lot of work had already gone into the land and the house which will be largely rebuilt in the future. However, it was a very livable place, especially if you want to experience a… read more minimalistic lifestyle.

Pepe is very organised with an updated list of daily tasks to be carried out individually or in group. Everything is planned transparently and each volunteer can quickly check his/her assigned tasks on their smartphone via Google Docs. Every morning, i would assist Pepe with planning the daily work and prioritising the tasks. This made the work progress more efficient and managing several volunteers easier.

The working hours are fair with weekends off. We would start at 8am sharp and usually stop around noon, as the temperatures would get very hot. Then, we would resume work when the sun went lower in the late afternoon. Pepe is very active and it's not unusual to find him working tirelessly the whole day, so you are welcome to join if you think you can contribute or to further your own learning on some project.

For the food preparations, it was usually done together since it was more efficient. One of the goals of the farm was to eventually be completely self-sustainable. So, every meal was mostly, if not entirely, made from ingredients in the garden, such as zucchini, tomatoes, cucumber, etc.

The farm was a work in progress with various projects under development. Pepe was always open-minded and receptive to new ideas, so any suggestions for possible improvements around the farm or inside the house were taken into consideration. This helped to create a deeper sense of involvement and personal contribution to the place.

During my stay, there were several chickens and ducks which provided eggs regularly. There were also four dogs (Pippi, Paso, Pablo and my favourite, Tipsi) and a new kitten who reminded me of a little jaguar, so we named her, Jaga. They were all part of the family. It takes some time to get to know them and learn about their individual personalities but their unconditional love is the greatest reward.

The neighbours added a special flair to the farm. It was a common sight to have the nearby farmers stroll onto the land, always with a big smile. They would sometimes bring crops harvested from their own land, or even mushrooms collected in the nearby forest. And almost every week, we were invited for rakia at the neighbours. It was customary to greet each other with a shot of rakia, which was a homemade fruit brandy popular in the Balkans.

I have fond memories of our various experiments. Since the farm lifestyle was geared towards living off the land, for example, we tried making our own soap, using ash and then mixing in different natural ingredients, such as clay, which was abundant on the land. We had mixed results but it fit in with our learning-by-doing approach. We also made vinegar from the apples collected on the farm. The rest of the apples were ground for making rakia. From elderberries collected on the property, we made jam. At first, we were not sure about the result but it turned to be surprisingly tasty and became a regular dessert.

Even cooking regular meals was interesting and fun. We had a lot of zucchinis in the garden and we incorporated it in almost every meal, mixed with different ingredients, including herbs from the land, such as nettle and mayflower leaves. The end result was quite tasty. The neighbouring farmers have sheep and often gave away the leftovers; the wool was used to make a natural scourer for washing dishes and the sheep skin was treated with ash and stretched out to dry for making a natural rug.

During the daily break and in the weekends, i would often go to the Una river. I really enjoyed swimming in the clear waters of the river which was shallow in many places so it was easy to walk to the middle of the river where there were some small islands. The locals were quite curious about visitors from other countries. It was a small village with a lot of history due to the war from several decades ago. But the region was peaceful and people were very friendly. The close proximity to Bosnia would make a nice day trip. The Una river acts as the border between Croatia and Bosnia. Sometimes, Pepe would go to Bosnia. On such an occasion, he brought back a Chevapi and Burek - both very delicious regional food to discover!

My advice to anyone who wants to volunteer at this farm is quite straight-forward: if you are just looking for a place to sleep and free food, you will not fit in this community. But if you have (preferably) prior experience working on a farm, otherwise at least personal interests and self-motivation, then you will most likely enjoy the experience of contributing and sharing knowledge whilst living a simple yet fulfilling lifestyle surrounded by nature.

The farm, even though in its beginning stages of development, was quickly improving in terms of its infrastructure but also in building an integral community. In the future, glamping would be added with a focus on touristic activities. This was an ambitious project and truly driven by passion and hard work. I am eager to discover how the farm would evolve on my next visit. Thank you for your friendship and all the great memories. All the best and see you again at the Casa de Pepe!

(Excellent )

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Friends

Photos

Fixing electronics in a repair shop in Denmark.

Repair Café in Portugal.

CNC machining in Portugal.

At a recycling warehouse in Denmark.

In Portugal at an ecological farm.

At an ecological farm in Croatia.

Building a geodesic dome greenhouse in Portugal.

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Team lunch after a busy day in Portugal.

Setting up a pool in the hot summer in Croatia.

At a fabrication laboratory in Portugal.

At a no-kill animal shelter in Croatia.

Competition photos

Feedback

14 Mar 2023

Left by host (Help us build an off-grid ...) for Workawayer (Shakeel)

(Excellent )

17 Apr 2020

Left by Workawayer (Shakeel) for host (Help us build an off-grid ...)

(Excellent )

25 Feb 2023

Left by Workawayer (Shakeel) for host (Bhakti Yoga Eco village ...)

(Excellent )

31 Aug 2020

Left by Workawayer (Shakeel) for host (Help develop a self ...)

(Excellent )

25 Jul 2020

Left by host (Help around our family home ...) for Workawayer (Shakeel)

Shakeel is a very good fellow 🌞
Clean and very disciplined, sometimes slow,but good. He learning fast and have good skills,but first of all,he is honest and a very very good badminton player what I appreciate a lot. I wish you all the best my friend.

(Excellent )

16 Jul 2020

Left by Workawayer (Shakeel) for host (Help around our family home ...)

Davorin is an open-minded individual with a spiritual side. He also has an appreciation for art which is reflected clearly in his house with various interesting designs, paintings and other forms of art.

During my stay of about 2 months, i lived in a nice caravan which was beautifully furnished. On the ground floor of the house with an external… read more

(Excellent )

11 May 2020

Left by host (Share our passion for animal ...) for Workawayer (Shakeel)

Shakeel joined us in the worst possible moment, when all the restrictions because of the pandemic were put in place but he followed them without complaining. We are really sorry he had to experience the inconvenience to be in quarantine while staying with us..
Shakeel showed to be very conscientious, responsable, down to earth, a gentle soul, very… read more

(Excellent )

9 May 2020

Left by Workawayer (Shakeel) for host (Share our passion for animal ...)

My volunteering experience at this amazing animal shelter was an interesting, unique and great learning opportunity. It is a place of love, dedication and genuine care for rescued animals, consisting mostly of dogs with a few cats. I highly recommend this place to anyone who wants to see first-hand how abandoned (young, old and sick) dogs are… read more treated before being offered for adoption - it is definitely not an easy undertaking and requires a very organised, hard-working and meticulous approach from a dedicated group of people.

A little backstory: I planned my trip more than a month in advance but when i arrived at the shelter around mid-March, the situation in Croatia had changed quickly and drastically due to the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting lockdown. The team was understandably very concerned as i was travelling from outside Croatia (via Spain with a transit in Germany). So, i stayed in quarantine for 2 weeks. I lived just outside the shelter entrance in another volunteer's unused van. During that time, i was wearing a mask and gloves while inside the shelter and i was also working on a normal schedule; 5 days a week. But after work, i stayed isolated inside the van. It was very hard but i understood the severity of the situation and so, i diligently followed the confinement rules. Eventually, it turned out that i was not infected. But since it was a high risk situation with the shelter in the balance, it was better to be safe.

The health and safety of the dogs always come first. Even on the work boots of the team, it's written: "Do it for the dogs" or "Adopt, don't shop". It is an indication of the admirable mentality of the people working at the shelter. The animals were always the first priority in everything we did, which reflected the exemplary objectives of this shelter, especially with the lockdown affecting so many aspects of the volunteers' lives; restricted freedom, since we were confined to stay only in or around the old fort, and limited food supply due to no donations to the shelter and also, stress with extended isolation causing some tension between team members, etc. Those were part of the realities and consequences of the pandemic lockdown. But in the end, it all worked out.

I was in charge of half of all the dog cages which housed a total of about 30 dogs, including lots of puppies. :) After work, i would spend a lot of time inside several cages to play with the dogs. I gradually felt very close to them and also learned about their individual personalities (some were immediately playful while others took more time to feel comfortable as they had gone through some trauma before arriving to the shelter) and how to interact with them. Whenever one of them got adopted, i would see the dog taken out of its cage and led to the entrance where the new owner was eagerly awaiting. It was sad to see them leave but i also felt very happy that they had finally found a real home and loving owner.

The whole team (on-site and off-site volunteers, and the management) is very dedicated with great passion and love for the rescued animals. It was truly inspiring to witness and participate in the work to help and save every dog brought to the shelter.

After six weeks, i left the shelter with a sad feeling, even if it had been quite challenging at times. Before i left, i said goodbye to every dog. I went next to each cage, petted them and wished with all my heart that each one of them would end up in a loving home. I really wish there were more of this kind of shelters for all abandoned animals around the world.

(Excellent )

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