helena_b

Información de viaje

Ahora estoy

Descripción

My name is Helena, I'm 33 years old and I'm on a path of living a life that is guided by the cultivation of deep, meaningful connection with myself, the Earth and fellow human beings.

After finishing my MA degree, I worked as an English language teacher, translator/writer/editor for books and magazines and a photographer/video editor. However, in 2022 I quit my career to spend almost two years living in Plum Village monastery and meditation center in France which practices in the tradition of Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, the "father of mindfulness" in the West. Besides learning more about meditation and zen, I fell in love with gardening there. This was a transformative experience, both thanks to living in a large international community in which we were all students of our minds and thanks to the chance to learn more about deepening my connection with the more than human world. It's been a great joy and privilege to also co-organise retreats on the farm and share how the practice of meditation and contemplation can help us reconnect with ourselves as well as the world around us.

I'm now exploring how to keep nurturing the gifts of this experience in places outside the monastery, to keep learning about the more than human world and the ways to open its doors to others.

Intereses

Sostenibilidad

Cuidado de plantas

Fotografía

Naturaleza

Jardinería

Bricolaje y manualidades

Agricultura

Idiomas hablados

Czech: Fluido
Inglés: Fluido
Alemán: Principiante
Francés: Principiante

Habilidades y conocimientos que quiero compartir o aprender

Me interesa:  

Proyectos de construcción y bricolaje

Mantenimiento general

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Ciertos conocimientos de:  

Jardinería

Vida en una granja

Proyectos ecológicos

Ayuda doméstica

Hostelería/turismo

Enseñanza

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Puedo enseñar:  

Idiomas

Proyectos artísticos

Que habilidades tienes?

In a nutshell:

I have BA in Social Anthropology and English Language and Literature and MA in English Language Translation. I have experience in hospitality (reception, kitchen help, serving food, housekeeping) and I spent the last almost two years working on organic farms/in orchards/gardens. I've also worked as a freelance photographer and videographer (see https://brunnerova.wixsite.com/foto for my portfolio) and have a wide range of experience working with people, from being a tour guide to teaching, facilitation and co-organisation of retreats. I'm certainly no chef but I can cook some healthy, nutritionally balanced and hopefully yummy vegan meals :-)

In detail:

2018-2022 working full time as a freelance writer/editor/translator, photographer and English teacher (for levels A0-C1, mostly teens and adults).

June-September 2018: Tour guide in Alaska, USA, Black Diamond Resort: guiding groups of 5-15 people on horse-drawn carriages, taking care of horses

Volunteering:

Plum Village monastery and meditation centre, France:
March 2023 - March 2024 (full time) and on and off since then, Happy Farm:
Working on an organic farm producing vegetables, herbs and flowers; creating and taking care of beds, growing plants from seeds, harvesting, weeding, watering, cutting grass, taking care of compost, small DIY repairs, leading groups of retreatants during farming sessions, co-organising retreats... More about this project here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gk89XTuNkE
July 2022, October-February 2022-2023: helping with a retreat for teenagers and with everyday running of the centre (cooking, cleaning, preparing meditation hall...)

Workaway:

1 - 21 September and 11 October - 10 December 2024: Portugal
Future retreat centre: taking care of vegetable garden, planting (over one thousand :-)) trees, renovation work

28 May - 9 August 2024: Hastabaa Aarekol, Norway
Orchard help: weed whacking, thinning plums, harvesting, clearing the land with a chainsaw

18 August - 12 September 2015: Lauku Tēja, Latvia
Family-owned farm specializing in the production of herbal tea; weeding, collecting plants, leaves and flowers and processing them (cutting, heating, drying...).

12 July - 25 July 2015: Frauenau, Germany
Helping a German couple with the work around the house and in the garden (mostly cleaning, picking fruit and wheelbarrowing wood).

1 July - 10 July 2014: Hasslebo, Åland Islands
Tiny eco-hostel and campsite on a tiny island; housekeeping, helping with preparation of breakfast for guests.

1 July - 16 July 2013 and 28 January - 15 February 2014, Comfy Corner, Berlin, Germany
Small hostel in the center of Berlin; housekeeping, front desk work, light repairs and everything else that needed to be done; since volunteering worked so well for me here, I was invited to stay longer and from June 2014 to January 2015 I turned from a volunteer to a co-host.

25 July - 22 August 2013, Gramsford Lodge, Blackpool, UK
Hotel: Housekeeping, front desk work, preparing and serving meals and drinks to guests.

Workcamps (international projects for small groups of volunteers):

1 August - 15 August 2016; GREFA, Spain
Wildlife animal rescue centre; mostly renovation of the enclosures.

9 August – 23 August 2012; The Big Skill, Wales, UK
Helping setting up the site for a festival of traditional crafts, inviting local people and assisting during the festival.

23 June – 7 July 2012; Athboy Tidy Towns, Ireland
Working on the facades of old buildings, painting doors, walls and windows; small landscaping projects.

3 July – 17 July 2011; Jøssåsen Landsby, Norway
Working in a Camphill community together with people with special needs. Mostly landscaping (building a stone path, wattle fence, creating flower beds).

1 July – 17 July 2010; Äijälä farm, Finland
Organic gardening, planting, hay-making and cleaning up the forest. Some of the work was done together with Finnish people with special needs.

Other voluntary work:
Helping with Czech organisations Hnutí Duha, Hnutí Brontosaurus and MUNI Pomáhá. Renovating houses destroyed by a tornado in the southern part of the country, working in a forest, teaching English to teenagers in one of children's homes in my hometown, helping the elderly in a Czech speaking community in a small Romanian village Rovensko with their daily chores...

Edad

33

Más información

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  Fumador

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  Permiso de conducir

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  Alergia
  No

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  Dieta especial
  vegetarian (or vegan)