Commentaires, feedbacks et évaluations Workaway

It was very nice staying with Zelkja and her animals. They become like a family for me. All of the days I was in the sanctuary were full of peace and love. Zelkja is a very nice and good woman, very kind with the people and I'm sure that everyone can have a very good time with her. I specially liked our talks in the night and sharing experiences and love. It was very nice the work in the sanctuary, without preassure... The animals were around me and they give me a lot of love and kisses. You can see all the work of a sanctuary amd caring animals. I really recomend you go with Zelkja if you want to have a nice time in the nature in peace, know about the animals, the story and give them love.

Our stay with Cath and Pat was amazing and we really appreciate all they had to offer. The studio has stunning views, it is super comfy and Cath and Pat are an absolute delight to hang out with ❤

J'ai eu la chance de passer un mois et demi ici, de mi-juin à fin juillet 2021. J'ai adoré mon expérience et je recommande ce Workaway à tout le monde. L'auberge est située au coeur de Tadoussac, avec une vue magnifique sur le fleuve (vous pourrez même observer des bélugas et des baleines de temps en temps). L'auberge est très propre, les chambres ont été récemment rénovées et l'ambiance est très agréable. Les tâches consistent principalement à préparer les petits déjeuners, le nettoyage des chambres et l'enregistrement dans l'après-midi. Tout est très bien organisé et je n'ai jamais dépassé les 4 heures de travail par jour. Le logement pour les aides est bon et Charlotte (la gérante) s'assure toujours que nos étagères de cuisine sont bien garnies :) Il y a plusieurs randonnées à faire dans la région et c'est agréable de profiter de la plage après midi. J'ai eu la chance de travailler avec Paul et Sarah, deux autres assistants très attachants, qui sont devenus comme ma deuxième famille. Je n'ai que de bons souvenirs de cette expérience. L'auberge a mis la barre très haute pour mon prochain Workaway ! Je ne manquerai pas de revenir quand je serai de retour dans la région :) Merci beaucoup à toute l'équipe.

It was a pleasure having Jim stay with us and help out. He tackled every task requested of him enthusiastically. Jim showed great interest in the farm and especially seemed to enjoy the animals. He is polite and well mannered and clean and tidy in the house. Thank you, Jim for all your help and we wish you all the best for your future endeavours.

Martina is a wonderfull young person ... verrrry nice with animlas ... and very open hearted to people ... she will do anything you asked from she ... I miss our conversations after the workday is finished ... she become to me as my colose friend and as a doughter in the same time .. hope she will come back some day to hug her once more ...

Eelke and Jimmy came to help out for a few weeks and left as friends. A joy to have staying here - conscientious, hardworking, cheerful and enthusiastic. We were so sad to see them go but happy as we know they will be back! Thank you for everything....the ducks are still waiting for their next Zoom call :)

Nice young people! Ready to learn and help as much they can ... Very nice with the animlas!!!! Very talented with social networks, tehnic of makeing movies and promote your work (in my case: animal sanctuary) ... Especialy very nice in dialogue, coultural exchange and history ... We're become a friends! I hope they will return here some day ... just to hug both of them .. :-)

This has been one of my favourite experiences, Kate and Mark are perfect hosts, they are organised and clear about what needs to be done, but are so flexible and gave me every opportunity to work to my strengths. I was able to paint window frames on the ground and first floors, paint some garden furniture, create a stick sculpture for the giant tomato plants to climb all over. And lots of watering the very expansive property. I also helped with meals and cooked a special South African dish for the family. The dogs are chilled and love affection and we enjoyed many pleasant walks as well as a bit of wild swimming in a nearby lake. I was taken to see some of the surrounding villages and Kate introduced me to some of the local activities and markets. By the end of my visit I felt like a valued member of the team, integrated into many of the family routines and treated to some of the best food I have eaten anywhere, Mark is a magic bread and cake creator, making gluten free cake as an additional treat for me. I count both Kate and Mark as friends and will be only too happy to return in the future. Highly recommended.

I stayed within the community for one week only, unfortunately, due to stomach issues, but truly enjoyed the very authentic experience I had during this time! I left with such a different perspective on life, what matters to me, and feel so grateful to have access to things such as a fridge, food diversity and warm clothes. These people leave out of what they find in the jungle and I truly felt impressed by the simple way in which they live. They are all nice people, and I am happy I got to know them and their culture. Thank you for everything, Diego, Froilan and all the others, and apologies again for the early departure!

We stayed 3 weeks with Theo and Douglas and absolutely loved it. They made us feel at home and where very generous sharing their place and property with us. We helped out with lots of different things, inside and outside, with the (veggie)garden and lovely animals. They gave us tips of things to do in the area, which is really beautiful. Thanks Theo and Doug, we will definitely come back!

Slim., was very good, to us, good for us , here at our home he is a very alert and conscienuous person to have with you, also a good worker. Good Luck Slim., Best Wishes Alan & Sheila

Nous sommes allés moi et mon copain 1 semaine chez Mélanie et Patrick. Ils nous ont accueullis généreusement que ce soit au niveau de l'échange culturel, pour l'explication des différentes tâches à faire ou encore pour la nourriture. Nous avons pu aller à la pêche et à la cueillette des bleuets! Nous avons eu certaines divergences d'opinions, ce qui nous a pas empêché de bien rigoler et de passer du temps de qualité ensemble. Super belle expérience, nous recommandons :)

We had the pleasure of hosting maia for three weeks and we were really happy. Maia is a really smart girl, responsible, nice and very good with children. She worked hard and helped us with the management of the house and the children. Great company and lots of laughs together. I definitely recommend hosting Maia in your home.

Mar and Txema are really lovely people, I had great 3 weeks working on the Campus de Verano with children and of course their twins. In my free time they took me to a lot of places! Like the beach or villages and there is a good bus connection to Las Palmas so you can go surfing or just enjoy the city whenever you like :) All in all it was a really nice experience and I would always go back, thank you for everything!

Vittoria and Luca were both such nice people and I had a wonderful stay with them! I only stayed a little over a week, but it was a great way to experience the farm life. One of my intentions was to see how living (almost) self sustainable is and I truly have so much respect for them. It isn't always easy and you can't really take a day off, especially with so many animals around, but when you see the finished products it's all worth it. Though we were given two days off and we only worked from around 8 AM until 2 PM (you kind of choose whenever you want to take a break which was nice) and this allowed us to explore the villages nearby (having a car makes this much easier). They make their own delicious jam from their own fruit and you are free to just go out in the vegetable garden and pluck the vegetables you want to use for supper. And their tomatoes and eggs are simply the best I've ever tasted! Furthermore, I wanted to learn how to be a better vegan chef and I must say that during my stay and after, eating vegan has never been this easy to me. I have already recommended them to a few of my backpacking friends and will continue to do so! Thank you Luca and Vittoria for having me :)

Nikolai helped a lot in 3 weeks. He is a very hardworking, smart and interesting man. He can tell a lot of interesting things. He made very delicious food. You could always count on it. The host who has such a helper is lucky. Thank you Nikolai for being here, see you next year!

We spent more than three days with Sonia and her lovely family. We had to do some tasks like fencing, carpentry, cooking and (deep) cleaning. We enjoyed a lot playing with their lovely kids :) The accomodation was very comfortable, in a private room with shared bathroom and all the necessary equipment. Really nice house, despite the fact our mattress and room was full of dust, so I got a really bad allergy reaction :( Food: this is the point where we are more disappointed. The first day they told us not to eat a lot because they buy good quality and expensive food. They mentioned we could contribute with some money for food and we ended up by consuming less than we would like to, for not discomfort the situation. We think it doesn't show Workaway's values, they weren't generous with meals. Even though we burned a lot of calories doing phisical works for them. In their profile they show it like it's a Ecommunity, but it's just a family farm house with big wild land. Their intention is very good, specially Sonia was a great and nice person, they have good ideas in mind, it can become a great project. but in fact It will last longer than they expected because their work's rithm is quite slow. Working with David was challenging, I had to spend more time than expected for building a fence. We learned together many things by doing. I limited myself to serve him and follow his orders because he was hosting us, but I wasn't happy with his leadership and professionalism. Then I understand why the dream project he has in mind will last longer than expected to become real. We personally recommend to anyone who is interested about ecoprojects to go there and help this international family, they will have a good experience for sure, and they could practice lenguages exanges. Especially If you like kids ;)

We were delighted to host Yat Yi in July 2021 while she completed her thesis for her MSc. She settled in quickly and was enormously adaptable and helpful. During over half her stay, I was suffering from debilitating fatigue and she readily took full responsibility for the welfare of the hens and chicks as well as maintenance of the land, which I believe assisted my recovery. One task which was similar to cleaning the Aegean stables was the annual clearing of dock before it seeded. She took on this onerous task with gusto and not a word of complaint, despite cutting the dock at its roots being a back-breaking task. Yat Yi helped with numerous other tasks and even overcame her disgust to remove a plethora of slugs which are set on destroying the flowers in our raised beds. Although obviously more of a cat woman, she tolerated our dog Mimi’s efforts to ingratiate herself and valiantly suffered her affectionate nature. She took great satisfaction from removing the invasive blanketweed from the haha, and was most assiduous in her efforts to keep its waters clear. We revived a small bicycle for her use and she took advantage of her mobility to visit St Ives and go on a couple of cycling adventures with me. Whenever we entertained at home (predominately under the house due to Covid restrictions) or visited friends and family, Yat Yi joined in despite some language difficulties. Her vocabulary is extensive however pronunciation can be problematic, so we had sessions on certain words and phrases and once learned it was terrific to find that these were etched into her speech. We wish her every success in gaining her MSc and in obtaining the IELTS English language qualification she is seeking in order to pursue her career in research or nursing. When she left, the room she so happily inhabited was spotless, which is much appreciated. Thank you so much Yat Yi. We will always be happy to see you here again (Mimi loves a challenge!).

The retreat is a paradise within a magical, spiritual bohemian wonderland. Gertrude is an amazing woman with a large heart but also a huge inspiration. Being part of the volunteer team has been a great pleasure for me. I have been fortunate to share my time here last summer for 2 months and currently back again for 12 weeks. Both times I have arrived here with no expections, no desires, no projects but yet I have gained so much confidence, self awareness and knowledge of mindfulness. I am truly grateful for this opportunity. It is always with pleasure to work here at the retreat. The day starts with a beautiful mindefull yoga practise with meditation that Gertrude leads. After we help with preparing the breakfast for our guests and ourselves followed by clearing up. During the day, we spend the time as we wish.. There are so many beautiful spots to visit and activities if your looking for this or simply chilling in the garden. After we get together again to prepare the evening meals. It's been a joy to learn and discover Gertrude fantastic vegan dishes. They are delicious and look so beautiful. We prepare the table and everybody comes together for dinner. I love this time to get to know the guests and the conversation are always welcoming.After we clean up and to make sure the house energy's are calm again. The house is huge and it does need to be well maintained but it is such a beautiful building. Some days are busier than others especially when guests finish their stay. The rooms need a complete clean with fresh bedding and all the flooring to be hovered and washed. There are no strict rules but for me I want to do the best I can, for the guests and of course Gertrude. You get a lot in return for your time that you give so I never feel that I am doing too much. In fact it feels like I am part of helping one large family! My accommodation is great, a large clean bedroom with bedding provided for myself and a lovely shower that we share. The food is AMAZING!!! If you find yourself in the situation of being offered the opportunity to have this experience then go for it.. :)