Wednesday 13 January 2016

Workaway – a wonderful way to do something new

Sorry for the radio silence chaps. I’m back and I’ve been busy! For the last nine months I’ve been working on organic farms in France and Spain. Together with my sidekick and trusty co-driver Raph we packed our campervan and swapped our city life for an all together more rural one, way up in the Pyrenean mountains. The adventure was made possible by Workaway. It’s a site that gives people like me the chance to live and work with hosts all over the world. I couldn’t recommend it more for anyone who wants to change things up a bit while travelling and learning new skills along the way.

Our desire was to work outside more, grow the food we eat and generally learn how to live a little more sustainably. The experience totally surpassed our expectations, largely because of the wonderful hosts we met; incredibly industrious people who make a living from the land. We helped to grow food for the family table as well as paying customers. We fed animals that ended up feeding us. We maintained gardens and collected firewood from the forest. Our digging, bark stripping and pick-axing built us a home up in the forest canopy. I feel so inspired that I can’t imagine doing anything else.

Anyway, that’s enough of me harping on about the joys of not working in an office (but really, you should have a look through the hosts), but it is what I hope to do as a day job. So expect me to be sharing a broader range of niche but nice things from here on in, as I launch into something a little more green fingered. There’ll still be the same creative musings mind you. And where else would horticulture and illustration combine, but in a place where NicheButNice things are celebrated.

Here are a few pics from the trip. 






We took a lot of photos of vegetables - sad eh? But we were so proud.



 

Not vegetables this time, just having a Sound Of Music moment. Obviously.