Deon

South Africa
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Profile information

Reply rate
100.0 %
Travel information
I am currently
At home
Activities i am interested in:
Meeting interesting people, permaculture, learning about local customs and indigenous foods, botany, photography, beautiful beaches, hiking, running (road/trail), ocean and pool swimming, freediving.
My next destination:
Malaysia - from Jul 2025 until Sep 2025
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Description
Life is an amazing experience and for me, the pinnacle is being in nature to observe, learn, and apply that knowledge. I particularly enjoy propagating and growing plants, especially tropical food plants. At my home in Durban, South Africa, I've turned my garden into a productive food forest using hardy species like chaya, katuk, banana, papaya, and many more. I would love to help others learn from the insights I've gained into food production in limited space over the past decade. I enjoy spending time around people who also love plants and the natural world, although I do value my own space and respect the space of others.
My second big love is health through nutrition. The growing, preparation, and enjoyment of slow food using a range of plants and fungi has worked really well for me since 2012. That's when I decided to become vegan, after a trip to the Indian Himalayas to run a 100 mile stage race got me thinking about sustainability and the massive effect humans are having on our planet, largely through the use of land to produce food. Animal agriculture takes up a massive percentage of the land we use. I enjoy sharing the health benefits of wholefood plant-based eating with others.
Interests
Astronomy
Sailing / Boating
Blogging
Mountain
Culture
Technology
Cycling
DIY & crafts
History
Music
Writing
Photography
Carpentry
Self development
Sustainability
Animals
Books
Outdoor activities
Farming
Hitchhiking
Nature
Vegetarian or vegan
Beach
Cooking & food
Plant care
Hiking
Gardening
Water sports
Fitness
Adventure sports
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Afrikaans: Intermediate
German: Beginner
Spanish: Beginner
More details about my language interests
My main language goal is to be reasonably conversant in Spanish.
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Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn
Some knowledge of:
DIY and building projects
General Maintenance
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Life at a Farmstay
Eco Projects
Able to teach about:
Gardening
More details about your skills
GARDEN
Choosing, propagating (cuttings/seeds), planting, and pruning of food forest plants using hand tools. (Plus a little experience with petrol chainsaw.)
Soil improvement through mulching.
Infrastructure maintenance using hand tools, power drill, reciprocating saw, etc.
Problem solving for all the usual maintenance issues (fixing water leaks, maintaining gutters).
Non-toxic pest control (ants etc).
Water harvesting (irrigation pipe setup, water tank setup).

KITCHEN
I have cooked my own meals for years, so am proficient at making tasty nutritious food using a wide range of plants.
Main area of interest and focus (for health reasons): legumes, wholegrains, dark leafy greens.
Practising vegan (since 2012).

OTHER
Former sports magazine publisher/editor, so able to help with writing and editing where needed.
Age
58
What else ...
I enjoy day hiking and could help with trail guiding once I have some local ecosystem knowledge.
I'm passionate about sharing the wonders of the natural world, especially ideas and practical methods for humans to co-exist with the rest of life on Earth.
Permaculture and agro-ecology are natural ways for me to fashion my environment, and with suitable genetic material (cuttings, seeds) sourced locally, I can help my host set up a highly productive food system that will be producing stacks of quality food in a matter of months.
I'm a fairly good swimmer (pool and open water) and could help non-swimming community members be safe around water. (I'm not qualified in this sphere but could give demos and advice).
I love underwater swimming and training for dynamic apnea.
I'm keen to explore vertical freediving when at the coast. Not qualified yet, but looking to do so.
I get a kick out of sampling new foods and learning about unusual edible plant and fungal species.
Some more information
- Smoker
- Driver's licence
- Allergies
  No
- Special dietary requirements
  Vegan

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9 Jul 2024

Left by Workawayer () for host (Join our new ecofriendly and ...)

What a great hostel, staffed by friendly young people, who keep it tidy and clean at all times. I thoroughly enjoyed my six days here. Work included prepping bed frames for fumigation, replacing mattress covers, sweeping and mopping floors, cleaning the pool, and pruning the plants in the peaceful garden around the swimming pool, which is a… read more

(Excellent )

12 Jun 2024

Left by Workawayer () for host (Be part of my jungle ...)

Sequoia’s half hectare of mixed jungle and developing food forest is a paradise. Her thoughtfulness, kindness, generosity, commitment to healthy living, and passion for growing and making delicious food from plants made my two weeks there my favourite time in Costa Rica, and my top experience of four Workaway gigs.
She took the time to show me… read more

(Excellent )

7 May 2024

Left by Workawayer () for host (Help plant fruit trees, build ...)

My 14 days were extremely enjoyable.
But make no mistake, this is no five-star hotel.
The reason is that Brian is one of those rare people who walks the talk about protecting the environment. For his first 5-6 months since taking ownership of his farm outside Loreto, he’s chosen to go the low-impact route in all avenues.
This includes making… read more all furniture (he and volunteers have used bamboo to make a table, portable wardrobe, two sets of drums, and pan flute) with no more technology than a cordless drill. In his food forest, he does all cutting and planting by hand, without any petrol or electric gadgets.
There’s no toilet paper, there are curtains in lieu of doors, and when I volunteered from mid-April to its end, there were frequent power cuts due to Ecuador’s drought -related electricity crisis.
But these all have a trade-off. Life is simpler. Life is slower. The days have a different way of starting and ending. Food finds a deeper meaning.
There is an adjacent farmhouse around 100m away, and some occasional motorcycle and pickup truck traffic on the river stone dirt road, but at night it’s like you’re in the heart of the Amazon, with a splendid dark silhouette of the jungle against the vast tapestry of the Milky Way above. Fireflies, bats, and strange animal sounds pierce the night.
If you want a true taste of frugality, living close to the land, connecting with interesting people who love the Earth, eating fresh delicious plant foods, and are passionate about the multitude of food plants on Earth, then Brian’s beautiful 4 hectare finca cannot be recommended highly enough.
Brian leads by example and has a gift of bringing out the best in people. He has a chilled style of letting Workawayers do what they find joy in doing. He’s well-travelled (especially South East Asia and Central America) and was super-generous with his advice about travel in Costa Rica and Nicaragua for my plans to explore there.
I left Brian’s finca with mixed feelings: sad to leave after just two weeks, and excited to experience the places, fruits, and food markets he was so enthusiastic about.
Brian’s farm is a wonderful permaculture work in progress, bringing diversity to a former coffee and cacao-only monoculture. He’s done this in a little over five months, working like a Trojan to replace grass between the trees (which include recently planted durian, jackfruit and around 20 other delicious fruit species) with pinto peanut and other groundcovers.
I will stay in contact with him not as a host, but as a friend. I am looking forward to seeing updated photos of what he and his wife Sunny (joining him in July 2024) will do in the coming months.
Brian and Sunny, I wish you all the best!

(Excellent )

30 Apr 2024

Left by host (Help plant fruit trees, build ...) for Workawayer ()

Deon was a super helpful and all-around great guy during his stay here. He has a lot of knowledge and experience in gardening and permaculture, and he had so many great ideas that helped reshape many of the aspects of this project.

He really helped me see the food growing here in a new way and get more out of what’s already here, and he also… read more

(Excellent )

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