Safwan

United States
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Profile information

Reply rate
100.0 %
Travel information
I am currently
Travelling
Description
Howdy! I'm Safwan, an artist and researcher born near Dallas, Texas. I've worked extensively in theatre, live music, and other events in audiovisual design, and more recently have been developing a visual art practice (primarily cyanotype printmaking). I've also worked in arts administration and event planning (as well as in tech for a start-up looking at lots of spreadsheets).

My research interests are a mix of performance studies and anthropology — I've recently spent some time in Spain and Morocco with an interest in their connected history through the medieval Islamic kingdoms of Al-Andalus. I studied at the University of Granada during summer 2022 and have otherwise continued learning about the subject on my own. Long term, I hope to apply to graduate programs (likely Spanish universities) for a start in Fall 2025.

I have been traveling outside of the US since July 2024, beginning with a Workaway-type experience in Spain for 2 months (host paused listing here). Then, I spent about a month researching in Morocco. I came back to Spain for a month Workaway on an olive farm, then went to a brief Workaway in Italy before heading to Tunisia for the new year. I left for Cairo, Egypt and after 3 months returned briefly to Morocco and am in Spain again working on a (non-Workaway) volunteer opportunity.

I love the outdoors and broadly work to live a sustainable, eco-friendly lifestyle.
Interests
Technology
Languages
Sailing / Boating
Politics / Social justice
Sustainability
Outdoor activities
Gardening
Hiking
History
Drawing & painting
Farming
Photography
Videography
Writing
Movies & TV
Music
Nature
Pets
Performing arts
Events & social
Culture
Cycling
DIY & crafts
Carpentry
Cooking & food
Charity work
Books
Architecture
Animals
Art & design
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: Fluent
Bengali (Bangla): Intermediate
Arabic: Beginner
Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn
I'm interested in:
Eco Projects
Animal Care
Life at a Farmstay
Some knowledge of:
Charity Work
Languages
Teaching
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Able to teach about:
Art Projects
Helping with Computers/ Internet
More details about your skills
My career has primarily utilized digital creative tools, and I have extensive experience with audio, video, and photo editing/production, and adjacent to that have skills in marketing/graphic design (flyers, logos, social media posts). I've also worked in arts administration including planning events and managing large scale projects with complex timelines. Recently I have been freelance working with some arts organizations back home in Dallas, working on their social media and email marketing among other administration needs.

Through my work in theatre and a childhood invested in Scouting programs, I have good experience working with my hands that I really want to build on — carpentry, landscaping, gardening, and nature conservation. My Eagle Scout project was leading the installation of a brick walkway, brick patio, and several benches at a food pantry in my hometown.

With specific respect to farming, I volunteered from July to September 2024 at Azahara International, an olive farm (with several gardens) in SE Spain, where I worked on some landscaping/construction and organization projects as well as regularly watered/maintained some gardens. I also observed and helped with the process of pruning olive trees for the upcoming harvest, and produced marketing material for retreats held at the farm. Then, I had a wonderful Workaway experience in SW Spain in October/November 2024, that was focused on olive harvesting and other land work (more info in my review). I'd love to build more experience directly with farming, including permaculture. Most recently, I did a shorter Workaway north of Rome, taking care of animals and doing a bit of land work on a ranch there.
Age
24
What else ...
since the prompt mentions board games, I LOVE Catan. I love bicycling whether for fun or for commuting. I'm really interested in music and art from all around the world, I've collected about 250 vinyl records over time (many of which I recently sold) namely jazz, soul, funk, rock, folk, and hip-hop from all around the globe.
Some more information
- Smoker
- Driver's licence
- Allergies
- Special dietary requirements
  I am a practicing Muslim and keep halal, so I often keep it simple and keep to pescatarian/vegetarian/vegan diets when traveling. But if available I would eat meat prepared in accordance with Islamic restrictions.

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2 Mar 2025

Left by host (Enjoy a calm stay and care ...) for Workawayer ()

Safwan stayed with me for a few weeks and was a big help taking the animals out and generally taking care of the property. Safwan is friendly, kind, trustworthy and knowledgeable and he would contribute to any environment avaliable on workaway. It was a real pleasure hosting him and also hearing about his artistic practice, hope to see him again… read more

(Excellent )

16 Nov 2024

Left by Workawayer () for host (Help with gardening and learn ...)

Spending a month with Claire and Andrew for my first official Workaway set the bar very, very high for any future experiences. The environment they've created is so welcoming — the meals Claire cooks for all to share are so lovely — and the work was incredibly rewarding. I previously had a Workaway type experience on an olive farm over the summer… read more on the other side of Andalucia, but didn't get to do a lot of hands-on work with the trees. Working with Andrew, we immediately got to work on pruning olive trees in preparation for harvesting by hand, which took place over several 2-day periods during the following weeks. The work isn't necessarily challenging, but there is a good amount of it - especially to get to a 500 kilogram minimum each 2 day harvest. So, I was never too horribly exhausted or physically worn out, but I always felt a deep sense of satisfaction about the work we were doing. It helps that Claire and Andrew were extremely intentional about making sure we took breaks during the workday, and ensuring that we had a lot of free time after the workday ended and on days off. I wanted to go into the city (Málaga and Sevilla are pretty close!) on Fridays to pray at a mosque, and they were super flexible with letting me pick up that day's work on another day of the weekend (usually Saturday and Sunday off for Workawayers).

Going into the local towns (Algodonales is the closest, but Zahara de la Sierra and Setenil de las Bodegas are relatively close, popular tourist towns - though there aren't great public transit options) and the nearby popular city of Ronda shouldn't be missed, by the way.

I can say that olive oil tastes MUCH better when you know it's fresh and it came from olives you helped pick. It was always great to add the oil to Claire's wonderful primarily vegetarian meals (for the group I was in there was at times fish which we were all okay with) — or to add to meals we made ourselves in the amply stocked kitchen. Having that kitchen space and more importantly, having a room and bathroom to myself was a huge privilege that I see is not so common at most Workaway experiences.

I was glad to build my experience working specifically with olive trees in Andalucía, and glad to be able to develop some other transferable skills, especially as I was able to do some broader land maintenance using a big weed whacker/brush cutter a few times. Claire also was incredibly helpful in connecting me with an opportunity to set up a printmaking workshop in town and do some demonstration for some of the other Workawayers before I left.

Altogether, if you have an opportunity to do a Workaway with Claire and Andrew, you'd better take it — you'll probably get what you expected out of it and much, much more.

(Excellent )

16 Nov 2024

Left by host (Help with gardening and learn ...) for Workawayer ()

Safwan is larger than life- full of stories - an overall interesting guy. He took time to demonstrate some artwork to others staying here which is a good skill to have.

(Excellent )

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2 Mar 2025

Left by host (Enjoy a calm stay and care ...) for Workawayer ()

(Excellent)

16 Nov 2024

Left by Workawayer () for host (Help with gardening and learn ...)

(Excellent)

16 Nov 2024

Left by host (Help with gardening and learn ...) for Workawayer ()

Safwan is larger than life- full of stories - an overall interesting guy. He took time to demonstrate some artwork to others staying here which is a good skill to have.

(Excellent)

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