Hi everyone, my name is Tomas, born and raised in Kazakhstan. I work for an NGO in Kazakhstan, in the development of social projects around Central Asia. Prior to joining the NGO, I worked in KL (Malaysia) and Gurgaon (India) for four years. I have a passion for the fashion industry, and I started my sustainable fashion clothing brand.
I'm an open-minded, positive person who likes traveling, active sports, and participating in social programs. Countries I visited: Turkey, Spain, Greece, Kyrgyzstan, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Egypt, Austria, Vietnam, Azerbaijan, and UAE. I want to visit Peru, Japan, and Senegal.
I completed my Master's this year in Public Administration to systemically address social problems by working with different stakeholders and designing policies with positive implications.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I tried Couchsurfing several times when I traveled to a conference in Astana and traveled around Southeast Asia. I liked the experience and the idea of getting more connections from different parts of the world. Currently, I am in Europe, and I am open to meeting up with new people.

Interests

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I remembered my childhood dream of working in the fashion industry, and after taking fashion courses, I started working in the field of fashion. However, working in the field of social development, I realized how the fashion industry has a negative impact on the environment. Hence, I created a sustainable fashion brand made of hemp in Kazakhstan.
I also love sports. Two years ago, I did two of my Oceanman competitions in Dubai and Almaty, both 5km on open water. This year, I am more into running, completed my 10km this April, and preparing for 21km in Lisbon.

• photography
• cooking
• traveling
• socializing
• swimming
• social work
• volunteering
• networking
• run

Music, Movies, and Books

Books: based on real stories. Currently reading more Kazakh-based authors about their childhood or about post-colonialism in Kazakhstan.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

5km Oceanman

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach - how to design social projects and about Central Asian context
Learn - business/startup, mainly in the fashion industry & conducting comprehensive research about societal challenges for my PhD
Share - local stories

What I Can Share with Hosts

If I have Kazakhstani food (amazing chocolate, horse meat, or camel milk), I would love to share it with hosts. I can share my experience in different countries, tell more about how I became an expat in Malaysia, about Kazakhstan, different narratives we have, also about my Master's journey in Kazakhstan.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Greece, India, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

India, Kazakhstan, Malaysia