I am an Educator from Rio de Janeiro/Brazil who started a trip around the world in March 2017. My plan is to travel for five years (one year in each continent) visiting innovative schools and sustainable/spiritual communities, learning in practice as a volunteer and exploring the world in a transformative way.

My purpose is to co-create a free and sustainable school for poor people, when I go back to Brazil, based on Gaia Education principles. It is a personal and social project. I don´t have any sponsor, only my dreams, my backpack and a small budget. I quit my job (after 20 years of career in the business world) to make these dreams come true.

“Our actions, however small they may seem, are capable of changing the world. In every moment, we make life choices. If we connect to the planet and to others, we will be a bridge to a sustainable future. Each one of us makes our own Tomorrow. And together we make ours – the Tomorrows we want.” (Museum of Tomorrow, Rio de Janeiro / Brazil)

More about me:

I am a day person, vegetarian and minimalist. I am also a natural organizer who prefer to live in an clean, tidy and quiet environment. I love nature, children, travelling, dancing and outdoor activities.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

The base of my project is the cooperation. I really believe in a gift-economy, in the synchronicity of the Universe and in the good essence of human beings.

I love travelling and making new friends all over the world and I believe in cooperation for the benefit of our mutual achievements.

While travelling, I am not very interested in touristic places but meet locals with different cultures. That´s why I am here.

Interests

Sustainability, Education, Social Actions, Volunteering, Nature

• culture
• education
• social action
• social work
• volunteering
• nature
• sustainability
• permaculture
• intentional communities
• cooperation
• ecovillages
• sustainable development
• community
• sustainable living
• alternative education
• non-formal education

Music, Movies, and Books

Too many to list, but my favorite movie and album is Into the Wild.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Quit my job (after 20 years of career in the business world) to start a long trip alone as a volunteer;

Listen my heart every single day and follow the flow of the Universe;

Skidiving experience;

Long-distance trekkings:
- Inca trail - Machu Picchu/Peru
- Torres del Paine big circuit (W + O) - Chile
- Los Picos de Europa - Spain
- Lençóis Maranhenses National Park - Brazil
- Gold trail - Bocaina National Park - Brazil
- Vale do Paty trail - Chapada Diamantina/Brazil
- Joatinga trail - Paraty/Brazil
- Deuter Expedition Teresópolis x Friburgo - Brazil

Worked as a volunteer for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio 2016.

Teach, Learn, Share

My life mission is to help people and learn and evolve with them.
I am always open to learn anything from anyone and I love to share my learnings.

What I Can Share with Hosts

My learnings with my trip around the world.

I have been having amazing voluntary work experiences at many ecovillages and schools.

My website (www.voenessa.blog.br) is a space to share some of these experiences. It is in Portuguese, as my main purpose is to inspire people in Brazil. Unfortunately, I don´t have enough time to write both in Portuguese and English (but if you are interested in, you can use the automatic translation tools available to get an idea of the content).

On the Homepage, you can find some of the articles published about my journey in different medias. And on My Flights page, all the places I visited with the support of a huge international cooperation network (my angels!).

On Education and Sustainability pages, I share all schools and communities which I visited, observed, lived or worked as a volunteer.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Latvia, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russian Federation, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey

Countries I’ve Lived In

Brazil