Area: Saskatchewan

Our farm consists of 90 head of cattle - calving is getting close to completed. We have 7 riding horses and 2 ponies (both ponies are needing harness work). The rest of the barnyard population is made up of chickens, ducks, cats, 5 dogs, rabbits, lambs, peacocks and of course our llama Sparky and our two pot belly pigs, Wilbur and Louie. Our farm has been hosting visitors since 2004. We are a family of 4 (daughters ages - 16 and 13yrs) and we encourage our helpers to become a part of our everyday life.

Area: North Calais

I'm English and my partner, David, is French. We live on a working dairy farm that has been in his family for 100 years....but cows have taken priority over DIY in the house!! His parents live next door and this is a sleepy village, no bar or local raves here (not that i know of anyway!) We have lived here together for the last year and there is still a huge amount of work to be done in the house and the garden, progress is slow, as I said, the cows come first. There is always someone coming or going. The farm is located in the centre of the village and during the summer there are several local French village fetes/BBq's etc etc. I myself come from a more London background but I now prefer this gentler way of life. I am looking for some one or a couple who can muck in and go with the flow of what ever needs doing around the house and garden. This is an old house that has been neglected and I am on as much of a learning curve as anybody!

Area: Andalucia

We are family of three, Father(Ricardo,51 years) works as shop assistant, Mom(Toñi, 45 years) works as manager of supermarket and Me(Miguel, 25 years) that I'm studying Nursing and working as spinning instructor. Father works full time and Mom works part-time, I'm free of work and study since beginning of July to end of August. We live in south of Spain, in a city called Huelva, it's near from Seville (1 hour by car) and borderline to Portugal. Where we live, the nearest beach is 10 minutes by car or 30 minutes by bikes (we have 2 bikes to go to the beach). I'll be in Ireland to help some host in August, then, We would like to host as well.

Area: Midi Pyrenees

I am currently restoring an old french farmhouse using the same materials it was built with and making the materials by hand whenever possible. The house is on five acres, mostly pasture, some oak woods. There is a tumulus, an ancient burial mound, on the land from which there are fantastic views of the Pyrenees mountains and Spain. There are two organic vegetable gardens and a young orchard. I also do bronze casting. It is a very quiet and peaceful spot and the yurt, see accommodation below, is a great place to relax. From here it is possible to spend the day swimming in the Mediterranean or surfing in the Atlantic or hiking or skiing in the Pyrenees. In the area there are pre-historic caves, roman ruins and various medieval fortresses to visit.

Area: Lower Normandy

We are a Kiwi family living in historic Normandy, renovating our amazing 400+ year old farmhouse whilst perfecting our French and generally immersing ourselves in French life. We are returning the house to it's traditional majestic beauty by reinstating the thatched roof and exposing it's stone and oak features, whilst at the same time adding modern twists of glass, metal and bold colour, and the occasional 'kiwi twist'. We are a couple who have travelled and worked in many different countries and enjoy learning about different cultures. Here in France, we have a simple but good life enjoying the outdoors in our pool, jacuzzi, trampoline, kids play area, etc. We are in the countryside just outside an active village, our 6 year old son goes to the local school (a 3.5km cycle to the center of town), we're close to all the historic D-day sites, actually on the D-day 'route-de-libertie', the evocative Abbaye d'Hambye is 5 mins away, it's 40 mins to the famous Le Mont St Michel, and we have easy access to port and airport connections to the UK etc. We're in the midst of an extenstive ecological project to rethatch and insulate our chaumiere. This involves many preparatory phases such as paving and decking terrassing and drainage, exterior insulation, lime repointing and double glazing. Additionally we are in the midst of many other projects - the construction of oak spiral stairs and mezzanine extension; instillation of wooden kitchen worktops and repair of 300 yr old oak flooring; planting of a New Zealand garden; and several craft projects such as the polynesian/celtic inspired carved facing boards for the new thatch roof (a great project for anyone with a passion for wood carving / wood carver). We use natural traditional products where ever possible and have a simple organic vegetable garden and we are looking for enthusiastic generally capable people who would enjoy helping us in exchange for access to this fantastic part of France. We are of course happy to assist those wishing to improve their French and/or cultural understanding of France and assist you with access to tourist sights where we can.