Région: 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.

Région: Pennsylvania

We are two suburban homesteaders with a tiny backyard flock of laying hens, honey bees, and approximately 2800 square feet of garden space. We're located in the Lehigh Valley of eastern Pennsylvania. Our goal is to produce as much of our own food as possible through organic methods, while demonstrating what degree of production is possible on a residential plot of land by ordinary people with no formal training in gardening or agriculture. In 2009 we produced over 600 pounds of food from our backyard, and in 2010, over 760 pounds. We expect to continue that trend going forward for the next several years. Since we grow for our own consumption and not for market, ours is very much a polyculture site. We have fruit trees and several types of perennial berries, a large garden of annual vegetables, and many culinary and medicinal herbs. Other interests include light DIY/construction work to address on-site needs, permaculture, herbal medicine (we're still very much beginners), various methods of food preservation, dumpster diving for construction materials, local foods, Transition, ethical consumption, and all aspects of sustainability. We look forward to learning more about the world, other cultures, and many areas of expertise from our volunteers. Plans for 2012 include the planting of a living fence to replace our old wooden one, installation of rain barrels for passive irrigation, as well as a tiny frog pond in the middle of the main garden. We'll also plant more perennial food crops, cook more meals with our solar oven, raise a few chickens and turkeys for the table, and learn to extend the growing season with our new hoop house. Finally, we'll experiment with the cultivation of Black Soldier Fly larvae for poultry feed.

Région: Burgenland

We are a family of mostly 4 (sometimes 5), 2 kids at school age. We live in a small farm village some 20 km from Lake Neusiedl in the east of Austria; about 45 km from Vienna with regular railway and bus connections. The area is soft and characterized by farm land, wine and a milder climate than in the rest of the country. We are convinced of a more balanced life and thus try to reduce waste, plastics etc. and grow our own vegetables, cook as much biological food as possible and more. We bought this old farm house with garden some 2 years ago and are still trying to bring it in full shape.

Région: Bocas del toro

I live on Isla Solarte an Island in Bocas del Toro on the Caribean coast of Panama, just South of Costa Rica. I need help developing my place to help fulfill its potential. Conditions at the moment are basic or I should say rustic, but improving.

Région: Andalucia

I have a large cortijo in the Andalusian countryside that I'd like to turn into a yoga/meditation centre among other things. I've had the house since 1974 and it was always used as a family holiday home but now my family are all grown up and the house doesn't get used as much as it deserves. There's 50,000m2 of land to tender and I'd very much like to create a herb garden and veggie patch so we can provide good, home grown food for guests. The house is 9km from the nearest town and is set adjacent to a natural park. The scenery is stunning and there are lots of great walks so would suit a real country lover. There is internet access via satellite but no TV (yet) just lots of books.