Area: Quebec

Nous sommes André et Daniel, who have decided to leave our comfortable urban existence and throw ourselves into the rural life. We haven't quite gone off the grid or gone full farming though. We bought an old conference center that used to be part of a vacation resort. The past five years of our lives has involved a lot of renovation work turning this commercial building into our home and our future life project. We haven't quite figured out what the life project part yet, but that was the point of us taking a sabbatical to let it unfold...naturally! As former urban landscapers, we are stoked by the challenge of greening up a larger space, 5 acres in all. Come give us your insight and ideas! We are about 3 kilometers away from Montebello, a small village whose claim to fame is the Fairmont Chateau Montebello, the world's largest "log cabin". Greyhound bus service passes through twice a day from either Montreal or Ottawa. By car, it's an hour away from both these cities and their airports (YUL and YOW). From our place, it's a 15 minute bike ride or 45 minute walk to the village. In Montebello, you check out several local businesses including Chocomotive, an artisan chocolate maker and museum in the old log cabin train station. As for attractions in the surrounding area: Parc Oméga, a drive-through wildlife reserve with rustic accommodations; white water rafting on the nearby Rivière Rouge and silent meditation at the Vipassana center.

Area: Waiheke Island, Auckland

I am a 41 yr old woman with a 15 yr old son. We live on a 4acre farmlet with 40 chickens, 16 ducks with regular clutches of ducklings, 3 sheep, rabbits, the family dog and a cat. In November 2010 we plowed up a paddock, and we are planting a large scale garden. We have an orchard, which is being added to. The property is organic. We live minutes away from Onetangi Beach, which is just the best beach in the world.

Area: Scotland

We are a married couple with two children aged 14 and 16, We live in the village of Dornie close to Eilean Donan Castle (the one in Highlander) in an old croft house on the shore of a sea loch in the West Highlands of Scotland. We need help to maintain the house, garden and occasionally a historic wooden boat. We recycle old materials wherever possible and have to work to budget as no profit is made from these activities. Most of the work is outdoors, the weather can be very bad at any time of year so flexibility with working hours is required. We keep free range chickens and ducks, so there is usually no shortage of fresh eggs. Due to bad experience in the past we are only taking non smokers. Thank you to all our workaway's for all the help and hard work you have provided.

Area: Brittany

We are renovating an old camp site, situated in a preserved forest with a beautiful river. The area is very touristic, 30km from the city of Lorient and the ocean. We've started a productive garden and will shortly start few permaculture methods. The camping will open next year, our goal is to create a sustainable and welcoming place, and keep preserved the forest. This place is very peaceful and the jobs various... We're a group of people (family and friends), we've been travelling and volunteering for few years.