Profile information
Host rating
90 %
Last replied
30 Dec 2022
Feedback
23
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Badges (2)
Details
Description
We are an international couple (Zoran is Yugoslavian & Samantha is British, both with Dutch roots) and over a period of 8 years we have built our house ourselves.
Located in rural Ardennes in France in a tiny village of 60 inhabitants it is really quiet and peaceful but there is no public transport and you really need your own transportation.
Since we run a 100% VEGAN and GLUTEN FREE B&B with all the cooking and cleaning involved we would love to have a lovely couple or a group of friends to help us with the tremendous amount of GARDENING which we can't find time to do ourselves. Our 3000m2 back garden is still a wilderness and we need help to get it presentable.
You will need to be pro-active, have a sense of responsibility and love to work in the garden.
The tasks that need to be done aren't too complicated and involve mowing grass, cultivate soil and rake it level, picking up old scattered stones and make pathways, help making raised garden beds for our permaculture garden, sow seeds to create a field of flowers for the birds and bees, make fences, plant flower bulbs, trim trees, pick fruit and vegetables, etc, etc, etc.
The stay is 1 week unless it works out really well and we can discuss you staying longer!
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We either have a lovely (shared) guesthouse at our B&B available for you to stay which sleeps up to 4 adults or a shared room. It has a private bathroom with a toilet, washbasin and rain shower.
BE WARE; no gluten products (bread, biscuits, crackers etc) aloud in the house due to cross contamination!!
We do provide gluten free alternatives ;-)
We have 3 cats.
We try to live healthy, both need to eat gluten free and choose to eat vegan (no dairy, meat, poultry, fish, honey nor eggs), are non (ex) smokers and huge animal lovers.
Samantha used to be a professional vegan & gluten free baker-caterer, so don't worry about the food not being great ;-).
We both speak English, Dutch (our second language for both of us), French and German and Zoran also speaks Serbian and Croatian.
We love to read, cook and bake, take (nowadays short) walks with the dogs, watch movies, laugh, are serious in what we do and enjoy life and are looking forward to meeting you soon!
Types of help and learning opportunities
Gardening
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We both speak several languages, so volunteers can practice their English (native speaker), Dutch (fluent second language to both of us without a foreign accent), Serbian and Croatian (Native speaker), German (fluent third language) and we speak French.
There are some lovely hiking routes in the vicinity, lots of WWI and WWII monuments and museums, only 12 km from the famous 'Sergeant York' site as well as 'the lost battalion' site.
We are ideally situated for long walks and bike trips and in summer there are loads of fleemarkets in the area.
Beautiful cities like Reims, France, Verdun, Charleville-Mézières and Sedan, France are only an hour away and you could even spend a day at Disneyland Parc, Paris which takes you just 2 hours to get there!
Our house is located in a tiny village with no commercial activity.
Currently it has 57 inhabitants so you need to enjoy the peace and quiet.
The nearest supermarket and pub is about 20 km away.
There is no public transport within 21 km and even that it will be a challenge. so you need to come by car.
Help
*️️️️️️️️️️️️We would love some help make our back garden presentable and input is welcome.
*lay down and level pathways, make flower beds, plant shrubs, mow the grass, trim trees, etc.
*️️️️️️️️️️️️️️We need to level a patch of terrain to create a badminton - yoga - playing field
Hours would be about 4-5 hours a day (from 8-13 h), 5 days a week.
We only accept Couples (M-F, F-F, M-M, X-X, M-X, F-X) or a group of friends and own transportation is a must.
You are welcome as long as you are a kind person.
Pro-active, independent, hard working, NON Smoker and a good sense of humour are a must ;-)
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Croatian: Fluent
Dutch: Fluent
Serbian: Fluent
German: Intermediate
French: Intermediate
Accommodation
We have a lovely NON-SMOKING guesthouse available at our B&B which sleeps 4 with a private bathroom and garden
There is almost 4000m2 of garden available to put up a tent or a caravan if you need more space or more privacy.
Since we maintain a gluten free & vegan household (no dairy, meat, poultry, fish nor eggs) we would expect you to eat gluten free and vegetarian around the house to eliminate cross contamination. So far we have received nothing but compliments about the food provided ..... :-).
What else ...
There is NO PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION so a car, motorbike or even bicycle is a must.
We live in the rural Champagne-Ardennes, an hours drive from Reims, Sedan, Charleville-Mézières and Verdun which have museums, shopping centres, theaters etc.
The nearest supermarket and cinema are in Vouziers and in Sainte Menehould, both 20 km away, the Champagne district is 1 hour away.
We live very rural in a small village with no commercial activities in the middle of WWI and WWII battlefields, so if you love the peace and quiet life our place is ideal for long walks or reading.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
We have a stable fiber internet connexion and it is usually pretty quiet around here. There is always a table to be found where you can work quietly
Space for parking camper vans
We have a private and fully enclosed parking available in our front garden.
Can possibly accept pets
Pets are welcome, as long as they do not chase our cats and detroy our property.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
Feedback (11)
Jacqueline is a bubbly woman who knows what she wants and she works very hard. She started the project very enthusiastic and we are very happy with what they have managed to accomplish during… read more
Nikki is a delightful young woman with a lovely character and she works very hard. She is intelligent, chatty, fun and sensible and she is welcome back any time!
They are a lovely couple, pro-active, have a great sense of humor and are really dedicated to finish what they started :-).
We wish them lots of… read more
Feedback
Jacqueline is a bubbly woman who knows what she wants and she works very hard. She started the project very enthusiastic and we are very happy with what they have managed to accomplish during… read more
Nikki is a delightful young woman with a lovely character and she works very hard. She is intelligent, chatty, fun and sensible and she is welcome back any time!
They are a lovely couple, pro-active, have a great sense of humor and are really dedicated to finish what they started :-).
We wish them lots of… read more
We loved having him and found him pro-active and independent. We can certainly recommend him and hope to see him back some day! We are happy he enjoyed the local German history ;-)
I stayed 2 weeks at this place and it was absolutely marvellous! Zoran and Sam are both very kind, patient and easy going people. We had a lot of fun and it was a pleasure to help them. By the way the work is not very hard so a lot of time for yourself and even more fun. The food is very good! I thought I gonna loose some weight… read more
We helped them with all kinds of work, you don't have… read more
They helped us paint, plaster, sand down the plasterwork, put in a ceiling, weed the garden and they learned us a new game of cards! Bára has very good ideas… read more
She is great company, compassionate and caring, has a great sense of humor and is a very hard worker. Whatever the task at hand, Raquel was always willing to help.
Putting up drywalls, filling joints in concrete walls, walking the dogs, taking care of a 3 weeks old kitten, plastering… read more
If you are looking for easy work, great conversation and delicious food go to this WorkAway!… read more
Within that week we have grown very fond of them both.
They helped us take down the old fence, put down insulation and floorboards and Daniel did a nice job sanding down and painting some windows as well.
They are both outgoing, positive, helpful people and they cook a really nice meal!
It was great… read more
He is polite, intelligent, pro active and has a great sense of humour.
We enjoyed having him around and are greatful for all he has done in the week he stayed with us, like putting up drywalls and helping laying floorboards in a warm attic. Lyam is a hard worker and enjoys a good meal! He is also very clean about… read more
Together with another volunteer Tanise has cleared a number of walls in our former bakery from all the tiles and cleaned all the mess involved, painted the ceiling and cleaned out our kitchen… read more
The food was incredible, the surroundings peaceful and the company great. The work can be tough but that's the fun of it!
I learnt a lot with my time there and look forward to a return visit.
Thanks… read more
He did a lot of hard work in our garden and also took down a polystyrene ceiling in our former bakery, helped build a staircase in concrete between 2 buildings and concrete steps to the garden.
He enjoys a good meal and… read more
She is a happy and outgoing young lady who enjoys working in the garden.
Besides that she and another volunteer have cleared a number of walls in our former bakery from all the tiles and cleaned all the mess involved, which was really hard work.
Hanna has been painted our new installed toilet area very… read more
Zoran is always keen to have a joke and a laugh, a value which cannot be understated when working with someone. He also took us on a great walk through forests and… read more
Jarrid arrived with his friend Naj and stayed for a week.
Jarrid has a warm personality, is very smart, practical, down to earth and does not need much explanation to get a job done. He has a hands on mentality, is hard working and thorough, enjoys a good game of cards and he is a joy to have… read more
