Area: Lower Normandy

** We are looking for help with gardening and shed repair during June** 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 o ak flooring; planting of a New Zealand garden; and several craft projects includingthe 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.

Area: Aosta Valley

We are a family with 2 children (13 and 2 years old). We live in Aosta Valley, (1441 m) where we run a camp. We are looking for a native English-speaking person for the month of July and August, to help us improve our English and for childcare. We are looking for a sociable person who loves the company, solar, positive that he wants to follow us in our daily routine meal preparation, child care, passseggiate, shopping .... with whom to converse. And 'this what we want to improve their English through mutual understanding. All in a dynamic, lively, welcoming what is the life of a small camping. La Thuile is 45 km from Aosta, less than 10Km from Mont Blanc, 160 km from Turin, 200 Km from Milan and 35 Km from Chamonix-Mont Blanc. It is a little mountain village in the middle of the Alps and in the summertime it get full of tourist and life. In the summertime it offers also hiking, trekking, mountain biking, climbing .... . all in a beautiful landscape and in a natural setting.

Area: New South Wales

We are a painter and a sculptor who live and work from our waterfront home and studio on Dangar Island. We have three small children aged 8,7 and 3 years. Dangar island is situated 1hr north of Sydney by train or car and is boat assess only. The ferry runs every hour. We are keen permaculture gardeners, and have a garden filled with paintings & sculptures in amongst the fruit trees. We have a variety of subtropical fruit trees planted, happy chickens & a healthy vegetable patch. Work includes gardening, weeding, building garden paths & sheds, tree planting, maintenance of vegetable garden, making sculptures and art reproductions, painting buildings and whatever else we have to do. Must have a sense of humour and be prepared to have fun while working. Usual stay is about a week to start, however longer stays are negotiable after first few days. Although building, painting and landscaping skills would be nice the most important thing is that you are WILLING to work. We are happy to teach you new skills provided you are willing to make the effort. We have canoes and rowboats and in your spare time you are welcome to go exploring or fishing on the river estuary. Lots of great hiking and bushwalks in the surrounding national parks. Would be very happy to host Spanish, Japanese or Chinese speakers as I need to practice these languages. Must be a non smoker. We can also host couples and possibly even one or two small children too for short stays.

Area: 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.

Area: Languedoc Roussillon

We live in a very wild and beautiful place in the south of France and have 2 donkeys, 3 hans, a dog, a cat, a lot of land to bring into cultivation and to brush cutter and a barn to repair. We plant trees also. The garden is quite big and every plantation is organic; our food too! We like to meet people and on this place we pick fruits, we dry them and transform our production, so any help will be welcomed , of course it's physical works Our daughter is studiing in Paris. I have travelled quite often and it's not finish! The country is also so beautiful and we have a lot of passions and experiences to share. I am clown teacher and Luigi was movies projector and now he is the gardener at home We are engaged in different associations and are volunteers for movies association and municipal library.So we have french and english books and we project 2 movies a week. We like animals and, of course natural and very simple life. We can speak english, italian, a little spanish too and dutch. Avec les beaux jours , nos activites sont essentiellement a l'exterieur : jardin, debroussaillage, travaux d'entretien et renovation de la grange (en eco construction) et autres projets... La riviere est aussi un lieu tres important de ressourcement, de baignade et de petits chantiers pour en nettoyer les rives. j'espere attaquer un de ces 4 une mosaique dans la maison etc... Bienvenue donc aux personnes aimant la nature et ayant le coeur et l'esprit ouverts. PS: la viande n'est pas exclue mais effectivement nous ne chassons pas et nous avons souvent des choix plus alternatifs. Cependant Luigi en est gourmand et parfois nous en trouvons de la bonne !! Aucun sectarisme mais des choix que nous esperons coherents.