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Host is looking for help immediately
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
10 Apr 2024
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Details
Description
Adrian (English) and Shamsiah (Malaysian) have renovated a set of farm buildings in the Allier 03, right in the middle of France. We have 5 acres (2 hectares) of land and we spend our summers here growing our own vegetables and fruit organically and continuing to mainjavascript:void(0)tain and improve the 2 houses, the enormous barn and other outbuildings. We also play tennis, canoe and entertain local friends as well as friends and relatives from all over the world. In the winter we travel all over the world. We also let one of our houses during the summer as a self catering holiday home.
This is a little known but lovely part of France with no pollution, very little traffic on the roads, very little tourism, and really French local community. Little has changed here for a hundred years. We are in the foothills of the Massif Central and the countryside is gently rolling with meadows, hedgerows, rivers, lakes and forest. The farming in this area is mostly calf rearing, the cattle being predominantly Charollais. We are only one and a half hours from the formerly volcanic chain of mountains around Clermont-Ferrand the best known of which is Puy de Dome. We often take our workaways to climb the Puy de Dome for paragliding, walking, the fantastic views, and to visit the Roman temple to Mercury with its museum.Types of help and learning opportunities
Language practiceHelp with Eco ProjectsGardeningDIY and building projectsCreating/ Cooking family mealsHelp around the houseGeneral MaintenanceCultural exchange and learning opportunities
We are widely travelled and love to meet people from around the world. We are also experienced biological gardeners so there is the opportunity to learn and/or share experience and skills in this area. We are also experienced and have some knowledge of machinery maintenance and eco building materials so we can also learn, as well as teach.
If you are learning English you will benefit from being immersed in the language, and if you are learning French we have many French friends with whom we only speak French.Help
With a large garden and 5 acres of land, mostly grass which we cut at least once a week, we need help of various kinds. This includes: planting vegetables and flowers, weeding, harvesting, cutting grass (we have 2 tractor mowers, hedge cutters, brushcutters/strimmers, several chain saws), hedge cutting, pruning, making jam and other preserves, maintenance of machinery, and general building maintenance. All our buildings are of local materials and we use only lime mortar.
We welcome equally, people of all ages with experience, or those wanting to learn. We also welcome people who want to improve their English through working with us. We can provide a large a very comfortable private bedroom with en-suite bathroom and toilet, for a couple or 1 or more singles.
We welcome you to eat with us and occasionally cook for us but it is important that you are able to eat what we eat as we don't have time to cook separate meals. We eat meat except pork, but tend to eat more white than red meat. We also eat a lot of fish and frequently cook vegetarian menus. Our cuisine reflects our travels in different parts of the world.
We are none smokers, and would prefer none smokers as workaways. We provide most kinds of safety equipment like ear defenders, gloves, eye protection, etc., but please bring suitable working clothes and, most important, suitable footwearLanguages spoken
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
Malay: FluentAccommodation
Large, private, ensuite bedroom in the barn suitable for a couple or 1 or more singles. You could also camp in our meadow if you like.
What else ...
If you are looking for a vibrant nightlife, this is not the place. But if you like the countryside, walking, cycling, bird watching, good food, tennis, swimming (there are several lakes that you can swim in as well as open air pools), canoeing, the occasional theatre or concert, this is ideal. We have bikes, and canoes and can lend you a old car from time to time. There is no public transport.
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 separate studio with en suite bathrook for workaways and the Wifi modem is in the sitting area so there always a good connection.
Space for parking camper vans
We have masses of space so any size of campervan is fine.
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
Feedback (25)
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Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(5.0)
She shared a room with our third Japanese workaway and they soon became good… read more
Adrian and Shamsiah are amazing people, they receive you with so much love and charm that makes you want to stay with them for months.
I loved the tranquility of the place and the projects they left for me and my partner.
Thank you so much for such an incredible… read more
The work is quite diversified, so that you don't get bored, and nothing really difficult… read more
This is a heavenly place, in the heart of the countryside and here you can find the real contact with nature. I woke up with birds chirping and cows mooing. It was… read more
What experience for myself in your place during this bloddy pandemic.
It was my first workaway on my own and I am very happy to be part to their family during April and the beginning of May 2021.
Their are very nice people , with a stunning place , it's their "paradise" place so if you want to spend some time in nature… read more
Shamsiah's cooking skills are spectacular, serving an array of dishes every evening.
The work varied from day to day including weeding, building a greenhouse, cutting the lawn… read more
Adrian and… read more
Staying with Adrian and Shamsiah was an amazing experience, we have learned so much!
They are incredible people!
You will learn so much with them!
We felt like we were family!
The place is really beautiful, the work is easy and done in a very relaxed way.
You will be amazed with Shamsiahs cooking!!
Thank… read more
Shamsiah's cooking was fantastic and we always had great meals along with some great conversation too!
We also had the opportunity to… read more
The tasks we did were not complicated and we always had time to visit the nearby villages, go for a bike ride and eat wild berries.
The place is absolutely beautiful, a… read more