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Traditional Gascon Farmhouse in Tillac, South West France
Contact Register

Country: France

Updated

Last Activity: 08/02/2012

Description

Madeleine and I, with our 8-year old Black Labrador Ulla, live in South West France at the edge of a small medieval village called Tillac. We have 1.3 hectares (about 4 acres) of gardens, including a gite building (holiday homes) with swimming pool in 2,500 m2 of their own gardens.

we are increasingly suffering from osteoarthritis and are now limited in the amount and type of work that we can do. Can you help ? If you can, you get to live in a beautifully appointed, very well equipped holiday home (gite) off season ! We are an English-speaking household so if you want to brush up your French, we can recommend other Hosts in the area.

We are trying to put together a small team of Workaways to complete a loft-convertion project, renovate and decorate one of our main rooms in our house and redecorate/smarten up our gites. So people with skills in building (including plastering or plaster-boarding) and decorating would be very welcome.

We also need help in maintaining our very large garden over the Winter and preparing for Spring.. This involves pruning trees and shrubs, preparing the potager (vegetable garden), weeding, cleaning out the lake and will involve digging and other heavy work. So able-bodied people are needed. Experienced gardeners particularly welcome.

People with their own transport would be particularly well suited as we are out in the country and we can not always promise to take you on exploration trips. There are usually other Workawayers in the immediate vicinity.

Area

Gers

Type of work

Help with Computers / internet,
Help in the house,
General Maintenance,
Cooking / shopping,
Building,
Gardening

Work

We are looking for people with practical skills who are willing to make a notable contribution. In the gardens (which include a lake of 1,000 m2) we are looking for assistance in the maintenance of the lawn, potager (vegetable patch), trees, shrubs and flower beds. This offers an opportunity for some creative garden design.

As mentioned above, we also need assistance in our house and the gites. We have a number of specific projects that you might like to get involved with. These include a loft conversion in our main house (a traditional Gascon farmhouse from about 1840), refreshing the decoration of some of the rooms inside our house and some decorating inside and outside the gite.

There are often other volunteers in the vicinity, but there is no night life – as known in cities. We make our own if we wish to; otherwise we have a quiet and calm lifestyle – no hustle and bustle.

Languages spoken

English, French, some German

Accommodation

In return for assistance, we can offer accommodation in a quality gite (holiday home) in a charming medieval village, Tillac.

What else ...

Tillac, where we live, is a small but beautiful medieval village set in gentle rolling countryside. It has a general store, the best butcher in the area and a bar/restaurant. It is at the mid-point of a triangle formed by three other somewhat larger villages, Mirande, Marciac and Mielan. The Pyrenees are 1.5 hrs. away, Biarritz and the Atlantic coast 2 hrs., Toulouse 1.5 hrs. and the Mediterranean coast about 3.5 hours away. This is "La France Profonde".

My Photo Album

Click to enlarge
The gite swimming pool with our own house in the background.
Madeleine and Tony
Natalie, Grace, Devin and Ana, our first four volunteers.
Beth, Col, Brian and Deanna planting a Palm Tree on the Island
Col and Brian rebuilding a wall.
Halloween with the neighbours!
Martin and Christiane (+ Tony) painting front of house
Host ref number: 4826112674a8

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