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3 Oct 2024
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Hi!
My name is Fabrice, I'm a French teacher. I grew up in the south of France near Marseille. Back in 2010 I moved to Los Angeles, CA where I played music and taught French for 10 years. I still teach French to Americans, online. I moved back to France in 2020. I wanted to live in the country side, except for the fact that I didn’t know anything about living on a farm and I didn’t know where to settle. Workaway was a good way to visit different regions and get an idea of what it means to live in the countryside. I fell in love with the Périgord Noir région and started building a straw bale house about two years ago. With the help of my friends, neighbors and workawayers, the house is now "wind tight and water tight" as they say. Now I am working on the inside of the house.
Salut!
Je m'appelle Fabrice, je suis professeur de français langue étrangère. J'ai grandi dans le sud-est (au Pradet près de Toulon). En 2010 je suis parti vivre à Los Angeles où j'ai fait de la musique et enseigné le français pendant 10 ans. J'ensigne toujours le français aux américains mais en ligne. Je suis rentré en France en 2020. Je voulais vivre à la campagne mais je voulais d'abord me faire une idée de ce que ça impliquait et je voulais trouver le bon endroit pour m'installer. A l'époque, Workaway m'a permis d'experimenter la vie à la ferme. Je suis tombé amoureux du Périgord noir que je ne connaissais pas du tout, j'ai décidé de m'y installer et d'y construire une maison en paille, ossature bois. Avec l'aide de mes amis, des voisins, et de workawayers, la maison est maintenant "hors d'eau hors d'air". En ce moment je travaille sur l'intérieur de la maison.Types of help and learning opportunities
DIY and building projectsCultural exchange and learning opportunities
If you’re not familiar with the Périgord region, well, you’re missing out! There are literally hundreds of castles around, more prehistoric sites than you can count and the villages are out of a Disney movie except it’s real. I live in one of the most beautiful villages in France, build around a 12th century abbey.
If you’re interest in ecological building, I got to learn quite a bit, while deciding which technic I would use and while building indeed. I learned from my mistakes so you could learn from them too. Don’t worry I have also done a few things right :)
I grew up in France but I speak English fluently. I am also learning Spanish.
I am a science enthusiast, I love movies and series, music and people.
Si vous ne connaissez pas le Périgord, vous manquez quelque chose! Il y a des centaines de châteaux, pléthore de sites préhistoriques et des villages d'un charme incroyable un peu partout! Je vis dans un des "plus beaux villages de France", construit autour d'une abbaye du 12ème siècle.
Si vous vous intéressez à la construction écologique, je serai ravi de partager avec vous ce que j'ai pu apprendre lorsque je faisais mon choix de technique et depuis que je construis. J'ai fait des erreurs, j'ai aussi fait des choses bien et je vous raconterai tout ça avec plaisir.
J'ai grandi en France et je parle anglais couramment. J'apprends l'espagnol.
Je suis bien branché vulgarisation scientifique, j'adore le cinéma, les séries, la musique et les gens.Help
I now have walls and a roof, but there's a lot to do inside the house. The weeks/months to come are about applying limestone and sand plaster on the walls, cleaning the ancient floor tiles (which is a ... let's say meditative type of work), sanding the pieces of wood that go around the windows and a bunch of other little things. So depending on when you come, I will ask you to help with the plaster and/or the tiles and/or the wood.
Maintenant que des murs et un toit, il faut faire l'intérieur. Pour les prochaines semaines/mois, il s'agira d'appliquer les couches d'enduit chaux/sable sur les murs, de nettoyer les vieilles tomettes (on va dire que c'est un travail qui appelle à la médiation), et huiler/poncer les appuis de fenêtre. Donc selon le moment où vous êtes là, il faudra m'aider avec l'enduit et/ou les tomettes et/ou le bois. Et potentiellement d'autres petits boulots auxquels je n'ai pas pensé.Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
Spanish: BeginnerThis host offers a language exchange
I learned a little bit of Spanish at some point so I am happy to practice the 4 expressions I know. And I professionally teach French, mostly to English speakers so, I am happy to speak English or French with you.Accommodation
For the moment I am renting a studio apartment at my neighbors, but I have a nice trailer on the land next to the construction site, fully equipped, just for you guys to use! (Double bed, shower, chemical toilets inside, dry toilet outside, a kitchen…)
We will be having lunches together, most diners too, and you can have breakfast by yourself. I will of course provide the food for every meal.
En ce moment je loue un gîte chez mes voisins, mais j'ai une caravane en bon état sur mon terrain avec tout ce qu'il faut, pour les workawayers. (un lit double, une douche, des toilettes chimiques à l'intérieur, des toilettes sèches à l'extérieur, une kitchenette...)
On prendra les déjeuner ensemble, la plupart des diners, et vous pourrez prendre les petit-dej seuls si vous le souhaitez. Je fournis toute la nourriture bien évidemment.What else ...
Again, there is sooooo much to see around here, in terms of historical and prehistoric sites. The region is just absolutely beautiful. You can also go for hikes in the woods right around my land. My neighbors are adorable and fun, we will get to spend time with them too!
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Space for parking camper vans
There’s enough room on my land to park a campervan
Can possibly accept pets
I like animals in general. I am happy to have yours around
How many Workawayers can stay?
One
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
Feedback (7)
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(5.0)
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(5.0)
Communication:
(5.0)
She’s super helpful, very smart (to the point where it’s kinda annoying right? Like, should we really allow people to speak that many languages and understand everything so quickly?) , super sweet, respectful, overall so nice to be around!
She was very enthusiastic about discovering the region, which is… read more
Chiu is funny and outgoing, Yan a bit reserved and sweet.
They both were flexible, willing to help and respectful. They helped me out a lot with my construction!
It was a fun experience to have them here with me!
Fabrice is super nice and friendly. We had a wonderful stay for 3 weeks. Fabrice prepared everything tidy for us. He teaches us patiently on how to build a straw bale house and introduces the system clearly, making things easy to understand, and always gives us many chances to try.
Living in the trailer is just like living in an… read more