Come and experience beautiful Dorset, England, UK

Details

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  Description

  We are looking for a couple to help us whilst we are working on the house. Anyone with building experience would be a great thing here, or someone who can work with masonry (building walls) or someone who is knowledgeable in the garden too would be great!
  Ideally we need help with the house and garden and with the children and dog, someone who likes dogs is essential.
  
  We are a family of 4, with 2 children aged 11 & 9 (a girl and a boy) and a dog (1year old). We live in beautiful Dorset. We love run down houses and renovating them, and have done/are doing quite a project here. We both work, James as a surveyor and Jj as an interior designer. This project has been our hardest yet, and we are struggling with the load of work, a family and the day to day running of the house, and therefore are needing some help!
  
  We have Digory the dog and 2 ponies that need looking after every summer, we have some sheep that are looked after by a local farmer. Jj has her own bee hives and is mentored by a very knowledgable lady in the village who also has her own small holding.
  
  We love the countryside and the village we live in has a lovely community! The children love the freedom and space here, they attend different schools, although get on well, and love to play in the garden, swim, go on bike rides, and play board games. We enjoy cooking and eating good food and would like to attempt to grow some of our own food here too. We have not grown our own vegetables yet, but this is something we are very interested in doing.....you can join in our journey.
  
  We are friendly and fun with a can do attitude, we enjoy socialising and being with people, and I would say we are a caring and loving family. We are keen to build a home that not only we can enjoy but that we hope to make a lovely refuge for friends, family and those in need of an escape in the future, and we hope it will benefit those in the community too. Our reason for hoping to find some help on the project (which now needs help predominantly outside) is that we are finding there is a bit too much to do for the 2 of us whilst trying to work and parent, James has Leukaemia which has slowed him down a bit as he needs to be careful how much he does! Although he is undertaking treatment which is working well and we have a positive outlook he does need to be careful.
  Ameilia, our eldest, has Marfan's syndrome, so there is an opportunity of studying 2 children with completely different child development.
  
  Sherborne is our nearest town and steeped in history....we boast 2 castles and a glorious Abbey. There is lots to do around here and transport would be in the form of our smaller car. The Jurassic Coast is not far away, and scenery in Dorset is to be seen to be believed.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Babysitting and creative play

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance

  House sitting
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  What's this?
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  -Living in the English countryside is a wonderful experience, watching nature, getting to know the locals and being involved in the community is a real experience, people here are very friendly and knowledgeable about farming, animals and gardening.
  -We hope you will learn skills in Speaking English, Gardening, Maintenance, Bee keeping, Animal care, and cooking.
  -The Dorset Coast is some of the most famous coast line and it is approx 40minutes away so there is much to explore and see.
  -The Cities of Bath & Bristol area about 1 hour away and have much culture to offer.
  -London is accessible (2.5hours) by train from our local station.
  -We enjoy eating good food and sharing part of our culture with others and are sociable people who have always had aupairs living with us so are used to deferent nationalities living alongside us. It is a great chance to practice English and also we hope you will learn some skills from being with us.
  -We will be happy to pay the minimum wage according to the government guidelines which we can discuss, the accommodation is included in this, however, we would ask that you are responsible for your own food arrangements, apart from when you share a meal with us obviously.

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  Projects involving children

  This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

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  Host offers payment in line with the minimum wage

  This host offers accommodation and payment.

  Host has indicated that they will pay at least the UK minimum hourly wage for each hour worked and that accommodation will also be provided inline with UK guidance. They are asking for help with a business or business activity. Contact the host directly via the site messenger for more information and details about the wage provided. Any arrangements should be agreed in advance with your host.

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  Help

  We are looking for a couple to help us whilst we are working on the house. ANYONE WITH BUILDING EXPERIENCE IS IDEAL, or someone with garden work experience, someone who can work with masonry (building walls), would be ideal.
  Someone who is knowledgeable in the garden would be good too, or an added bonus.
  Ideally we need help with the house and garden and with the children and dog.
  
  Someone with a "can do" and joyful attitude is essential really, and some general skills might be helpful, the house is in need of some of the finishing jobs doing, (the garden is a bit of a mess, and in need of some landscaping, planting and care). Fortunately the house itself is mostly completed, but someone who has some building knowledge would be excellent.
  
  With help in the house we need someone who is kind, patient, clean, organised and has experience of keeping a home, and someone who is good with children and dogs. If they are good at cooking that’s a bonus, Jj loves cooking and can pass on some of her recipes and inspiration. It’s just general help needed in the house really, but the person must be a loving person who likes children and a tidy and organised person who can help keep some order in the house! Jj might also ask for some help with her interiors organisation. A dog lover is essential as care of Digory is part of the daily routine.
  
  We need someone who can drive as we are rather rural and need help taking the children to and from school.
  
  We’d like non smokers please.
  
  You must have a driving licence.

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  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent
  French: Intermediate

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  Accommodation

  A flat with 2 bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen and living room.

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  What else ...

  There is so much to see in this part of the world, and the nearest train station is 2 miles away, with access to london in 2.5 hours.
  Castles, historical buildings etc. and the coast are all within easy reach and there could be use of a car if you can drive.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  We have wifi so working from here should not be a problem.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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