Help us with our olive groves and enjoy a cultural exchange in Aix en Provence, France

Infos

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  Description

  Hi !
  
  We welcome workawayers twice per year:
  
  °°°In March/April to help with the olive tree trimming, when you'll discover the joys of using manual pruning shears or the electric shears. Olive trees are incredibly resistant, surviving in the August heat as well as in snow.
  
  After the branches are trimmed, they need to be piled and burned, what fun !
  
  
  °°°In September/October we're getting ready to pick the olives, when we put down large nets around the trees (photos on the profile). Before doing that, we'll need to rake under the trees so that the nets can lay flat.
  You'll learn that there are different races of olives, but only one colour ! We'll take the olives to the Moulin where you'll see how the olives are processed into oil.
  
  If you ever get bored, there are always miscellaneous tasks to do around the property ; triming, cutting, raking, piling wood, painting, etc. Or if you have a special skill, or prefer to do certain tasks, we'll work around that. If you like DIY projects we'll see what can be done. If you're happy, we are happy ! We've come to understand that often our workawayers are so very talented that they teach us as much as they learn about our way of life.
  
  My family lives on the ground floor of a large home. Upstairs there are 4 bedrooms,3 bathrooms, kitchen, terrace with a view.
  Two of those bedrooms are rented to students during the school year.
  If there is one Workawayer, you will have a private bedroom, private bathroom, share wc.
  If there are two Workawayers, you'll still have a private bedroom, with a shared bathroom and wc.
  While we share our table with you certain days, other times you'll be able to manage your own time, eat when you want (I've been told we eat late at 8pm !).
  We've discovered a nice exchange is sharing a meal made together, a recipé from your home country.
  
  
  The bus passes in front of our home where you can get into the centre of Aix en Provence in 10 minutes; often I can drive you. Aix is a busy town filled with international students; markets, shops, restaurants abound. Another 20-minute bus trip away is the animated city of Marseille, full of sites to see.
  
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  Hi, I'm a Canadian, from Vancouver, living in Aix en Provence for the last 30 years. We have a large property with over 100 olive trees and always need assistance with that ! You'll have your own private bedroom and will share the shower room/wc with another workawayer or woofer.
  
  We welcome helpers in March, April, September, October.
  
  In March and April : olive tree trimming, fertilizing, digging out baby olive trees and replantig them
  
  In September, October, is the time for preparing the fields for the large tarps (filets), then finally, in October, starting the recolt.
  
  Trimming other trees and bushes, raking, retrieving wood from the forest, chopping, piling, is an all-year affair.
  
  Inside the house you'll find our two daughters, 24 years old, in need of help with their Italian. Around the table we can speak English, French or Italian.
  
  We ask for 5 hours of help per day, five days per week. To keep you happy and satisfied we try our best to furnish everything you need during your stay; your help is greatly appreciated !
  
  We offer 3 simple meals per day (breakfast consists of bread or toasts, jam/butter/cheese/fruit/yogurt, coffee, tea), lunch could be sandwiches, pasta, while the main meal in the evening is shared with the family and could be just about anything.
  If you need particular food items, lke sugar and snacky foods, I can drive you to the Auchan 5 minutes away where you can buy everything you'd like.
  We are a carnivores but eat a varied diet. I buy organic when I can, but not always. Vegetarians and vegans are welcome; If you have other special dietary needs we will do our best to accommodate you.
  
  All guests have taken advantage of our proximity to the centre of Aix (by bus 15 minutes max), and to Marseille (30 minutes extra), as well as the beautiful weather enjoyed here in the south of France.
  
  We have a larger property in Nyons in the Drôme where you'd be welcome as well; the Domaine de Chausan is the large red building in the photos.

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  Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre

  Pratique d’une langue

  Aide avec des éco-projets

  Jardinage

  Bricolage et construction

  S’occuper des animaux

  Aide dans une ferme

  Aide à la maison

  Entretien général

  Aide informatique/internet
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  Objectifs de développement durable de l’ONU que cet hôte essaie d'atteindre

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  Qu'est-ce que c'est ?
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  Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre

  We live in a rural environment but we're only a short drive (5 minutes) from the centre of Aix where you can enjoy the city life, attend exhibitions, visit museums, colorful markets, etc.
  Working with olive trees will bring you knowledge of this particular type of agriculture, from digging them out of the ground as babies, to recolting their fruit in October.
  Our family is bilingual English/French and happy to communicate in either language. I teach English in Aix to children and adults. We have a 6 year-old dog of mixed race, and two 2-year old cats and 4 chickens !

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  Aide

  Outside help would be maintaining the olive trees, trimming, watering, weeding; cutting grass, tidying up, digging, raking and filling up the holes the dogs or wild boars have made !

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  Langues

  Langues parlées
  Anglais: Courant
  Français: Courant
  Italien: Intermédiaire

  Cet hôte propose un échange linguistique
  My husband Benoit speaks Italian very well, along with some Provençale. He is a history fanatic, can spend the night in discussion. The girls are perfectly bilingual English/French; while my mother tongue is English, my French is very good.
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  Hébergement

  We live on the ground floor of a large house. The upstairs is completely independant with kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms, etc. Usually two of these bedrooms are rented by students, who consider this their home.
  
  There are two bedrooms for workawayers. You are considered invited guests and are expected to follow the rules of the house (don't touch things that don't belong to you, clean up after yourself).
  All of your meals (which we provide), are had upstairs in the kitchen or on the terrasse with your partner workawayer, except for the evening meal during the week when we sit down all together.
  We have discovered that most guests go exploring during the weekend and meal provision is sometimes unnecessary; we play that by ear.

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  Autres infos...

  The bus passes in front of the house; you'll be in Aix en Provence in 15 minutes; from there the world is your oyster, going to Marseille, côte d'azur......

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  Informations complémentaires

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    Accès Internet

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    Accès Internet limité

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    Nous avons des animaux

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    Nous sommes fumeurs

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    Familles bienvenues

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  Possibilité d’accueillir les digital nomads

  We have no problems with internet/fibre !

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  Espace pour garer des vans

  We have plenty of room for any size camper.

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  Possibilité d'accueillir les animaux

  No problem with well-behaved pets. We have a dog ourselves.

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  Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?

  Deux

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