Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Reply rate
100.0 %
Usually responds within 9 days
Feedback
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Details
Description
The projet started in 2013 when my husband Max and I bought this lovely historic farmhouse with a hectare of land and many outbuildings. The property is snuggled just south of the Loire estuary, a stones throw from Brittany and numerous beaches. The house and buildings were all in a state of neglect. With the help of many wonderful friends, family and helpers from all over the world, the main renovation project has been pretty much completed. The garden has been transformed including the plantation of many beautiful trees, a stunning hedge, an orchard and a large organic vegetable garden planted using permaculture techniques. I run two holiday rentals on the property too.
Sadly, Max passed away in August 2021. Hard to contemplate leaving such a magic place after all the effort we made together. Especially in view of the fantastic ambiance with the neighbours in the hamlet. A lot of cooperation, support and a lot of fun. I have had lots of help but the garden is big and I will need help over the summer months to harvest and transform the wonderful veggies, to water and to maintain the garden. There could be some small maintenance work too.
I have a dog Witts and a young cat. Our 3 adult 'children' have flown the nest. I enjoy helping our workaway helpers to improve their language skills (either in French or in English) and give them the opportunity to discover the beauties of the Pays de Retz and South Brittany, from Nantes to Guérande and La Baule to Pornic.
Working times are flexible to enable our helpers to enjoy longer week-ends to discover our region. Ihave bikes that you can borrow to explore during your time off. We take meals together and like to share the cooking experiences and test traditional dishes from different countries. A private bedroom and a shared bathroom is reserved for you in the main house.Types of help and learning opportunities
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Creating/ Cooking family meals
General Maintenance
UN sustainablity goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
I have been described as a good and patient teacher of both english and french by our previous helpers. Plenty to learn here about rural france, conserving fruits and natural gardening techniques. The summer months offer plenty of activity on the coast, concerts, street arts, sporting activities.
Help
A couple is great as you can discover the area together in your free time. I generally ask for a minimumof 2 weeks to start with. It takes a while to learn the ropes. This often morphs into a longer stay if both parties are happy. On the agenda at the moment : harvesting, transformation of the harvest so a love of cooking is a definite plus, watering, weeding, mowing. Could be some painting and maintenance work. A hand with the cooking is much appreciated.
We are located close to some lovely beaches and only a 30 minute drive to cross the Loire and find yourself in South Brittany. Nantes is 50 kms to the east. The cycle to the coast is about 15kms.Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
Spanish: BeginnerThis host offers a language exchange
Lots of experience and patience in teaching and helping beginners to learn.Accommodation
We provide a large room in the main house which is insulated and heated. Shared bathroom and toilet. All meals and drinks (within reason!) are provided.
What else ...
Helpers usually come via Nantes airport or Nantes railway station which is about 45 minutes drive from home. When possible, we try to encourage the use the bus services to nearby villages from Nantes and we pick you up from there. It may be possible to organise the loan of a car occasionally to allow the volunteers to visit the surrounding area. Plenty of bikes, not electric though!
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
Our internet connection is constant but can be unreliable. I wouldn't recommend it for someone looking to do online meetings.
Space for parking camper vans
The property is large and I have already accommodated helpers with a campervan.
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Hours expected
25 hours maximum
Feedback (28)
They like dancing too! I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them. Thanks girls 🙏🤗
Feedback
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They like dancing too! I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them. Thanks girls 🙏🤗
Concerning the job, I worked mainly outdoors, in the garden, in the greenhouse, or painting shutters. It was diversified and enjoyable. I learned a lot.
If you like animals, you’d… read more
We had great conversations, lots of laughs and a lot of wine. The food was delicious, thoughtfully prepared each day with options to cater for other dietary requirements.
Days off were very flexible, the time in… read more
We felt like home immediately and we felt sorry to leave their beautiful, lovely place.
If you into exploring the area and being around inspiring people this is the place for you!
We will… read more
We did a lot of work in the garden thanks to the good weather! We really enjoyed helping out with the veg patch, weeding and getting the garden ready for winter!
Max and Susie are very generous and helped us out in lots of ways which we will always be grateful for.
There was always lots of food… read more
Susie and Max are such a lovely couple. They are warm and welcoming people, very easy to talk to and to feel at comfortable with, and are just so kind and cheerful. It was so great to talk with them during… read more
I spend two weeks in February/March with them (originally I was about to spend only one...) and I really enjoyed my time there.
Weather wasn,t good, so I couldn,t… read more
I just got back from spending a wonderful four weeks with Max and Susie (I was originally planning for only staying one week but then came back for another three!) It was truly a wonderful experience and Max and Susie are two of the kindest, patient and openhearted people I have ever met. I felt very confortable around them and… read more
He estado pintando en la antigua granja que están terminando ya de reformar, hice un camino con Maria, mi compu por… read more
Ils sont deux des meilleures personnes que j’ai connu, ils sont vraiment gentils. Ils m’ont aidé beaucoup en tout ! Ils m’ont fait me sentir comme chez moi. Quand je suis venue, je n’étais pas en pleine forme, et maintenant ça a changé, et je suis vraiment heureuse. Ils sont le type de personnes que tout… read more
We really liked the fact that we shared all the meals together, so we had the… read more
Outside of work they were always giving ideas on where to visit in the area and either lent us bikes,… read more
We improved our French ALOT here, Max and Susie are great instructors. It was… read more
It was varied work each day, and this included sanding, painting, weeding, mowing + moving gravel. We all shared a 'no nonsense' approach, so we all just pitched in to the get the job done. (It was nice because often we… read more