Help us landscaping the garden and enjoy the good life in South Vendée - beaches and countryside

  • Favourited 39 times
  • Last activity: 20 Jun 2023

Availability

  2024 

 Min stay requested: No minimum

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Details

  • Description

    Description

    We are a semi-retired couple (58/65) who live in a small village about 5km from the beaches at Longeville-sur-Mer and Jard-sur-Mer on the West coast of France in the Vendée.
    We have a large garden and our current projects are really all to do with making the most of what we have here outside.
    We have two dogs, a cat and 4 chickens
    At home we speak English although I am happy to speak to you in French if you wish.

  • Types of help and learning opportunities

    Types of help and learning opportunities

    Gardening
    DIY and building projects
  • Projects involving children

    Projects involving children

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

  • Help

    Help

    We are mainly looking for volunteers who can help with heavy gardening work - involving the clearance/cutting back of bamboo, trees, bushes and brambles; the leveling of ground in preparation for a swimming pool and also preparing the ground for a vegetable garden.
    There is also some lighter gardening work - like general pruning and weeding, and we have a small lake that needs some attention as well as a small island in the lake that we want to clear in order to build a duck house.
    If someone has carpentry skills then we need some shutters to be made for a door that has been recently installed, and we are also looking to build a small decked area outside attached to the house.

  • Languages spoken

    English: Fluent
    French: Fluent

  • Accommodation

    Accommodation

    We have a large studio room in the main house to offer our volunteer(s) with a mezzanine bedroom (large double bed), which can sleep a couple comfortably and there is also a single bed and sofa bed in the "living" area so the studio could take 3 friends sharing. The room has an en-suite shower room and there is an adjacent games room with pool table. We have plenty of parking if you are travelling with a car or camper van and if you prefer to camp then we have 1.2 hectares of land so you could find yourself a nice spot to pitch a tent!

  • What else ...

    What else ...

    The area is great for outdoor activities being only a few minutes drive (5km) from the sea and with great countryside for walking or cycling.
    We have some old but functioning bikes if you want to get out to explore, and Iain is a keen fisherman if fishing is something you'd like to do.
    If you are keen to surf then we can be flexible with the working hours to enable you to make the most of the tides.
    We would hope that you will be self-motivated and lively people who can be enthusiastic for the work challenges and able to get on with a job unsupervised and also keen to explore the discover the area.
    I love to cook for people, and will cater for vegetarians (although we are not!)
    We will accept smokers but would ask them not to smoke within the house and to dispose of cigarette butts respectfully. (Note: smoking breaks do not count as "work" time!)

    Please note: We will take everyone on a 1 week trial initially to give us a chance to get to know each other.

  • A little more information

    A little more information

    • Internet access

    • Limited internet access

      Limited internet access

    • We have pets

    • We are smokers

    • Can host families

  • How many Workawayers can stay?

    How many Workawayers can stay?

    More than two

  • ...

    Hours expected

    4-5 hours a day (20-25 hours per week)

Host ref number: 131652866342

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