Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
30 Sep 2024
Feedback
9
Facebook verified
Email verified
Badges (3)
Details
Description
We are a couple who live and work in the small picturesque village of Daumazan sur Arize in rural Ariege between Toulouse and the Pyrenees in the south of France. Gaia is Italian, I (Fergus) am British, we have 2 children, the oldest is Linden (born july 2013) and his little brother is Miro (born may 2015) and we have a dog called Akita and a cat called Rocky
We're looking for a couple of workawayers to come to us and help with several projects, as per the description.
in terms of dietary requirements, we're omnivores, we cook family meals from scratch every day using mainly local organic produce, but this often includes meat, dairy and gluten...
We work as musicians and we have a few bands, we rehearse and gig regularly. We're also trying to get our place up and running as a "lieu de residence", meaning we will be hosting international collaborative music creation workshops from 2024.
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
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
The area is full of colourful markets, music, street theatre, fetes and other gatherings practically all the time. It's a very special part of the world populated by people living alternative lifestyles and most are very open and willing to share ideas and skills. and feels much like stepping back in time. We have a strong international community, everybody knows everybody and you will make a lot of new friends staying here! You will discover the region and it's laid back, nature based way of living.
We are an hour from the pyrenees mountains, where you can explore and visit wonderful natural beauty, and an hour from Toulouse, a vibrant and bustling city full of culture and vibrant life!
You'll have hands on experience of various areas of self sufficiency, beer brewing, making cheese, growing vegetables, italian traditional cooking.
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
We recently moved house within the same village, we are preparing our new place to host musical collaboration projects from next year, we have already three residency projects planned for 2024, however we are not ready!
The work we need to get done is to convert our barn into a recording studio, We have started work on this with our last workawayers, stripping the barn back to its structure, putting down a concrete floor and filling the walls with straw bales, we aim to finish this part of the process soon, and continue with clay and lime rendering plus window and doors installation!
we also have an old wooden river cruiser boat that we want to restore a little and install in the garden as a guest accommodation, and before long we will be restoring the gypsy wagon that we host workawayers in as it was last restored around 10 years ago and has weathered a bit since then! however it's still comfy and cosy if we don't get round to this in the forthcoming weeks.
We have several outbuildings which need to be turned into a kitchen, a shower block, a brewery/pottery workshop
we need a lot of help with the land (3/4 of a hectare) which has been neglected for years and is overrun with bamboo, we're trying to get this under control. We may need childcare too from time to time.
We need help with our vegetable patch, we try and grow it a little each year, we're learning as we go and are far from being experts, but love to share knowledge, ideas and methods. Apart from the veggie patch we have quite a lot of standard gardening to do.
We'd hope to spend 4 hours working together per day, 4 or 5 days a week. we'll have lunch together when we can (if you want!), the rest of the time is your own, We'll provide all the essentials for you to have breakfast and dinner in your own space, though depending on certain factors (school days, tiredness, concerts etc) we can spend some evenings together too!
We have band practices, concerts, radio sessions, administrative tasks and other things we have to fit in, during these times we would hope that you can be able to work under your own steam on whatever project we're working on (mainly the studio build at the moment)
There's no public transport around here, but you can borrow a bike to get around, from the village it's easy to get by bike, foot or hitch-hiking to Montbrun Bocage, where there is a wonderful artisanal market, a little cooperatively run epicerie and a really unique cultural café and associative venue for concerts and a number of other events.
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: Fluent
French: Fluent
Italian: FluentThis host offers a language exchange
This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
You can contact them directly for more information.
Accommodation
Traditional 19th century style round top gyspy wagon or Vardo, Composting loo, separate area for cooking, shower, dining area - at the moment this is all very basic, but together we can quickly make it comfy and cosy! - however, you'll need to be happy with a camping style life, at least at first!
However, we think we live in a little corner of paradise, the land has a stream running through it with access to a shady little beach, we have an orchard with a dozen or so fruit trees and a swimming pool where you can cool off!
What else ...
We play concerts most weekends through the summer, but less in autumn and winter, either in small venues around the region, so you can sometimes join us for evenings at these places. Alternatively there is a lot going on in the local area, fetes, concerts at a cafe, organised cycle expeditions every tuesday. There is Carla Bayle, a beautiful hill top village full of art galleries and outdoor concerts every thursday in the summer, Montbrun Bocage, the best, most vibrant and alternative little market in France, maybe the world every sunday. It's easy to hitch hike to Toulouse or Foix, where there's the castle and little ancient streets to get lost in, skiing is an hour away, there's plenty of hiking and hill walking nearby, some good restaurants and canteens for eating out, cheaply, or luxuriously! and plenty more!
There are places for rock climbing, great cycling routes, mountain hiking and skiing very close, paragliding sites and much much more....
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Space for parking camper vans
This host can provide space for campervans.
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Feedback (4)
She also helped in the garden and in the house. She is a good helper and our dog Talula is still looking for her around the house.
Linden and Talula will miss their walks together in the village to see the chickens, sheep, horses, cows and Maurices!
Photos
Feedback
She also helped in the garden and in the house. She is a good helper and our dog Talula is still looking for her around the house.
Linden and Talula will miss their walks together in the village to see the chickens, sheep, horses, cows and Maurices!
And what about Linden?! he is a lovely and funny kid. No one wouldn't have fun with him! I had a… read more
