Animals in the Dordogne, France

Details

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  Description

  I am an English osteopath looking after a friend's house in France. I speak both English and French and have travelled a lot in the past, including doing WOOF work. I love sharing life and food with other people and hearing their stories. The owner of the property, who lives in Finland, has had WorkAway people helping here in the past so we are all used to sharing work, food and life with other people. It's a very warm atmosphere.
  
  Normally my husband and I look after the place, but he's in the UK a lot at the moment and I've had an operation that means I'm a bit slow! While I recover I need some help looking after my horses, dogs, chickens and vegetable patches plus helping me with shopping and some cooking in the evenings.
  
  There are some projects I'd love to finish here, and any help with the property (mowing grass, strimming, chopping firewood, building a new chicken run and veg patch, painting etc) would be wonderful.
  
  Whilst I am very frustrated that I can't do my normal activities at the moment I think this is a great opportunity to give other people a chance to explore the history, beauty and stunning countryside of the Lot and Dordogne. It's great for hiking, cycling and riding, or for just being still. Unfortunately it's not possible for families with children to come.
  
  It's a 10 minute drive to the nearest town, so this isn't a great place if you want a busy night life. If you like the peace of the countryside and the beauty of unpolluted night skies, then you'll love it here.
  
  If you want to explore the area you will definitely need a car.
  
  The helper accommodation is nice - it's a separate house with cooking facilities and two bedrooms. There is also a pool.
  
  Days and times of work can be flexible so you will have lots of time to explore the area.
  
  I hope this sounds interesting - it's a beautiful area and I'd love to share it with you
  Claire

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  General Maintenance
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  There are wonderful historical sights in the area.
  
  We have a piano here.
  
  Cycling and hiking are great here too. And if you enjoy watching birds, butterflies and other wildlife you'll be very happy.
  
  More importantly everyone who comes here loves sharing stories, experiences and learning.

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  Help

  The most important jobs I need help with are:
  
  Mucking out 2 open barns (no previous experience with horses is needed)
  Walking 2 dogs
  Perparing meals (I will be able to help with this as my heart problem gets better as I like sharing cooking)
  Looking after 2 big vegetable patches.
  Mowing lawns (on a sit-on lawn mower).
  
  
  Help with the following would be an incredible bonus!
  Building a new chicken run and vegetable patch
  Simple maintenance of the fields (strimming, mowing on the tractor)
  Painting the guest houses
  Forest maintenance and chopping firewood
  Building cross country jumps for horses!
  
  As I've said above, this is not a working farm, but there's a lot of land to take care of.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  French: Fluent

  This host offers a language exchange
  I'm happy to share learning languages - I can help with English and probably with French and I'd love to learn Italian.
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  Accommodation

  The accommodation is a 2 bedroom house, separate from the main house, with its own kitchen and bathroom. Mostly we share lunch and dinner in the main house, but I understand that there are times when people want to be on their own, so arrangements are fairly easy going.
  
  There is space to park a car or campervan outside the guest house. And plenty of space to put bicycles.
  
  There is a good internet connection in both houses.

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  What else ...

  There are beautiful historical towns and castles to visit.
  Walking and cycling here is lovely, though not very flat!
  The wildlife in the area is always interesting.
  There's very little light pollution, so the night skies are stunning.
  
  Life here is very quiet. It's not suitable if you're looking for a busy nightlife, but you'll love it if you enjoy walking through forests looking for deer!

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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 excellent internet facilities. I run regular webinars and we have a second router. It's a great place to work remotely and then step outside to the beauty and calm of the countryside.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  There's lots of parking space here.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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  Hours expected

  Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week