General help welcome on very small family farm in Normandy, France

Details

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  Description

  Hi
  
  We are currently looking for someone from the end of July for August. We would love to have someone or a couple for taking care of the animals - keeping an eye on the sheep, poultry, horses and cats. Watering and weeding the garden.
  
  Generally we are happy to have people at any time of the year. Minimum stay 3 weeks. We are always very happy to welcome cooks, and we have had some amazing chefs over the years.
  
  We would love to find someone (or 2) who can ride our 2 horses to stop them getting too bored.
  
  We have come to the end of the major renovation project that is our 14th century home. We moved in in May 2017, and have been working ridiculously hard to finish the house, while setting up our small-holding, with sheep, horse, ducks, chickens, and cats, and that project is now basically complete, in that everything is up and running and normally works!
  
  We are a bilingual French/English family with 4 kids (17, 16, 16, 13). Since 2010 we have had over 100 helpers, with quite a coming back over the years and a few staying for over a year (and some over 2 years) which has been fabulous.
  
  This stay would suit a couple or 2 friends so that you have company, as we are working or at school Monday to Friday and away pretty regularly. Or someone happy with their own company, and good at visiting by themselves. We do our best to ensure that if you need a car then there is one available.
  
  The principal reason we are currently looking for helpers is that are just never enough hours in the day to get everything done.
  
  From December through to March we need extra help with our small flock of sheep, as they have their lambs. They come into the stables in the evening and then go out in the day. They need feeding - hard feed and hay, straw added to their bedding etc ready for them to come in the evening. Then letting out in the morning. If we have any orphan lambs they need to be given a bottle several times a day. In the winter the horses also need feeding.
  
  All year round, daily supper needs cooking. Cats, and poultry need feeding. (In the winter the horses and sheep need feeding too.) I normally do all this, but happy to have some help, as the others leave at 7 am and get back at 7 pm. I work from home but have a very full on job.
  
  If you can ride we have 2 really lovely horses (well one's a large pony) who need more exercise. No particular expertise required as they are both ex riding school ponies. We use a very gentle method with them, and they are both really lovely boys.
  
  We are in a great location for visiting Normandy - Mont St Michel, Bayeux tapestry and the D-Day beaches. Our closest town is Saint Pierre sur Dives and we go to work/school in Caen. We have a beach house close to Granville and Coutances, which you are welcome to use but only out of season, while doing any odd jobs that need doing there. Deauville and Honfleur are an easy drive from home.
  
  HAVING A DRIVING LICENSE AND BEING ABLE TO DRIVE A MANUAL CAR ARE AN ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL PART OF THE JOB. Sorry to shout, but I cannot make this clear enough. There is no public transport within 10kms. You can generally have use of a car with a bit of prior notice.
  
  We will give you a food allowance when we are away, otherwise most evenings you would eat with us, and we would normally expect to cover all your food costs. If you would prefer to eat alone and buy your own food that's also fine.
  
  So basically the job probably averages less than 20 hours a week:
  
  gardening:
  picking veg/fruit depending on what's happening in the garden - in the summer
  weeding - always necessary
  mowing - from April through to November
  hedge trimming - spring and late summer
  collecting chopped wood for drying
  
  tidying:
  chaos is never far away, unfortunately - there are always areas that need a bit of a tidy
  recycling: taking the general household recycling to the recycling bins
  
  animals:
  feeding the sheep, horses, cats, ducks and chickens every day
  lambing from Jan through to March - mostly just keeping an eye out for any action
  horses - if you know how to ride that would be very welcome - just hacking out to help with fitness
  
  cooking:
  if you enjoy cooking then you are very very welcome - we love to eat and as a big family we need a lot of food! We live in an area that is incredibly rich in local producers and amazing food - it is the dairy capital of France, so famous for its cheese. We have a very good local market in Saint Pierre sur Dives on Monday mornings.
  
  Accommodation
  
  You have your own separate part of the house, which has several bedrooms, that are used for helpers and guests, bathroom, toilet, kitchen etc. We do use the bottom part as "your kitchen" has the washing machine in and "your bathroom" has the tumble drier. You have a very good wood burner and it's all comfortable.
  
  We are a bilingual French /English family and are happy to speak either at home. We are happy to have people from anywhere as long as they are prepared to speak either English or French.
  
  There are always things to be done, so any helper must be independent, a team player, a self-starter and preferably a non-smoker.
  
  We have a discount with Brittany Ferries for those traveling to & from the UK.
  
  Please get in touch if you are interested.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We are a bilingual family, French father English mother. Happy to have people from any culture/language as long as they are happy to speak (or learn) English or French.
  
  We are in a great location for visiting Normandy - we are fairly close to the D-Day beaches, Deauville etc. We have a beach house near Granville, which is good for visiting the west coast of Normandy.
  
  We currently have 4 outdoor cats, 1 dog, 2 horses, 15 sheep, 6 ducks, 10 chickens and a cockerel - happy to show anyone about any of them.

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  Projects involving children

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

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  Help

  • Feeding the animals.
  
  • Gardening – weeding, weed wacking/strimming, mowing, watering, picking fruit, veg etc depending on the season.
  
  • Generally keeping the place in working order.
  
  • Doing a bit of maintenance on the beach house (out of season).
  
  • Doing the recycling, bins.

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  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent
  French: Fluent

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  Accommodation

  You have your own separate accommodation, bedroom(s), sitting room, dining area, bathroom.

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  What else ...

  You must have a driving licence and know how to drive a manual car. Although I have taught a lot of people to drive a manual. The car is shared with me, so not always available, but with some prior warning we can make this work.
  
  We are in a fairly rural location so you need to be happy with your own and our company. Going out (in the evening) involves driving. We are surrounded by chateaux and manoirs and well placed for trips to Deauville, Mont Saint Michel, D-Day beaches, Bayeux tapestry, Cherbourg, Caen, Granville, Vire, Lisieux, Falaise.

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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

  You would normally have your own 4g internet connection. It’s not perfect but it’ll work for zoom etc

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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  Hours expected

  A maximum of 20 hours, 5 days a week.

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