France
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Hi
Availability - Now until end of March, July onwards.
Currently we would love to have someone or a couple for taking care of the animals - feeding the sheep, poultry, horses, dogs and cats. Walking the dogs . We also have a bit of painting and decorating that needs doing on an apartment in Caen that we are getting ready for renting. Minimum stay 3 weeks, and the longer the better in general. We are happy to have people anytime of the year. We are always very happy to welcome cooks, and we have had some really amazing chefs over the years.
If you are good at riding, we have 2 horses, and they would welcome getting ridden more often than is currently the case.
We are coming 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 try and finish the house, while setting up our small holding, with sheep, horse, ducks, chickens and cats. We have just finished building a barn for the animals.
We are a bilingual French/English family with 4 kids (14, 13,13, 10). Since 2010 we have had nearly 100 helpers, with quite a few staying for over a year (and some over 2 years) which has been fabulous.
This stay would really suit a couple or 2 friends, so that you have company as we are out all day and away pretty regularly. Or someone happy with their own company, and good at visiting by themselves. We do our best to insure 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.
Currently these jobs are :
painting an apartment
gardening
picking veg/fruit depending on what's happening in the garden
weeding
mowing
hedge trimming
tidying out all the storage spaces
In the future it will be helping to
build a new barn
rebuild a very very old barn and cider press
On a daily basis, the dogs need walking and supper needs cooking. Dogs, cats, sheep, horses 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 we leave at 7 am and get back at 7 pm.
If you can ride we have 2 really lovely horses (well ones a large pony) who need more exercise. No particular expertise required as they are both ex riding school ponies.
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. If you have your own car that would be even better! 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 your would eat with us.
So basically the job probably averages less than 20 hours a week:
• Walking the dogs daily – we have two unruly spaniels. Mostly I walk them myself but if I can't then this is part of the job
• Gardening – weeding, weed wacking/strimming, mowing, watering, picking fruit, veg etc depending on the season. In the winter there is very little to do.
• Generally keeping the place in working order.
• Doing the recycling, bins.
• Cooking the evening meal, or helping with its preparation.
• Anyone with some serious carpentry skills would be very very welcome. There are a million little things that need finishing in the house and in the barn.
Accommodation
You have your own part of the house, which has several bedrooms, that are used for helpers and guests, bathroom, toilet, kitchen etc
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 really independent, a team player, a self starter and preferably a non-smoker.
We have a discount with Brittany Ferries for those travelling to & from the UK.
Please get in touch if you are interested.
Gardening
Building
General Maintenance
Cooking / shopping
Farmstay
Help in the house
Animal care
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 - with Mont St Michel and the Bayeux tapestry in one direction and the D-Day beaches in the other and close to Caen, Deauville etc and Granville, Coutances, Cherbourg and Rennes are about 1.5 hours away.
We currently have 4 outdoor cats, 2 dogs, 2 horses, 15 sheep, 6 ducks, 10 chickens and a cockerel - happy to show anyone about any of them.
• Walking the dogs daily – we have two unruly spaniels. Mostly I walk them myself but if I can't then this is part of the job
• Gardening – weeding, weed wacking/strimming, mowing, watering, picking fruit, veg etc depending on the season.
• Generally keeping the place in working order so that it looks great for our self-catering rental guests.
• Keeping an eye on the beach house before new clients arrive, mostly over the summer.
• Doing the recycling, bins.
English, French
You have your own separate accommodation, bedroom(s), sitting room, dining area, bathroom. In the evenings after eating we would expect you to be in your part while we are in ours.
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.
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Two
A maximum of 20 hours, 5 days a week.
