France
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13/08/2022
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hi! after some years travelling & working seasonal jobs our dream came true and we bought a house in France! The house is an old, stone building that requires a lot of love after being neglected for some years (served as a summer/holiday house). It is set in a tiny hamlet in the least populated region in the French countryside (Parque natural regional de Millevaches en Limousin). It is 25km from the Lac de Vassivière (which is the biggest artificial lake in France). With the house came the land- we have around 7000m2 with a spring.
We want to create a homestead that will be as self-sustainable as possible. We have a source, we want to install solar panels and establish a permaculture garden. We are planning on doing most of renovation work by ourselves and we will try to use reclaimed and local materials.
We have the big house to update (no heating/no isolation etc.), small bread house to rebuild and huge barn. Also we're planning on starting permaculture garden asap. In longer run we would like to keep some animals (chicken, maybe goats), create natural swimming pond and some kind of food forest (or at least a nice orchard).
Most of the time we just need some extra pair of hands to speed the processes up or someone tending to garden while we're still in renovating process ourselves.
Since we have spent all our savings on purchasing the estate, now we still leave for few months a year to work in different region, hence not full availability.
It's just a beginning and we are still setting priorities so the help will be very diverse depending on what you want to do and what your skills are. We're workawayers ourselves and hoping to be good hosts, knowing the opposite perspective:)
Few words about us: we're in our 30ties, both worked for corpos, quit in 2017, went for grape picking in France where we meet :) together we bought a van, travelled and worked seasonally in vineyards (to put money aside) and eventually decided to settle down in France. We got the house at the end of 2021.
We consider ourselves open-minded and tolerant. We're vegetarians, dumpster divers, immigrants :)
2022 edit:
We adopted a belgian shepard dog, he is young & a bit crazy, full of energy and loves to play. He has some issues- not accepting all dogs, he especially doesn’t like small dogs (no idea why :/ ). We’re going to the training and there’s progress, but still not perfect.
Also we have 2 kittens! No problems with them :) just being cute and playfull and purring a lot
Art Projects
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
We can teach you Polish or Romanian :) you can practice your French with us (sadly not above basic level yet) or English (much better here ;) We can share our countries culture, national cuisine (PIEROGI !!!) or some vegetarian/vegan recipes. We can show you around so you inhale some of French culture. We love vintage stuff and can take you for brocante/second hand shops tour. We still have a lot to explore in the area, so we can do it together.
If you have some experience that would be great, but if you have enthusiasm and learning fast that's great too :)
Our project starts in scratch. Most of the time we just need some extra pair of hands to speed the processes up or someone tending to garden while we're still in renovating project ourselves. We can be flexible with the help & hours, all depending on the ongoing projects.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Polish: Fluent
Romanian: Fluent
French: Beginner
This 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.
the house is habitable, we have extra bedroom. The rest is shared. There's a lot of space in the garden and we can provide tent/hammock if you prefer staying outdoors.
We are vegetarians and that's what we can provide when it comes to meals.
We will probably have one or two meals together (lunch/dinner) during the day, with breakfast (and the other meal) you will help yourself (we'll provide all you need).
In your time off you can visit Vassivière lake, go hiking in the Parque natural regional de Millevaches, visit local markets, see some small, charming villages around or visit Limoges.
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
This host can provide space for campervans.
for now we don't have our own pets so we would love to host some!
More than two
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
