Join family life on the Cotentin peninsula near the Mont Saint Michel

  • Favourited 903 times
  • Last activity: 13 Mar 2024

Availability

  2024 

 Min stay requested: at least a week

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Details

  • Description

    Description

    Hey, it's us, Lin and Alef. Ah, and let's not forget our two kids Indi and Jona (9 and 7 years old). And of course our flock of chicken, 2 sheep and 3 horses.

    We're a happy family of 4, originally Dutch, living a rich life close to nature in Normandy not far from the Mont Saint Michel. By March this year we'll have moved into to our renovated and slightly enlarged traditional stone farm house a few kilometers from the beautiful coast just South of Granville.

    For the past 2 years we've already worked hard on bringing the fields near the house back to life, creating vegetable plots and generally turning our piece of land into a paradise for plants, animals and people. We have a lovely forest with a little stream right next to us and in just 10 minutes we're on the beach.

    We're not new at this. We used to live 10km East of Amsterdam and there too we turned an old abandoned farmhouse into a vibrant place full of life. We did this in close cooperation with the local community and many Workaway'ers (the reviews are from that time). Together we set up vegetable plots, made cider, baked sourdough bread, raised sheep and pigs and did a fair amount of construction work.

    In The Netherlands, we had the most amazing time and cherish all the wonderful moments of joy and sharing of stories over home-cooked meals with fresh food. Due to asthma we moved to France end of 2019 and we took all the lessons learnt and memories of a great time with us. The move worked out, the family is fit and sporty as ever ;-).

    Alef is dividing his time between setting up the homestead in Normandy and running a company selling products for rainwater harvesting that requires an occasional visit to The Netherlands. Lin keeps herself busy with the gardens, lots of community work and the care for the kids and the animals (sheep, chicken, horses that is).

  • Types of help and learning opportunities

    Types of help and learning opportunities

    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
  • Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    As we are originally Dutch but now located in France, you'll be immersed in a nice mix of cultures and we hope you bring your own to the table too. For us, having people over is like traveling ourselves a little bit ;-).

    We've moved away from life in the last lane. Alef was a startup entrepreneur and Lin a scientist in veterinary public health. Going from hi-tech and science to homesteading, we can offer you some unique perspectives and ways to wean yourself off of the consumerist society. There's many practical skills too, ranging from construction to making sourdough bread, ginger beer and apple cider and from setting up chicken coops to starting veggie beds, there's lot to learn.

    One is never too old to learn so we're eager to improve on many fronts, some of which you might be able to help us with.

    We speak Dutch, English and French so if your idea is to improve either one of those languages, that's also something you'll take away.

    Last but not least, if time permits, we'll take you out to some of the sites around the area that are not very well-known to tourists and if you feel like, the Mont Saint Michel is not too far away either.

  • Projects involving children

    Projects involving children

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

  • Help

    Help

    Sharing the local and simple life, that's what we've been up to so far and with the start of our new project, we'll continu to do just that.

    There's a huge list of things we'd like to do over the next few years, with different priorities and timelines. Having said that, although we're pretty structured when it comes to setting goals, we are also flexible so if you feel you like to add something to the list, feel free.

    Here's just a random list of things we'll be doing over the course of the next few years:

    * Building a solar dehydrator for herbs and tea
    * Building an outdoor run attached to the chicken coop
    * Extending and maintaining the vegetable patch, herb garden, orchard and green house
    * Building a tipi platform and structure for friends and family to stay in
    * Scything the field
    * Building a wooden tool shed to replace the old defunct chicken coop
    * Creating a wooden deck around the house

    Apart from that, there's always some chores available, weeding here and there, removing some brambles (there's plenty of those), cooking, cleaning. But don't be afraid, we'll always stick in a big project to get that sense of achievement by the end of your stay.

  • Languages

    Languages spoken
    English: Fluent
    Dutch: Fluent
    French: Intermediate
    Italian: Intermediate
    Spanish: Beginner

    This host offers a language exchange
    Our kids are bi-lingual and would happily teach you some French or Dutch. Speaking English with them would also be great for them.

  • Accommodation

    Accommodation

    You'll have your own room with a separate entrance attached to the main house. Bath room (shower) access is shared with the kids (that are usually away on weekdays from 08.30 to 16.00 except for Wednesdays).

  • What else ...

    What else ...

    We try to live a healthy life, spent lots of time in the kitchen, bake our own (sourdough) bread, cook from scratch, always using fresh ingredients. We're still busy setting up our own veg beds, so for now food mainly comes from organic stores and farms around the area. It'd be great if you can add to our healthy lifestyle and bring your own recipes, tips and tricks!

    In terms of surroundings, we're immersed in nature but not too far away from tourist hotspots such as the Mont Saint Michel (15km as the crow flies). The beach is 10 minutes away and the cities closest by are Granville and Avranches, both at about 10 minutes by car. Walks and short hikes long the forest stream and to a beautiful old water mill can be done right from our home and the long-distance trails GRR 223 is running close to our place too.

    Getting to our place is best done from Rennes or Granville, where we can pick you up. Depending on where in Paris you are, Rennes is anywhere from 1h40m to 2h20m away by train.

    We have bicycles available for you to get to the beach or to town (if you like mountainbiking, take some shoes with SPD cleats, there's wonderful trails right next to our home) and we're heading into town almost daily to drop off the kids at school.

    Last but not least, if you're inclined to get in touch with us please mind the following:

    1. On diet; while we have a very health diet, I have to mention that we are NOT a gluten-free household (the freshly baked sourdough bread has lots). Breakfast is yoghurt or porridge with some added fruits, lunch varies, sometimes simple sandwiches, sometimes a nice long hot 3-course lunch and occasionally we'll treat you on a 'menu ouvrier' (worker's menu in a nearby restaurant). We do try to eat as local as possible, so there's no avocados every day ;-). Do let us know if there's any dietary considerations, that way we can accommodate.
    2. We take on people for a period to 10 days to 3-4 weeks. We feel this works best for us and alternate having people over with relatively quiet periods in between.
    3. If you're interested in staying at our place, we do a Skype/Zoom call to get to know each other a little bit and only then confirm a stay. We feel this makes all the difference in making the right decision, not just for us, but also for you.
    4. We have an absolute zero-tolerance policy when it comes to drugs. Also, we are a non-smoking household and cannot host smokers.
    5. We will ask you to leave a copy of your passport upon arrival (we have a printer so can make one for you). We like to have some info on hand in case of an emergency.
    6. We have two kids almost 7 and almost 9 and there's usually more visiting throughout the week. 80% of the time kids are happy and smiling but occasionally things are not moving along smoothly for an hour or so. Kids are grumpy and loud occasionally. We just want to let you know that our kids are too :-).
    7. We will welcome you as part of our family and we expect you to act like that too. This means we try to share meals as much as possible but if you're out for the weekend or evening, that's of course fine.
    8. On cellphones; we try to limit cellphone use in the house. No cellphones and screens at the dinner table and preferably not around the kids.
    9. We have spent time on presenting ourselves in as much detail as we can on workaway.info. We expect you to do the same, so if you consider getting in touch with us please make sure you have a complete profile that tells about yourself, your interests and your motivation to do what you're doing. Also tell us why you want to volunteer at our place specifically. We very much appreciate a personal message.
    10. In terms of a schedule for the day: we usually start work around 08.30 to 09.00 and continue until lunch time, around 12.00 to 12.30, aside from a coffee break of course. After lunch there's usually a small bit of work to be done as well and at about 14.30 to 15.00, it's a wrap.

  • A little more information

    A little more information

    • Internet access

    • Limited internet access

      Limited internet access

    • We have pets

    • We are smokers

    • Can host families

  • Space for parking camper vans

    Space for parking camper vans

    Our place has plenty of space for you to park your motor home or campervan.

  • How many Workawayers can stay?

    How many Workawayers can stay?

    Two

  • ...

    Hours expected

    Maximum 5 hours a day, 5 days a week

Host ref number: 313251482917

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