Live, contribute, and thrive in our sustainable community in Couloumé-Mondebat, France

Details

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  Description

  We met 10 years ago in Boston, where Carol-Ann was a university professor and Peter was a wood worker. We were both ready to make some big changes, and decided we wanted to settle somewhere new where we could learn about a new culture and language, while creating a welcoming, artistic, sustainable community. Between 2019 and 2022 (with a break for covid), we spent several months volunteering as Workaways with several families in different parts of France, looking for just the right place to make our home. We found this beautiful, peaceful spot in the Gers last year, a 200-year old farmhouse on 21 hectares. And now we need talented, like-minded people to help us with our many projects!
  
  What we love about our home: it's huge (7 bedrooms plus several barns to eventually renovate)! We're going for a mix of deliberate planting (including a "potager", flowers, and lots of trees) plus letting much of it re-wild - we already have wonderful biodiversity, with all kinds of birds and other wildlife. The house is comfortable and quirky, and needs all kinds of work, which is exactly the kind of challenge we wanted.
  
  We're not a business - our goal is to make our property a home and community for our friends and family.
  
  What we love about this part of France: we're really off the beaten track. Here, we do "slow tourism" - it's all about experiencing the relaxed pace of life, the wonderful natural setting and charming villages, kind people, and the fantastic local food and wine. People here are very involved in village life, and there's always some market, or concert, or local fête to try. Though I'll say it again - we're definitely remote here! The nearest small city (Auch) is about 45 minutes away, and Toulouse, Bordeaux, or Pau are 1.5-2.5 hours. There are busses and Blah-Blah cars, and we can pick you up from a local bus stop, but having your own car will really make things easier for you!
  
  We've accomplished so much in the last year, and couldn't have done it without the help of our first Workaway visitors. We've planted a small orchard, a berry patch, lots of decorative plants, and we've started a greenhouse with raised beds; we have an adorable and productive group of rescue chickens giving us fresh eggs; we've put up a fence to protect the chickens and the garden; we've adopted two adorable rescue dogs (Diam and Mylla); we've built a composting toilet; we 're restoring a ruined cottage that we found hidden behind brambles; we've restored stone walls outside and moved ahead with improvements within; and we continue to be involved with our community, in the form of frequent visits with neighbours, and volunteering with our local village's party committee. Workaways have played an invaluable part in all our efforts, lending much-needed helping hands, and also joining us for lively conversation and exchange of experience over daily shared meals. Our Workaways have been a wonderful addition to our dynamic household, and our welcoming community!

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Art Projects

  Language practice

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance

  Help with Computers/ Internet
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  Interests

  

  Politics / Social justice

  

  LGBTQ

  

  Events & social

  

  Sustainability

  

  Pets

  

  Culture

  

  Farming

  

  Books

  

  Plant care

  

  Music

  

  History

  

  DIY & crafts

  

  Art & design

  

  Languages

  

  Gardening

  

  Blogging

  

  Cooking & food

  

  Writing

  

  Performing arts

  

  Drawing & painting

  

  Carpentry

  

  Animals

  

  Yoga / Wellness

  

  Nature

  

  Fitness

  

  Dancing

  

  Outdoor activities

  

  Hiking
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  What's this?
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  Carol-Ann is an English teacher! Peter is fluent in both Dutch and English - we can help you with those languages. We'd love to practice our French more. And as part of staying with us, we'll include you in local social events with our neighbours (a mix of French, Dutch, and English), and can help you find fun cultural activities in the Gers, including performing arts, history, and gastronomy.

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  Help

  Maybe you already have some skills, and/or you're keen to learn something new. You want to know more about permaculture and community building. You crave peace and quiet and a slower pace of life, but also enjoy a bit of more challenging tasks, meeting new people, and practicing new languages. We'd love it if you speak French already, because we need practice! Or you'd like to practice French, English, or Dutch while you're here.
  
  Particular skills to bring or practice: permaculture/sustainable gardening, sewing, cooking, general handyperson skills. If someone could teach us to sew or make sourdough, that would be amazing!
  
  This fall (2025), we'll have tradespeople on site to do a couple of big things (solar panels!?!). "Smaller" projects for this fall: cleaning up the garden and working on pruning and winter planting; planting trees; clearing brush; expanding our worm composting; repurpose-ing a metal corn drying rack; painting and decorating indoors; improving our sewing skills to make curtains and cushions. The choice of project will depend on your interests and skills as well as how long you can stay!
  
  From our own Workaway experiences, we really value getting to know our volunteers and make you feel a part of the household while you're here. We feel it's especially important for hosts and volunteers to work on projects together - that's not just efficient, it's also a nice way to get to know one another, share experiences, and trade stories. And of course, it's essential to have good, clear communication about needs and expectations, and well-defined goals for each day and week. We'd want to have a zoom chat with prospective Workaways so we can be sure we're a good fit from the get-go!

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Dutch: Fluent
  French: Intermediate

  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.
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  Accommodation

  You'll have your own large room; depending on who's here, you might have your own bathroom. We have good wifi, but no cable tv! Breakfasts are pretty informal, but we generally have lunch and dinner "en famille" and everyone pitches in with cooking and cleanup! If you love to cook and want to create an entire meal, that can be one of your projects and can count toward your hours.

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  What else ...

  Things to do - explore the little villages and small cities in this area, especially the markets and restaurants. Good side trips from here would include Bordeaux, Toulouse, Pau, the Pyrenees (hiking! winter sports!), and Spain in one direction and the Cote D'Azur and Provence in the other. We're near the towns of Plaisance and Marciac, where there are bus and Blah-Blah connections. The nearest rail station is Auch. We're happy to have you along if we're going to town for errands or social events, but if you want to really be able to explore this area, you'll want to have your own car.

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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 good internet! Not good enough to support elaborate gaming, but very good for working online, zoom calls, etc.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  We have plenty of room for a campervan, but we don't have any water or sanitary hookups available yet.

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  Can possibly accept pets

  Probably! We can discuss! We now have chickens and two adorable dogs, and we've enjoyed having friends and Workaway visitors add their well-behaved dogs into the mix. Unfortunately, the dogs don't get along with cats at all, in a way that's not safe for cats!

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  My animals / pets

  

  8 adorable brown chickens

  A local charity does amazing work finding new homes for chickens used in commercial laying operations - instead of meeting an early end, these ladies are enjoying a peaceful retirement in the country, and giving us a lot of fresh eggs and delight in return

  

  Mylla (8 years)

  Mylla is also a rescue dog who arrived with us in June 2025. She was in bad shape when we adopted her but in two short months, she lost weight and gained muscle and is now leaping and frolicking in the surrounding fields. Mylla is a sweetheart but a little scared of strangers but very quickly adopts a visitor when she knows it's safe, which is usually within a few minutes. It's been heartwarming to see her relax and thrive here with us!

  

  Diam (10 years)

  Diam joined us in December 2024. She's a rescue dog! She's very friendly with people and dogs, very relaxed, though you have to keep an eye on your bread and cheese - she'll eat just about anything! She's a German pointer, a hunting dog, and can run forever.

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