Profile information
Host rating
85 %
Last replied
8 Aug 2022
Feedback
2
Email verified
Details
Description
After 5 years in the silicon valley rush, I decided to brake the flow of time and to head for a smaller scale life where my heart belongs in the heart of Auvergne, France. I moved to my late grandmother's house and began to reacquaint myself with the slower pace of a life in the country side. Now my projects are all resolved around how to make the house and barn auto-sufficient, how to increase social activity in the neighboring village of a hundred, how to give back to this region that fed me so much.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Language practice
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Help around the house
General Maintenance
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
This corner of France is extremely isolated, which makes it an absolutely perfect representation of what rural France looks like. Centuries old chapels, castles and medieval villages are legion in the region. This is a perfect spot for hikers, bikers, swimmers as nature is at the heart of leasure here. There aren't many towns around, so don't expect massive movie theaters, but rather home-cinemas made out of a white sheet in an old attic.
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
There are two main projects I am currently focused on:
* Renovation of this 150 years old house. Help is needed for things like painting doors, shutters, walls; fixing furniture; upgrading the house isolation to limit heat loss...
* Building up a self-sufficient barn/workshop
My brothers and I bought a barn nearby with the wish to transform it into a public workshop as autonomous as possible. Help here is needed for things like installing solar panels, water recuperation system, rocket stove for heat and warm water, greenhouse on the south wall, etc.
Neither myself nor my brothers are particularly experts in any of those endeavors, but we are motivated to build something meaningful in the land of our grandmother.
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
Italian: Intermediate
Russian: BeginnerThis host offers a language exchange
Looking to practice my Italian and Russian, learning Japanese and exchanging in French or English!
Accommodation
You will be staying in with me in an old stone house. You will have your own room and will share a bathroom with maximum one other person if there are many workaway-ers at the same time.
I'm thinking that we could share the evening meal together and keep lunches on the go, as it can be hard to interrupt a nice day of work. I'm very flexible food-wise, I eat everything and I'll keep a full fridge with things you like so that you can snack as you wish during the day.
What else ...
I'm fluent in French and English but would also love to practice my Italian and Russian if you are from there!
I highly recommend having your own car as there is no public transport in this remote area. I can give you an occasional lift but I wouldn't want you to be stranded were I to be gone.
I do things fairly instinctively without much pre-planning so don't be surprised if I suggest a hiking trip the morning of :)
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Space for parking camper vans
This host can provide space for campervans.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
