Enjoy the countryside and learn about eco-building by helping us renovate our farm in Tudeils, France

Details

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  Description

  We are Sam and Fanny, we live with our daughter Annwenn (3 years old) in the beautiful region of South Corrèze... We would like to welcome helpers to share in our daily life, our many projects and passion for nature! We live in an old farm that needs a lot of renovating and gardening. We have a cat.
  
  We live in an old stone house, with solar panels, a cold shower outside, and dry toilets outside. Every year we improve the place so it becomes cosy and welcoming ! We have a wonderful oak tree which provides shade, where we often put a big hammock for helpers. We have big fields surrounding our farm, so we have plenty of place to host you if you have a tent, or a van / caravan. We do have a caravan to host helpers, with one big bed, hosting one adult or a couple.
  
  This year we will need help to build a small house (20m2) from scratch. The stones foundations are almost done, next we will build a wooden structure. We will need a lot of helping hands to tile the roof, and fill the walls with straw and clay from the garden !
  
  We're keen musicians and regularly play the folk guitar and flute as an informal duo. Please don't hesitate to bring your instruments!
  
  We have been volunteers many times ourselves, and will strive to provide all the comfort and warmth that we know to be so important when you're on the move. We're quite knowledgeable about the local area and South-West France in general, so we will be more than happy to involve you in local events and to give you information for weekend visits or to plan the next stages of your trip nearby.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Babysitting and creative play

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  You can learn plenty of things concerning ecobuilding, we know a good deal about it. We can teach you some french or english. I'm afraid we are beginners about gardening, permaculture, edible forest..but we have some good books and we try to improve over the years. We spend some time every month with the organic farmers of our village to help them and learn more about their job, you are most welcome to participate if you are interested.

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  Projects involving children

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

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  Help

  There will be a wide range of activities to take part in, depending on your personal interests, skills, and also on the seasons. We ask for 20 to 25 hours a week (can be 4 to 5h per day monday to friday, with free weekends, or 7h a day for 3 days a week...). These could include babysitting, cooking, working on the house or veggie patch... We both have building skills and we can teach you how to build with wood, earth, stones and straw. We want to transform our farm into a beautiful, natural home using environmentally friendly methods and materials. We also have some side projects (dry toilets, bread oven, summer kitchen...) that you could help with from scratch.
  
  This year we are focusing on building a small house near the farm. Come and help us build it only with renewable or natural materials ! If you do not want (or can not) help us build, maybe you would be interested in cooking meals for builders, or taking care of our daughter ?

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  French: Fluent
  German: Beginner
  Italian: Beginner

  This host offers a language exchange
  We like to practise the languages we learned and learn new ones!
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  Accommodation

  Your private room is a cosy caravan, with a large bed (sleeps 2), a chest of drawers and some space to put your luggages. Private dry toilets. No water in the caravan. Access to electricity. Non smoking in the caravan. It will be in the shade of a big oak tree in the afternoon. We will share the house (kitchen, living room) and the shower area (outside). Non smoking in the house.

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  What else ...

  We can show you the nice villages nearby, we can lend you bikes, and take you to various cultural events. It is possible to canoe on the dordogne river nearby (during the summer). There are some ranches where you can horse ride nearby. The local markets (meyssac, vayrac, beaulieu..) take place once a week all year round. There are some music concerts in the area, some local bars where you can try local beer or wine. There is a cinema in Vayrac (15 kms ride ). The bus can take you to the main cities (Brive la gaillarde and Tulle, 45 minutes ride) were you can go to more concerts and museums. You can walk for hours in the lovely countryside and forest from our place, or we can advise you where to go for a nice walk in the area.

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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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  Space for parking camper vans

  There is space for a van or a campervan to stay. The parking area is quite flat and cosy (lawn). Electricity from solar panels to charge your phone, and light the evenings.

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  Can possibly accept pets

  Please contact us before to give us more informations about your pet. We have a cat at home and she doesn't like dogs, so most of the time dogs are welcomed to stay outside in the garden.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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  Hours expected

  Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week