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

  • Favourited 33 times
  • Last activity : 11 Sep 2024

Availability

  2024 

 Min stay requested: No minimum

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Details

  • Description

    Description

    **Our baby is due to November - We thought we needed some time just for our family for a few weeks now, until we feel comfortable to host people again. You can contact us for a stay from December.**

    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 very cosy 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.

  • Types of help and learning opportunities

    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
  • Interests

    Interests

    Charity work
    Farming
    Self development
    Culture
    Sustainability
    Politics / Social justice
    Events & social
    Vegetarian or vegan
    Plant care
    Music
    DIY & crafts
    Books
    Languages
    Gardening
    Cooking & food
    Architecture
    Writing
    Carpentry
    Outdoor activities
    Cycling
    Hiking
    Dancing
    Camping
    Nature
    Yoga / Wellness
  • Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    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.

  • Projects involving children

    Projects involving children

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

  • Help

    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 decide together each day, depending on what needs to be done and of course what you are willing to participate with.

    This year, Fanny stays at home with Annwenn (most of the time) and Sam is working outside the farm. So basically you could help Fanny in her day to day life, and / or help with an eco-friendly building project !

    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.

    But, 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... As said before, there are so much things to do that can choose what help you want to bring to us !

  • Languages

    Languages spoken
    English: Fluent
    French: Fluent
    Chinese (Mandarin): Fluent
    Spanish: Intermediate
    German: Beginner
    Italian: Beginner

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

  • Accommodation

    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 running water in the caravan. Access to electricity during the day. Non smoking in the caravan but you can smoke outside. 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.

  • What else ...

    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. And most of all, go swimming in the Dordogne river when it is hot!

  • 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

  • Can host digital nomads

    Can host digital nomads

    WE HAVE NO WIFI but a good reception to 4G. So it can work for you if you can connect that way.

  • Space for parking camper vans

    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 batteries.

  • Can possibly accept pets

    Can possibly accept pets

    Please contact us before to give us more informations about your pet. We have a cat at home and she is afraid of dogs, so most of the time dogs are welcomed to stay outside in the garden.

  • How many Workawayers can stay?

    How many Workawayers can stay?

    More than two

  • ...

    Hours expected

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

Host ref number: 419654821357

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