Join our family and help with different projects in the Southwest part of France

Details

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  Description

  We are a family of four (Bastian and Steph, 42, Charlie, 8, and Marco, baby) living in an old stone house in Southwest part of France, near Aurignac, 80 km South of Toulouse, and we need help with different projects. We also own the small semi-detached house next door in which you would be staying. Both houses need renovation and there is also a lot to do in the garden. We've been trying to set up a vegetable garden for instance but our respective work and the arrival of our last-born has made it difficult for us to keep up with our different projects.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Language practice

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Babysitting and creative play

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We are an intercultural familly with a lot of experience living and travelling abroad, especially in Asia. We love to share stories and learn about other people and cultures :) With us, you can practice French (our native language) but also English (I am fluent and used to teach English linguistics at university level) and German (my husband is fluent in both English and German). You can learn many things about computers and electricity with my husband, as well as a few things about restoring a stone wall. He loves juggling and would be happy to teach and/or practice with someone.
  I love plants and growing them! I also love cooking and baking and I am always happy to share recipes and show how to cook French and international food :)

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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

  A fair amount of help is needed in the garden as we'd like to reorganise everything a bit. There are many trees and some are too close to each other and others are sick. We need help cutting some old trees down for instance and then chopping and stocking wood. We also need help improving and maintaining the vegetable garden or doing basic tasks such as mowing the lawn. There is an old little pond in the garden that we'd like to reestablish but don't really know where to start and how to design it exactly. There is also an old chicken house that needs fixing, cleaning, fencing and painting so we could have some chickens.
  
  We also need help making the "guest" house more comfortable. Any improvement would be welcome as there is a fair amount of tasks in there as well. There are also several renovation projects on hold in the "main" house (nearly everything from removing wallpaper and painting to removing old cement from walls to expose stones).
  
  Finaly, we might need help with our little ones from time to time as well as help around the house.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent
  French: Fluent

  This host offers a language exchange
  I'm a linguist, so I'm always interested in learning about languages and how they work ;)
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  Accommodation

  We can provide a small 2-bedroom-house as accommodation. It's not perfect and needs renovation but we hope workawayers can contribute to improving it and making it more comfortable. There is a bathroom with a shower and hot water; and also a small kitchen that we can equip with basic supply if needed. You can be fairly independant if you wish.
  
  We will of course provide for food. You will be more than welcome to share meals with us in the main house, but you can also eat in the "guest" house if our timing does not suit you, as you wish. There is no internet/wi-fi connection in the "guest" house at the moment but we can try to work something out and you can always use the wi-fi when in the main house.

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  What else ...

  Our home is situated in a hamlet of 6 houses, in a small village, on the side of a hill and on the edge of a nice little forest. You can go for a walk in the forest directly from our place. It's all peaceful and quiet up here and we try to keep it that way. It's the perfect place if you're looking to rest and reconnect with mother nature for a while.
  
  Four kilometers away is the village of Aurignac in which you will find shops, a supermarket, a cinema, restaurants, a local brasserie, a nice little café, doctors, and a pharmacy, as well as a swimming pool in summer.
  
  Five kilometers in the other direction, you'll find the village of Alan, in which there is a restaurant and a bakery.
  
  The train station is a 15-minute-drive away. We can pick you up if needed. There are also buses going to/from the different towns around. We often go to the villages around and you can tag along if you wish.
  
  The Pyrenees are not really far: an hour drive and you'll find yourself in the middle of the mountains.

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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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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  Hours expected

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