Profile information
Host is looking for help immediately
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
17 Apr 2024
Reply rate
98.7 %
Usually responds within 8 days
Feedback
38
Email verified
Badges (2)
Details
Description
Come be part of our Workaway group project this April!
We're having a bunch of workaway volunteers over this April to help us get the château ready for summer season, which starts in May. Mostly working outside, pruning trees, gardening, getting the pool ready, etc. Wanna be a part of the team this April? Feel free to message us!
About us:
We are Malin and Michiel, a German/Dutch couple living in France, with our 2 sons, our dog, our cats, 50 chickens, a gang of ducks, a bunny and some quails.
Malin is a stay at home mother and florist. Michiel mostly focuses on maintenance and DIY projects. Together we run a chateau that is rented out to tourists in the summer season. The rest of the year we try to do some homestead type stuff, running a vegetable garden,herb/tea garden, and some poultry for self sustenance.
Hope you like eggs!
We are interested in preserving the old European heritage, self-sufficient farm life, etc. We try to find a healthy balance to integrate a natural lifestyle into the modern age. We have many interests, we are artistic folks, into floristry, herbology, crafts, traditional lifestyles, self-sufficiency, history, the arts; drawing, painting, sculpting, writing, music, filmmaking, etc. But we mostly do whatever needs to be done. Circumstances and priorities decide our activities for the day.
Oh, and we eat meat.
We noticed the strong presence of vegans and vegetarians on this platform, so we figured it's best to address this issue on our profile, to avoid unpleasant surprises for those who come to visit us. We don't expect you to join us in our lifestyle choices, but it's good to know that we might be killing our own roosters/ducks on our property, during your stay. Living with animals means you have to take care of them, and that includes avoiding incest. Our solution to that is to eat all the males, so we're left with the females who produce our daily eggs. Introduce a new male every year to produce offspring, and you've got yourself an incest-free little homestead that produces enough animal protein to live off of.
Having lived a vegan organic wholefoods lifestyle for years ( and ending up with a severe B12 defficiency), we are understanding of, and try to be accommodating to people who don't eat meat, but we are not going to stop eating meat for you, so the strict militant totalitarian vegan extremists who don't want to be around us meat-eating savages best look elsewhere ;)
Types of help and learning opportunities
Art Projects
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
Babysitting and creative play
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
You can expect to learn some basics in homesteading, gardening, herbology, basic construction, renovation, DIY, maintenance chores, and the basics on how to take care of a place like this.
As for languages you can learn here: we speak fluent Dutch, German and English, our French is imperfect.
We welcome French people, who can help us develop our french language skills, especially by talking French over the dinner table, to expose our son more to the language.
Aside from the practical activities that you could learn from, depending on your interests, you might learn something from our conversations about anything from chickens and plants to history and philosophy, from ecological sustainability and self-sufficiency to politics and spirituality, and anything else that might come up. We are always interested to learn from your unique perspective, especially if you have spent some time looking into things that we don't know much about! Knowledge is power, and we love to empower ourselves and others with the treasures and insights we've come across on our respective journeys.
We value truth and honesty more than political correctness. We enjoy good conversations. If alternative perspectives make you uncomfortable, you'd probably want to look elsewhere. We very much enjoy the company of independent thinkers who critically look at the world and come to their own conclusions to make up their own minds.
We look forward to getting to know you and spending some quality time together :)
Help
We can use some helping hands with all types of stuff, from general maintenance, gardening, homesteading, DIY stuff, to helping us out with the household.
In winter we focus more on DIY stuff, general maintenance, and self-sufficiency.
In the summer we focus more on running the chateau for our summertime guests.
Depending on our schedule, and your skills and preferences, you can either help Michiel get some things done or help out Malin with the household while she focuses mainly on our newborn baby son ( born january 2024 )
Since the birth of our second son this year we can use a bit more help with the basic family household; play with / watch over our oldest son (4), help with the cooking, the dishes, the laundry, etc.
We are also happy to host folks who want to help Michiel with his more physically demanding jobs, DIY projects, etc.
Languages
Languages spoken
German: Fluent
English: Fluent
Dutch: Fluent
French: IntermediateThis host offers a language exchange
We speak fluent Dutch, German and English. Our French is imperfect, and we'd be happy to learn more. Michiel also has some rusty basics in Latin and ancient Greek.
Accommodation
You'll be staying in one of our guesthouses, where you'll have a kitchen and bathroom to yourself ( or share it with other volunteers ). You'll get your own room with a bed in it. You'll get 3 meals a day. You'll make your own breakfast, we have lunch and dinner together. We eat separately on Sundays.
What else ...
The ideal situation for us is if you can arrive and leave on a Tuesday.
We'll come and pick you up / drop you off at the nearby train station.
We're a bit in the middle of nowhere, so you can't hop on a bus or go shopping here.
The nearest village has a small village shop at 3km, the nearest supermarket is 20km.
It's a beautiful area to go for a walk, feel free to take the dog along if you enjoy his company.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
This host has indicated that they love having digital nomads stay.
Space for parking camper vans
This host can provide space for campervans.
Can possibly accept pets
This host has said they are willing to accept those travelling with a pet.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
depends - changes all the time, max 25hrs
Feedback (14)
Our son was amazed playing with your children .
You are a lovely family that worked as a team .
We celebrated three birthdays together and could get to know each other in the 4 weeks .
We tried to make your stay worth it so you can learn about something new and stay comfortabele… read more
Feedback
These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.
Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(5.0)
Our son was amazed playing with your children .
You are a lovely family that worked as a team .
We celebrated three birthdays together and could get to know each other in the 4 weeks .
We tried to make your stay worth it so you can learn about something new and stay comfortabele… read more
She helped us out a great deal and had a very pleasant presence to be around.
Our dog was always happy to see her and our 3 year old son simply adored her!
Emma is a genuinely sweet young woman who is intelligent and able to have meaningful conversations. She is also able to listen to… read more
The work depended on the needs of the day, but it was never anything… read more
They helped us with everything that needed to be done, no matter how tough the job or how hot the sun was burning down on them. Together we moved some mountains and got a lot done in a few weeks! They were greatly motivated to do some… read more
We got so much done and I was really happy to have her over especially because I could count on her for the special date where i needed her help.
I would always welcome you back .
Thank you for everything Katrina and all the best for the… read more
Malin's daily home-cooked meals were simply divine, and I eagerly anticipated each and every one. The accommodation… read more
It was surely, one of this life experience, universe lesson that I won't ever forget. It was a pleasure to meet, speak, work hard with you and exchange some point of view with honesty, kindness, friendship and open mind on what is happening actually… read more
We enjoyed his company very much, we had a lot of great conversations where he showed himself to be a sensitive, intelligent young man with a lot of interesting ideas, he has developed a unique personality with an equally unique perspective on life. He has his own ideas, but he is… read more
We enjoyed her company so much! What a great girl she is indeed!
We miss her already, from the deep and intense conversations we had until deep in the night, to the amazing help that she was always ready to offer! No job scared her back, and she went absolutely above and beyond to help us with evverything that… read more
Through the weeks we helped with cleaning the chateau, taking care of Witte - who’s 3 year old birthday we were… read more
He can work independently, but he is also very cooperative.
He helped us do many things, especially the workbench and the quail house will be long lasting memories of how he has helped us! He is a serious worker who likes to have fun, He is a… read more
Jurek was very motivated and willing to help with any job that needed to be done!
He was energetic and positive, and eager to learn! A very useful pair of hands, and a very positive attitude!
Respectable young man with a great mindset!
Esther was a great help for Malin, in the kitchen and helping out with our… read more
They are lovely people, open minded, intelligent, and very much able to have interesting and enjoyable conversations.
Having worked mostly "desk jobs", their experience with physical labor is limited, but they make up for that in their positive attitude, enthusiasm and willingness to learn and… read more
They let us stay in a big apartment and for us was super comfortable!
Their son and our doughter were so happy together! Vitte is a super kind little boy and we really enjoyed to… read more
Good people, willing to work, motivated, and not affraid to get their hands dirty!
They are open minded, friendly, polite, easy to get along with and very likeable all around.
We would definitely recommend any host to invite them over.
They will do their best to help you out with whatever needs to be… read more
We hope you have a good time and good… read more
He is willing to work and will try to do the job to the best of his abilities.
With some good music for motivation he will enjoy a long day of hard work.
He processed quite the pile of firewood for us, and arranged it all very neatly.
Give him something to do, and let him go at it, he'll get… read more
He has a very chill, friendly, laidback, yet also inspiring and motivational energy.
He is always willing to help, and also a skilled craftsman.
It's rare to come across someone with a critical and sceptical mind that does not take away from his positive… read more
Malin , Michiel and their little one are awesome beings !!! I really felt at home with them.
Generosity is the first thing which comes in mind when I think of them , always open to share their space, time & their endless skills .
If you are Real , able to… read more
He's a healthy, strong young man, who's not afraid to work hard.
We would definitely recommend Valentin to other hosts.
He is a very respectful guy, honorable, polite, considerate, and friendly.
He'll help you out with the work that needs to be done, and he won't back down from a hard or difficult job.
If you're looking for a friendly face to help you do some hard work, Gustav is your guy.
We all enjoyed his company and he would certainly be welcome to come by some other time.
He definitely likes to have a good time, but he can also appreciate some more serious and in-depth conversations.
All around awesome dude. Let him come over.… read more
They also value traditional parts of life.
The food was fresh and mainly from own land, served with lovely teas and… read more
She is very respectful, polite, kind, sweethearted, a pleasant presence overall.
She will always look for the beauty and positivity and can act wonderfully as a harmonizing energy.
Her outlook on life is very positive, and this makes her attitude very positive indeed.
She is easy going, motivated and hard working.… read more
The Chateau is amazing and the food was great. I recommend this Chateau to anyone, you won't regret the choice.
He is very eager to learn, and he learns fast, so it is worth your time to take a moment to show him a few things that he can learn from you. Take your time to teach him some… read more
He is a very kind, easygoing, pleasant young man with a cheerful and enjoyable chatty personality.
If you invite him into your home, you will be greeted by a bright spirited, fun loving gentleman, and he will bring you in good spirits!
It was such a pleasure to have him with us for a while, and we very much look… read more
Feed him some coffee to unlock this character's special powers! ;)
