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Help us organise a street Art Exhibition in Burgundy, France

France
Favourited 145 times
Last activity: 21 Feb 2023

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100 %
Reply rate
100.0 %
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Feedback
18
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2023

Min stay requested: at least 2 weeks

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Description
Hello travellers !
We're organizing a street-art exhibition in april 23 and need some help to prepare the place for the event...

We're looking for 1 organised, strong, practical, handy, independent volunteer (preferably a man with driving licence) during 2-3 weeks or more, to help us with the maintenance of the house & park : cutting trees- mowing - masonry, sanding & painting...

We are in a village close to Auxerre in Burgundy, in a heritage park on 1.5 hectares of land and there is always something to repair : several projects are underway ! The adjoining shed is now a small art center to highlight the industrial heritage of ochre & organise with our association, exhibitions, workshops, exhibitions, conferences, concerts...
Thank you to everyone who came from all over the world to help us...

Bonjour !
nous organisons une expo de street-art en avril 23 et recherchons de l'aide pour préparer cet événement !

Nous recherchons un volontaire bricoleur, indépendant, sympa... (charpentier, maçon, bûcheron, élagueur...) pour une durée de 2/3 semaines (ou plus selon affinités) pour nous aider dans la maison et le parc : couper du bois, des arbres morts, tonte, ponçage, peinture...
Nous avons emménagé dans une ocrerie du XVIIIe située dans un village près d'Auxerre en Bourgogne. Nous sommes dans un parc patrimonial d'1,5 hect de terrain et il y a toujours de quoi faire !

Nous sommes une association-maison d'art et organisons des ateliers, expos, concerts...
Merci et bravo à vous tou(te)s qui êtes passé(e)s nous aider !
Types of help and learning opportunities
Art Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
General Maintenance
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We are into arts & a married couple. We live on an heritage & industrial site of ocher which was the first one in France around 1750. There are still ditchs bunkers and we'd love to organize exhibitions & concerts there.

Welcome to handy(wo)men who need to learn french, who want to participate to the renovation of this XVIII century house, interested in arts, colours, painting, nature, music & good food... !

Nous avons des métiers artistiques, nous sommes sur un ancien site patrimonial & industriel que nous rénovons petit à petit. Les anciens silos d'ocre sont nécessiteraient des travaux de maintenance et de construction.

Bienvenue aux bons bricoleurs qui souhaiteraient apprendre et discuter en français, participer aux travaux de l'ocrerie & intéressés par les arts, la couleur, la peinture, la musique, la bonne cuisine & les vins de Bourgogne !
Help
Flexible, organised, independant & enthusiastic people are needed for wood cutting, pruning, masonry, carpentry, joinery and the maintenance of the house...

De bons bricoleurs organisés pour élagage, couper bois, débroussailler, maçonnerie, charpente, menuiserie, peinture, ponçage, nettoyage...
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
This host offers a language exchange
This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
You can contact them directly for more information.
Accommodation
In exchange of your help, food & accomodation is provided 7/7 days.

En échange de votre aide, le gîte & couvert offerts 7/7 j.
What else ...
We are at 1h30 from Paris with the train or car, we often go back there to work. Nearby our village (1500 people) the town Auxerre is at 10km, Toucy at 8kms.
Many wonderful places to visit around : the region is rich, green and various ! Bicycles to your disposal for your rides around in the hills and if you like wine, Chablis and its vineyard is at 30 kms !

A swimming pool with spring water is open in the village from july till august. If you like medieval atmosphere & construction, the Guedelon Château is a remarquable place to visit, a team of 50 master-builders have taken on an extraordinary challenge : building a castle using medieval techniques and materials ! Lots of other castles around, St Fargeau, museum & house of the writer Colette, concerts & exhibitions everywhere around,...
A little more information
- Internet access
- Limited internet access
- We have pets
- We are smokers
- Can host families
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Hours expected
5 hours/day, 5 days a week - 5h par jour, 5j/sem.

Host ref number: 572258673522

Feedback (9)

4 Jan 2022

Left by host for Workawayer (Christophe )

Dear Chris, thank you so much for being like you are, open & kind, helpful and hardworking, discreet & considerate, we loved sharing our house with you for the last 6 weeks…
You did so much here : building 2 wooden sliding doors, a wooden lean-to, a hut bar, a beech wood ceiling, you cut and trunk trees for firewood, plant trees, cut hedges,… read more

(Excellent )

4 Jan 2022

I stayed 6 gorgeous weeks with Kathy and Gilles. The place is extremely confortable and inspiring. The atmosphere is totaly friendly, like a famlily in a great artistic and esthetic vision. You can learn a lot, have a great autonomy, do many things, chat about everything, especially about exotic travels. For sure, a great experience for you guys.… read more

(Excellent )

26 Jun 2018

This was my 55th host. I stayed for 3 weeks in June 2018. Cathy found my profile and invited me, and I accepted because I mention making steps as one of my specialities. I was their first volunteer since the business had opened.

The location is a newly-opened Bed & Breakfast with three rooms, generally occupied by one couple per weekend, located… read more 15km from Auxerre train station. Within a 5-minute walk, the quiet village contains a bakery, bar, pharmacy, and an expensive convenience store (selling barely any vegetables). The surrounding land is mostly crop fields. There are no buses or taxis, so if you want to visit any of the attractions 30km away you'll need to cycle the 2 hours there and then back again. I had my own keys. During my stay the village held a soapbox cart race and a tapas night. There are two cats which stayed away from me, and cute bats living in the silos. Cathy speaks good English, but would prefer French. Gilles speaks less, but enough.

I had my own sparse attic room that contained two single beds, a shelf, a table made from a pallet by a previous volunteer, and a metal plant pot stand repurposed as a very low stool. There was a north-facing window that I was told to keep closed at night so that the bats could not come in. WiFi was a reliable 17Mb around the whole property. My room was directly above the communal area and had significant holes in the creaky floor which meant that everyone could hear me moving or watching video, and similarly any guests downstairs would keep me awake, and I was asked to limit my movement so as not to disturb them. The communal area also contains Cathy's office so is not very relaxing. I had a toilet in the corridor beside the guest rooms, but the shower is broken, so I was asked to use the en-suite shower downstairs in their bedroom, which is also Gilles' office.

We ate meals together. For breakfast I had muesli with soya milk while they drank coffee from a bowl. Lunch and dinner were often curried lentils, pizza, or meat with rice or pasta, and always some lettuce from the garden, but rarely any vegetables. Dessert was cheese. Gilles has published his own cookbook. During my final week, they were out every evening (some days Gilles was working in Paris on a photoshoot), so we did not eat together, and I prepared my own meals using leftovers from lunch. Conversation included their previous attempt to open a B&B in Cambodia, Cathy's former career as a bodypainter for rock bands, and Gilles' knarly injuries. They also taught me how to play pétanque.

I did a variety of work. My first week started with continuing to dig steps in to a hill leading up to the old ochre quarry, which is just a forest now. The unreliable lawnmower only worked for one hour at a time, so it took several days to remove a hectare of waist-high meadow, though I warned that they did not have time to maintain such a large area. This week was filled with rain so I worked extra hours in the afternoons to finish the groundskeeping before the weekend guests arrived, including removing a fallen tree. In my second week I caught a cold from Gilles so spent the afternoons recovering in bed. I helped Cathy pick cherries to make jam. My main task was to empty the old ochre factory in preparation for its conversion in to an art gallery, which meant moving a few tonnes of wood, tiles, and furniture that the couple had accumulated, erecting shelving, repairing some items, and condensing piled equipment in to drawers. By the third week I was feeling demotivated because they did not have enough storage space for all the things that Cathy hoards, so it seemed that my emptying of the factory was futile, nevertheless I removed the rotten wooden floorboards in one silo to prepare for a new floor to be laid for a new store room. I also improved their Excel invoices.

Plumbers or electricians would be very welcome, to renovate a separate house on the property.

(Very good )

20 Apr 2018

Chers Cathy et Gilles, merci pour une expérience tellement sympathique, c'était un vrai plaisir d'être resté chez vous pendant 2 semaines. Bon courage pour l'ouverture et la suite!!

To my fellow workawayers, I cannot recommend highly enough a stay with Cathy and Gilles, such a warm a welcoming couple who have worked so hard to create what is now,… read more

(Excellent )

13 Apr 2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Harry)

Cher Harry, ce fut un réel plaisir d'être en ta compagnie pendant ces 2 dernières semaines. Ton français est vraiment impeccable, tu mérites des ovations ! Si, si...
Merci de ton aide, de ta peinture sur les poutres façon bois, du nettoyage & lustrage des tomettes, de ton coup de main avec excel que je grrrrr déteste et d'avoir réanimé ma Fender… read more

(Excellent )

View all 9 feedbacks

Photos

Chris & Gilles

'Summer of Pourrain' Festival #1 in the park

Chris building a hut

A hut-bar

Harry entrain de découper mes étagères, merci !

Susanne our swiss lady

Huw my dear You

Show all photos

Cristian from Bogota climbing

sunny winter 2018

a collage on a wall by street artist 13Bis

Claire & Tom sanding & painting

Frozen bouddha in the cedar

sunset on the village

Feedback

4 Jan 2022

Left by host for Workawayer (Christophe )

(Excellent )

4 Jan 2022

Left by Workawayer (Christophe ) for host

(Excellent )

26 Jun 2018

Left by Workawayer (Philip) for host

(Very good )

20 Apr 2018

Left by Workawayer (Harry) for host

(Excellent )

13 Apr 2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Harry)

(Excellent )

5 Apr 2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Susanne)

Chère Susanne, merci de ta précieuse collaboration, de ta bonne humeur, de ton organisation & de ta compagnie ! Quelle belle équipe de choc nous avons été ! Je te remercie aussi de parsemer tes graines de bonheur pendant tes voyages ! Tu seras toujours la bienvenue chez nous, je t'embrasse et te souhaite de belles découvertes et rencontres pendant… read more

(Excellent )

2 Apr 2018

Left by Workawayer (Susanne) for host

Highly recommendable place! Being with Cathy and Gilles is such a treat. It felt like being in the perfect place at the perfect time. They are interested, hard working, world wise and utterly entertaining. Divine cooking.
The house and surroundings are beautiful. We left loads of things for you to do, a complete vegetable garden to plan and… read more

(Excellent )

5 Apr 2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Huw)

Huw are you ? We have been delighted to spend these 2 weeks with you ! We miss your early mornings french translated haïkus, ta bonne humeur... et même ton veganisme ! Bravo pour tous tes efforts pour apprendre le français !
Le printemps est arrivé, les oiseaux sautillent de branche en branche, la terre regorge de vers, yum yum. Quand… read more

(Excellent )

18 Mar 2018

Left by Workawayer (Huw) for host

Wowee! Sacre bleu, what a glorious time with Cathy and Gilles. Its been a few days since I left now, and the two weeks I spent with them is still so fresh and vivid. It's a pleasure to be a part of this excellent project, and to have met such kind, interesting, and funny people, whose passion for l'ocrerie is intoxicating and inclusive. Amazing… read more

(Excellent )

28 Feb 2018

Left by Workawayer (Melina) for host

My time with Cathy and Gilles was wonderful! The countryside is beautiful and the house is a great place. I am so glad I got to take part in such a cool project, I could really feel the thought and energy that Cathy and Gilles put into the work they were doing.
The work was great, I did some sewing, painting, and a little plastering. It was nice… read more

(Excellent )

27 Feb 2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Melina)

Melina arrived that night at the station with roses, it was so cute !
She did some painting & sewing at the house and it was very easy to exchange together...
Merci beaucoup Melina & Good luck for your next "au pair" job !!

(Excellent )

27 Feb 2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Karen)

Thanks Karen for all your wonderful sewing in our Ocrerie ! Bonne route en France & Italie

(Very good )

11 Feb 2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Cristian David )

What a nice & easy going that Cristian ! We shared so much together during a month, talking about art, music, travels... and plastering, climbing up on his ladder, having his hands full of dust & pigments,... and in the evening, still drawing & painting sketches & a self portrait left for us ! Merci de ta gentillesse et de ton aide ! Bonne chance… read more

(Excellent )

10 Feb 2018

Left by Workawayer (Cristian David ) for host

I enjoyed it a lot my experience in the house of Gille and Caty. It was easy to get in touch with them when I arrive at their place, they treated me really friendly all the time, they also gave me a delicious food from different regions in France and presented me some of their nice friends. In the end, I feel like I had a farewell party one night… read more

(Excellent )

11 Aug 2017

Left by Workawayer (Yael & Stefan) for host

If you want to spend a fantastic workaway experience, so come to Cathy's and Gilles' place.
These guys are great, friendly and interesting hosts with a lot of amazing stories of their life around the world.
You are treated like a family member in a wonderful domaine which was an ancient ocrerie and the former home of the very famous french singer… read more

(Excellent )

5 Aug 2017

Left by host for Workawayer (Yael & Stefan)

Yaël was our first workaway experience ! We had good laughs together, thank you for your precious help in the garden, it looks tidy now ! See you soon Yaël, Cathy (PS : you forgot your towel !)

(Excellent )

11 Aug 2017

Left by host for Workawayer (Claire & Thomas)

bravo Claire & Tom, you were very good workawayers in our home, you did the sanding & painting of the beams & walls and the job is well done ! We had some good time together and enjoyed your company & plays, the potates gratin of Tom & the chocolate cheese cake of Claire ! Bonne route et tous nos voeux de réussite dans vos projets d'avenir ! La… read more

(Excellent )

10 Aug 2017

Left by Workawayer (Claire & Thomas) for host

We had a fantastic time with Cathy and Gilles in their amazing home!
It is a beautiful area with rolling countryside and lush forests with lots of pretty towns and villages.
The work was mainly in the house helping with rennovations/DIY which we really enjoyed and it was nice working together with Gilles and Cathy.
There is everything you need… read more

(Excellent )

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Help us organise a street Art Exhibition in Burgundy, France

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Reply rate

Feedback

Email verified

Badges (2)

Find your perfect host

Availability

Details

Description

Types of help and learning opportunities

Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

Help

Languages

Accommodation

What else ...

A little more information

How many Workawayers can stay?

Hours expected

Feedback (9)

Photos

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