France
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We're Jake and Kirsty and we've set up a wellness retreat, right in the middle of the French countryside. We offer people the opportunity to come and stay with us, eat cleanly and healthily, explore the great outdoors, train with Jake and do yoga!
We opened in 2018, but keeping the house and gardens in great condition is an on-going project.
We had talked about starting a wellness retreat as a bit of a day dream ... so we thought why not combine all of our passions into a single venture. Kirsty loves making beautiful spaces through quirky and eclectic interior design, as well as cooking and hosting guests, experience built up over years of working in the hospitality industry and running luxury ski chalets! Jake is a personal trainer and movement therapist and loves sharing his passion for fitness, nutrition and well-being. So together we've created and continue to create a truly wonderful space, where our guests can experience a magical retreat and take home lasting memories, friendships and a feeling of well-being.
It's an on-going project to keep the space looking wonderful and to add new elements. So we have a lot of opportunities for people to volunteer and come and experience our magical space.
In return, we're looking for help with gardening, we have three acres that require on-going maintenance, a veggie garden and six chickens to look after!
We’d also appreciate creative inspiration and practical help for developing some lovely glamping and chill out spaces. We might even try to put some outdoor rainwater showers in next year ...
We welcome any artists who would like to put their personal touch on a new space and anyone who loves crafting ... making bunting, signage etc.
So if you love being outdoors, love gardening, love fitness, love eco projects, love getting stuck into new projects, if you are creative and handy with tools then we could be the place for you!
We also have a lovely rescue dog Baxter, who is very timid. He is not very good with fast / sudden movements and as such, we aren't a suitable location for children. You must also be comfortable around dogs and patient with them! :-) We also have some rescue cats ... 2 at last count!
Gardening
Building
General Maintenance
Help with Eco project
Animal care
Art project
We're in a beautiful part of the French countryside, largely undiscovered by tourists and full of wonderful places to explore. We have lakes on our doorstep, as well as many beautiful walks, all available to you! In exchange for your hard work, Jake will also provide you with some personal fitness training and nutrition advice, so you get fit and healthy at the same time as working!
Kirsty speaks French, so if you fancy improving your English we can help with that too and Jake is learning French and could also do with more practice speaking French!
We're also looking for creative energy to be a part of our wonderful retreats, so you can leave your artistic impressions with us and help to create a truly special space for our guests to enjoy when they come and retreat with us.
This host offers accommodation and payment.
We expect you to help for 5 hours a day, 5 days a week. We can be flexible on which days they are, so let's just talk about it and agree it up front. We live at the house and Jake will be at the property full time, so he will go through plans with you and agree which projects are a priority - sometimes depending on skills and of course the weather!
For certain skilled work we are willing to pay the minimum French wage for your help. For this you need to be an EU citizen and registered in the French system for employment. Please ensure you raise this with us in your first contact.
English, French (a little)
We have 2 beautiful guest rooms in the house that are beautifully decorated and share a lovely bathroom, both have comfortable double beds (one even has a separate single bed) with lovely bedding, fans to cool you down in summer and heating in winter. We also have a traditional Mongolian yurt, that you can sleep in up until the end of October (and beyond if you really wanted to).
You'll have access to the huge dining room and living area, as well as all the outside spaces (in warmer months).
We'll provide you with a buffet breakfast and one big meal a day. All food will be simple, healthy and nutritious. You'll also have access to the kitchen, which is fully equipped, if you want to cook for yourself as well. We love to cook and we love to explore new healthy recipes, so hopefully you'll be willing to try new things as well!
We have transport and can happily share the local sights with you on days off or point you in the right direction/drop you off! We go into Limoges at least once a week, so if you want to come shopping you can happily join us.
There are lots of lakes, medieval towns and villages and we're part of an active running club, so you'll be welcome to join us for trail runs or local hikes with our dog! We also participate in local yoga classes and will happily take you with us to these (you will need to fund these)!
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Two
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
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