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16 Jan 2025
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Description
Hello kind stranger!
Our names are Claire and Michiel, we're a young Franco-Belgian family living on an old farmstead near the coast of Wissant, North of France. For 7 years now we are renovating the farm bit by bit, while also bringing up our two daughters: Fleur (4yo) and Perle (2yo). So far we've built an old stable into our home, we've renovated a 'longère' (long farmbuilding) into a woodworker's workshop, our workshop and office space, we've landscaped the courtyard and built a vegetable garden and greenhouse. We did most of this with WorkAwayers and other volunteers, it's been a wonderful adventure! Last year we've rebuilt a former horse stable into a small house for volunteers, so our accomodation is comfortable now. This year we're finally starting on the main building - the mansion house - while we continue maintaining the vegetable garden.
We're welcoming help renovating the main house. With previous groups we've redone the outside of the house, next up is replacing some wooden beams and the wooden floors, demolishing a chimney, insulating (wood-wool) the roof, put traditional chalk-hemp insulation on the walls, ... We'll also need help maintaining the biological vegetable garden, harvesting and conserving vegetables and trimming our hedges. The animals will also need to be fed (chickens and bunnies at the moment, we also have sheep but they only need feeding in winter). Sometimes we may also ask someone to keep our daughters happy while we're outside working :)
We're taking a winter break to recharge our batteries and plan ahead. In 2025, we'll be hosting in the following timeframes:
- March 13t until May 1st
- May 15th until June 19th
- July 17th until October 16th
If you'd decide to come and live with us for a few weeks, we'd be very happy and eager to get to know you! We have quite some experience in hosting our friends, WorkAwayers and helpers from other sites, people say we're very hospitable :) So far we've hosted 109 WorkAwayers from 26 different nationalities, and that's not counting those who came a second or third time. Each and every one was an unforgettable experience!
We love hosting people and look forward to meeting you!
Claire and Michiel, Fleur and PerleTypes of help and learning opportunities
GardeningDIY and building projectsBabysitting and creative playHelp around the houseGeneral MaintenanceUN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
In your spare time, you may go for long walks on the beach or on the countryside with a view of the English coast across the channel. There's a lot of museums in the region as well, mostly dedicated to WW2 or the sea and sealife.
Claire is a musician (voice, guitar and violin) and plays in a band. They have a concert once or twice every month, it's always a lot of fun. If you're also a musician, it would be lovely to play together!
We always try to have 4 to 6 volunteers present, so you won't only pick up un French culture and language but also on the other nationalities present. We've hosted 26 different nationalities so far!Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
We'll start renovating the mansion house, the tasks on hand will depend on the status of our works.
In the first weeks we'll be taking out beams, pouring concrete in the walls and putting in new beams. After that we'll demolish a chimney and insulate the walls with traditional chalk/hemp insulation. Work safety has always been a main concern and we've never had an accident (apart from someone dislocating a shoulder on the trampoline😅 ). We'll never ask you to do tasks that you don't feel comfortable about.
There's some heavy lifting as well as light work, so anyone should find what suits them!
Building experience is not a requirement, but being curious and wanting to learn is ;)
For those with green fingers there's our biological vegetable garden to maintain, transforming and conserving vegetables, a few overgrown hedges to be trimmed, wood to be chopped as well as feeding our chickens and caring for our sheep.Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
Dutch: Fluent
German: Intermediate
Polish: IntermediateThis host offers a language exchange
Claire is French-Polish, she's fluent in French and English, intermediate in Polish and Flemish/Dutch and knows a few words of Spanish. Michiel is Belgian, he's fluent in Dutch, French and English, intermediate in German and learning Polish at beginner level.Accommodation
We provide your meals and housing in either our Tiny House or a room in the newly renovated stablehouse. The kitchen is shared in our house. All ameneties on site are available for you: woodstove, barbecue, pergola, terrace, mountainbikes, jacuzzi, kayaks, paddleboards, washing machine, ...
We provide bedsheets and towels, as well as working clothes, safety boots and safety gear if needed. Of course you're welcome to take your own if that makes you feel more comfortable.What else ...
To allow us a family life, breakfast is shared between WorkAwayers in the mobile home, all other meals are shared all together in the main house. Working hours and days are decided with everyone present, with respect of the 25 hours/week.
We LOVE boardgames and we'll often play a quick game at lunch or a long one after dinner.
Easiest pick-up for us is Calais Frethun train station, which has a direct connection to Paris, London and Brussels. We'll pick you up and drop you off at the train station.
We're in the middle of the 'Parc Régional Naturel' so there's a lot of wildlife to be spotted around the farm and a lot of nice walking and biking routes around. We're also within the 'Grand Site des Deux Caps', which makes it one of France's hotspots to visit and means that most of the nicest spots are arranged for visitors with explanatory signs etc.
If the weather allows for it, we'll take you on kayaking trips at sea, we might even have a barbecue on a sandbank 4km off the coast, only visitable a few times a month!A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
Office space would be shared with Michiel, who is an architect working mostly from home. Time to socialise with us and the other volunteers present is really important to us, so we only accept part-time digital nomads, no more than 1 hour/day or 1 day/week.
Space for parking camper vans
There's more than enough space on our farm to find a nice spot for a van :D
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Feedback (46)
Claire is an absolute angel. She's energetic, kind and very welcoming. We spent many an evening laughing until we cried and… read more
They were great with our kids, playing with them and making them giggle,… read more
Workwise he wasn't always the fastest, but on multiple occasions he did some… read more
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Claire is an absolute angel. She's energetic, kind and very welcoming. We spent many an evening laughing until we cried and… read more
They were great with our kids, playing with them and making them giggle,… read more
Workwise he wasn't always the fastest, but on multiple occasions he did some… read more
She was great on a variety of jobs: brush cutting, hedge trimming,… read more
I learnt so many different skills & learnt SO MANY new games!
On our… read more
Hosting Julien was overall a great experience with some great memories. We… read more
The work was often physically demanding but if it ever got too intense I never felt like I was forced to continue working. There was always plenty of food available at any time which was very… read more
Kincso can adapt to any situation easily. She is a person full of qualities. She is funny, interesting, strong, motivated, always helping even if we don't ask for, brave, smart and we could continue!
We… read more
Esther spent a month with us and 3 other workawayers. It was a very good experience! She is simply perfect! She has a very good energy with a communicative laugh. She can connect very fast with anybody and always brings a good atmosphere where she is. She is also an amazing helper, precise, strong,… read more
Spending a month with Claire, Michiel, Fleur and Perle was such a lovely experience! Merci! Dank u wel!
The work can be challenging sometimes, but it's so worth it; Eating delicious food together (Claire is an amazing chef), playing games (watch out for Michiel, he's sneaky), sharing stories and a whole lot of laughter,… read more
We had the chance to welcome Bruno for 3 weeks on our project, during which we dig out an area and pour the fondations of a futur sauna cold bath and we removed the old joints of a stone wall. He helped us a lot in the kitchen, preparing delicous meals or cleaning. He always worked with a lot of… read more
She's a vibrant young woman, we're sure she'll bring… read more
She is a person very easy going. She can adapt to everybody and every situation. She is very calm, kind, respectful, positive, joyfull, interesting, funny, smart, strong and always ready to share moments with others!
During her stay, we dig out an area and pour the… read more
Johanka is very easy going, she can adapt to everybody and every situation. She is kind, interesting, funny, smart, strong...
Johanka helped us digging out an area and pour the… read more
She is a person full of energy and positivity! She is very kind, interesting, very funny, always ready to share moments with others!
During her stay, we dig out an area and pour the fondations of a futur sauna cold bath and we removed the old joints of a stone wall. She also… read more
Elsa is fantastic! She is so sweet, nice, interesting, smart, funny, strong... She gives good vibes everywhere she goes.
She is a very positive energy, feeting with everybody and every situation. We shared a lot of very good moments together!
At home, she… read more
Luuk is a very calm, attentive and nice person. Always listening to the others, helping, sharing moments. He is very interesting and funny. We spent so many good… read more
We hosted at the same time 3 other workawayers and we felt very fast like a big happy family.
Claudius is a sunshine, always motivated, giving the smile to everybody, listening, taking care of everybody. Our 2 little girls were also very happy to… read more
Everything regarding the work is as described in the profile. While I was there, we… read more
The work is quite diverse and can be physically demanding at times, but also very satisfying as… read more
Their family is lively, vibrant, and welcoming. Claire is a super mom, an incredible cook, a thoughtful caretaker, and one of the silliest people ever. Michiel is a genius builder, a dedicated gamer, an awesome dad, and such a… read more
I ended up at their place merely by chance, but wow I'm grateful it happened.
Claire is the definition of a wonder woman and a super-mum. She has such a kind soul, she spreads laughs and smiles everywhere she goes; she's a kid at heart. Also,… read more
Sofie stayed with us for almost a month. It was such a pleasure to welcome here on our adventure!
Sofie is an extremely good person, very nice, patient, motivated, strong, very applied on everything she does, very interesting, funny... Everything she does, she does it with her heart and perfectly. She took care of our 2 babies… read more
Eileen stayed with us for almost a month. It was such a pleasure to welcome here on our adventure!
She is very a very good person, motivated, strong, applied on everything, interesting and very easy going. She bring good vibes and positivity everywhere she goes. She loves playing games and spend time with people; if Eileen… read more
Ignacia stayed with us for almost a month. She helped us with a lot of motivation and appliance on a lot of different tasks such as taking some earth out of our bunker, taking some rooftiles off our roof, electricity, painting, cutting some wood, taking care of our two little daughters...
Ignacia is a… read more
Amelie stayed with us for almost a month. She helped us with a lot of energy, motivation and happiness on a lot of different tasks such as putting some windows in the roof, plasterboarding, taking some earth out of our bunker, feeding our chickens, painting some walls, taking care of our two little daughters...
She is very… read more
We had the chance to welcome Andrew for 2 months in our renovation project. He became a member of the family!
Andrew is an extremely good person, very nice, motivated, very easy going, interesting, funny, joyfull...
He saw a lot of other workawayers during his stay and he was always bringing a good,… read more
This little fairy stayed with us for almost a month. It was such a pleasure to welcome here on our adventure!
Carolin is an extremely good person, very nice, patient, motivated, very applied on everything she does, very interesting, getting along with everybody... She is a very good listener, always ready to… read more
It was my first workaway experience and I couldn't have asked for more!
You two are so sunshiny, generous and kind people! You welcomed me in your home with open arms and it felt like we all were a big family with each having their perfect place in it.… read more
She was happy to do the jobs that we asked her to, of course some more than others, but… read more
She was eager to learn any job… read more
We and the other volunteers… read more
Sooo we stayed with Claire, Michiel and Fleur for 3,5 weeks and it was the most amazing time ever, it was our first workaway experience and they made us feel safe and at home from the first minute. We stayed with 4 other workawayers and our whole group became a big family in that short time.
Michiel was the amazing… read more
He's strong as an ox, pulling more than his weight on our project and not being scared of hard work. He was… read more
They're a very complementary couple, with a nice common project (Elma the truck) and similar goals in life. It was great to have them together!
Ruby is a great listener and was always trying to help, in the kitchen, with the dishes, always trying to make life easier for us, which was really… read more
They were always motivated to finish the job, sometimes even climbing up the roof in the evening… read more
Even though the work was often quite hard and… read more
She's very strong and always motivated to work, even the stuff she didn't really like doing. It really was a joy having… read more
She… read more
It is amazing to look back while going back home and think about how many supercool experiences we… read more
His stay with us was amazing! He's a kind, gentle and funny guy. Our baby daughter Fleur really loved him, as did we all! From day 1 we had a great contact, he was helping in the kitchen all the time, cooking, preparing, cleaning... He did the dishes almost every evening, even when there were 4 WorkAwayers!… read more
Even though communications were not always easy, they got along really well with us and the other WorkAwayers.
Ge was always very motivated and working really hard, he was very open to the others, sharing a lot in the group and making real connections. He has arms the size of my legs and is REALLY… read more
they have a really cool project and all the tasks were really nice. they are super cool people, they welcomed us in their family and Claire was our mumy for all the days we spent there!! thanks so much to host there guys, we miss you :(:(
She was great with our baby Fleur from the start, playing and giggling with her whenever they got the chance.
On our project - renovation… read more
In general I liked the work and being outside. Also I learned a lot about renovating and building stuff. If I had any questions they were always… read more
Coming from a big family, she… read more
She arrived into a group of people who knew eachother quite well, but found her place really quickly. She's a very discreet and kind young woman, not taking a lot of space in a group but always helping in the background.
Even though the work we did was quite physical, she always found a good way to do it and… read more
She's a great person to have around, always respectful and discreet, kind, clean and motivated. She got along really well with the different people that came by during her stay, taking them on trips around our place on their days off and teaching them the do's and… read more
In my time there I got sick a few times and they cared for me so lovingly and heartwarmingly, I really felt like I was part of this amazing family!
Working was so… read more
Unfortunately she had to leave early due to personal circumstances, so we feel like we didn't get to know the real Lena.
She worked very well together with the other WorkAwayers and did a very good job at cleaning… read more
It was a wonderful experience, she is one of the calmest, softest and kindest people we've hosted, with the most wonderful voice. She was amazing with our 1-year old daughter, patiently playing with her whenever she got the chance.
She found her place in the… read more
She always did more than her part, working tediously on the jobs… read more
She did an amazing job sanding and welding an old agricultural trailer we had standing… read more
And I could not imagine a better place to have done that than with Claire and Michiel.
They are the most heartwarming, polite, funny and caring persons I have ever met! The way they made the yet "construction site" to a… read more
He got along very well with most of the other WorkAwayers, never taking the lead but always being kind… read more
They're both easy-going, responsible, kind, open-minded and have a real 'mom-and-dad'-vibe going. They naturally took a lead with the other WorkAwayers present, preparing breakfast and taking them on trips to nearby cities on their days off. They were responsible for what… read more
We can… read more
The work we did was quite physical, moving rooftiles, breaking down walls, woodworking... She… read more
He is easy-going, respectful to the people and the place, speaks fluently in Spanish, English, French and German, has a perfect work ethic, learns new skills fast, likes children, likes to cook AND do the dishes, doesn't complain, fits in, is funny, ... The list of his… read more
The work on hand was quite hard, breaking up a concrete floor and taking it out with wheelbarrows, but they did the job with motivation and passion, sometimes even continuing after we told them to stop because they… read more
The work, although strenuous at times, was incredibly rewarding, and was made even more so by the determination and pride within our small team of what we had achieved thus far. I cherish my memories of misty mornings in the French countryside as we gathered for work… read more
Sara specifically has a lot of interesting… read more
Even if I took some days to get used to a new kind of life Claire and Michiel made me feel at home since I stepped in their house.
I really love cleaning tiles while… read more
He arrived at the same time with a Swedish girl, with whom he got along quite well. When other WorkAwayers arrived later he was very hospitable, showing them around and making them feel welcome. He is a kind, discrete and generous young man, helping where he could and making… read more
Sara specifically got along… read more
Work wise it was quiet physically but not overly so, and our work always felt… read more
With her friend Rose she was our first WorkAway experience, meeting them was a lot of fun!
Regarding the work, it was very physical so my muscles felt like I just had went to the gym. So if you want to strengthen your muscles this is perfect for you. Not so much if you… read more