Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
9 Apr 2024
Reply rate
100.0 %
Usually responds within 46 days
Feedback
3
Email verified
Details
Description
We are a Californian and British couple in Northeastern Brittany looking for help with gardening and outbuilding renovation projects. We have owned our home for 30 years splitting our time between California and France. The farm is tiny, but provides a good percentage of our food so gardening is always needed. We have lots of projects underway and are always improving the garden and buildings. We are working on finishing the raised bed vegetable garden, chicken pens and outbuildings and are currently installing a microbrewery in the stable. Our children are grown (one lives in Paris) and we now live in France most of the year.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Language practice
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
General Maintenance
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We worked as crew aboard private yachts as captain and chef in one of our previous lives, and have traveled extensively. If if you are interested in wine, brewing beer, cooking or perfecting your English (we do speak French) we would be good company. We have an active compost, use natural pesticides made from plants and work with bio-dynamic gardening as best we know how. We are always learning! We are laid back and enjoy all kinds of music and art. We have a piano, keyboard and a few old guitars. We tend to be night owls, rather than dawnbreakers, but we have no issues with anyone's circadian cycle, and the house is big enough that everyone can do their own thing without disturbing others.
Help
We are looking for someone or a couple who enjoy gardening who will help harvest, prune, plant and help maintain the vegetable garden. We are re-doing some fencing for the chickens and also landscaping an area of the garden including building some stone walls with granite from the property. We are working on renovating the stable into a microbrewery and are doing some construction in the stable. Gardening knowledge, masonry, carpentry, painting, building, art and beer knowledge would all be useful!
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
Spanish: Beginner
Italian: BeginnerThis 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
We have owned our home near Fougeres for 30 years. It is a 300 year old granite farmhouse with several bedrooms, a massive kitchen and a nice salon. The house is in a tiny hamlet outside of the village in tranquil farmland. However we are only 10km from the large town of Fougeres. Beautiful B&B style bedroom en suite with a double bed and your own bathroom with toilet and shower/ tub combo. The fish man comes every Wednesday. We get fresh eggs from our chickens. Peter bakes bread daily. We do not eat much meat but you are welcome to if you like. We cook with food from the garden if possible. We are usually doing projects so are not regimented with meal times. We share cooking and are happy if you want to help.
What else ...
Our nearest big town is Fougeres (10km) which boasts a chateau and some great bars and restaurants, Market day is Saturday. We are 45 km from Rennes, a vibrant university town with lots of bars, restaurants, galleries and entertainment. There is a regular bus schedule, and this would be a good day trip. We are also less than an hour from Mont Saint Michel, a place that should definitely be on everyone's list of places to visit. An hour to Saint Malo which is a fortified port town with lots of history, and Cancale, with the best oysters in France (in our opinion). We are always up for a trip to the coast to see the beaches or pick up some oysters.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
We have fibre wifi throughout the house. We do not have local TV but have a Roku where you can get all streaming channels.
Space for parking camper vans
Big yard and field if you want to get further from house. Outside power points if need be.
Can possibly accept pets
We love animals and may be open to dogs however we do not have an enclosed area and are near a road so it would depend on your comfort.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
Feedback (2)
They have lots of great projects going on, principally the brewery. This is a big passion, particularly for Peter. They… read more
Feedback
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(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(5.0)
They have lots of great projects going on, principally the brewery. This is a big passion, particularly for Peter. They… read more
