France
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This fall we will need a great hand helping us "redesigning" our permacultural garden. Planting trees, transforming a pool, taming our 'jungle", etc.
And as usual, you can improve your French, learn the great history of a fabulous region, keep an easy-going child from time to time and, if you will, find some spirituality on the way!
* Our family - Elvire, Stefan, Dharma - offer you a total immersion in a highly recommended French tourist destination (see below) while helping around on our project of self-sufficiency + baby-sitting our 8-year-old girl some time, (no cooking required).
** We 3 live a simple, organic-ecological veggie life in a very organic-ecological straw-bale-house with 8800m² land+woods in permaculture. We go for a zero waste attitude (70% reached) and a zero wi-fi pollution. We cultivate a quiet and healthy "zen" attitude and atmosphere at home - this is what we need most. Mindfulness is our way. This is a place you go to find your inner peace .
- Our needs this fall : someone to help us in the garden/ in the house, a "all-around-talent" actually! We are planning some improvements to the house and garden (12 years of building site = exhausting!). A good hand (plumbing too ?!) there could be welcome too!
- Our little family :
* Elvire, French, a self-taught painter. I speak 4 languages (French, German, English, Spanish) - I can teach French as a foreign language - my former job. I think quick, I am quite sensitive and all my senses are always "awake". I will be the extrovert to talk to you in the family.
* Stefan, German, - alias Stevie - a passionate binaural-HD sound engineer, specialized in 3D sound. He speaks 3 languages (German, French, English). A very peaceful quiet man who speaks most of the time German at home (to relax from his day at work) - but will talk to you in French if you will !
* Dharma, our 8-year-old daughter. She experiences homeschooling again this year. She's got two lovely little dwarf rabbits as pets (outside) and a bigger one, a ram rabbit in the house. She rides and also dances in a contemporary modern group. She wishes to learn woodcarving. She wants to learn to knit, sew and crochet too (already started).
- You, lovely caring person,
You know how to adapt and you are quick to get the do and dont's. Resourceful, you understand pretty quickly what is to be done and you are flexible to take care of the work in the garden, or in the house depending on schedule. You love nature, animals, peace and quiet. You are an open-minded person, eager to learn something new. If you will, you can also teach our daughter creative activities.
Importantly :
*You do not smoke.
*You are not "addicted" to your cellphone (this device is taboo while you are with our daughter).
*You are a vegetarian (OR curious & ready to eat that way !)
*You must have a driving licence !
******************************************
WHAT ELSE ? !
- Our surroundings : "the Périgord Noir", Vallée Vézère - "Vallée de l'Homme"...
We live in one mythical area, UNESCO protected : 'the Mankind Valley' (La Vallée de l'Homme) near the famous prehistoric cave of Lascaux (among others). Situated on top of a hill lies our very quiet hamlet (first village 4 km away, first "city" - Montignac-Lascaux - 15 km away). The surroundings are very touristy (caves, castles, exceptional gardens...). In summer we swim in the river Vézère at the foot of the hill (possibility to go canoeing too). We can also organise little sightseeing tours for you on your own or together.
** N.B. : Think about taking a budget if you want to go sightseeing (almost all tourist sites are subject to a fee) !
Thank you for your attention! See you soon! :)
Language practice
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Babysitting and creative play
Help around the house
General Maintenance
You will learn about our wonderful region. You'll be able to discover an "organic-à-la-zero-waste-life", veggie food, straw-bale building at the countryside. Elvire will be delighted to become your tourist guide and show you the very special sites we have here (according to budget - this can become expensive - so just as a reminder for your expectations here ! ).
You can also learn/ practice French, philosophical conversations with Elvire sometimes, swim or go canoeing in the river (during the Summer) or just enjoy Nature, peace and quiet around (there's plenty of it). The whole region (vallée Vézère) is a good place to "meet oneself" on the way - if one's ready for this journey !
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
You are at ease with building sites and gardening. You like DIY and manual tasks.
You are creative and are able to give ideas, solutions to problems. You love to give a hand around.
You are flexible and multi-tasking.
We think it is normal to take part somehow in our everyday-life - meaning helping in the kitchen before or after lunch, once in a while washing the dishes, keeping the house, if required, all together and so on. You'll be part of our family.
Languages spoken
German: Fluent
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
Spanish: Intermediate
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.
We have one guest room in our house for you (bed, desk, shelves) - bathroom is to be shared. During the Summer you can sleep in our garden cabin. The meals are vegetarian or vegan (no dogma here) - depending on the moment.
The area is stunning, enchanting. You can just walk any way and find peace everywhere. Of course you will discover the world most famous prehistoric painted cave Lascaux or the several others around, medieval castles & villages, (please, plan a budget for this, some "touristic tours/ visits" can be quite expensive), or "just" the wild woods, parks and nature around for free. During the Summer it is very internationally visited. During the Winter time you can discover one prehistoric cave for yourself alone - it happened to us in December, magic! (e.g. Font de Gaume, one of the last real/original painted caves in France to still be open to the public). You can also discover the biggest European Tibetan Buddhist center at 5 km from our place! Teachings and retreats are famous here too. NB : There is very little public transport, so either you have your own car or we will take you where you want to go within our schedule.
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
We've got a carpark big enough for a campervan and space in our garden.
We can accept dogs as far as they are "clean" (nothing left in our garden...) and they can sleep/ live outside... (or in your campervan)... AND are friendly with our rabbits...
One
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
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