Help needed in our riverside garden near Cognac, France

Description

We are Allie and Brian. Allie is a beauty therapist and runs a salon from home, Brian is a pianist for weddings and local venues. Our three children are all grown up, so we are ‘home alone.’

We have a beautiful riverside property just outside Cognac in France. It was built in 1840 as the ferryman’s cottage and after 10 years of hard graft, we have now almost completely restored it.

We are lucky enough to have lovely riverside and countryside walks just on our doorstep and we are just a 5 minute cycle ride from our local Boulangerie and bar/restaurant, a waterski school and kayak hire.

I cycle regularly into our nearest market town of Jarnac to buy the local produce... There is so much good food, wine and Cognac to choose from in this lovely part of France!

We are both keen cyclists and vegans. Brian is the main cook and he enjoys producing interesting vegan meals using recipes from around the world.

Types of help and learning opportunities

Gardening
DIY and building projects
Help around the house

Projects involving children

This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

We are an English couple living in France. If you aren’t English we can help you to learn the language and if you would also like to learn a little French, we can teach you the basics.

Help

We are looking for someone who can help point stone walls using traditional methods.

We also need someone strong who is willing to dig and mix up ciment.

We could also do with additional help in the garden preparing a vegetable patch and doing general gardening jobs.

We'd ideally like someone with building experience and the volunteer must be happy to get a bit messy and not mind hard manual work.

The occasional dog/house sitting service.

Languages spoken

English: Fluent
French: Fluent

Accommodation

A bedroom in the house or outbuilding.

What else ...

There is a waterski school just 5 mins away and loads if great cycle paths. We can provide bikes. There is a train station 5k away in Jarnac which has trains running every day that take you to the coast or to cognac, Angouleme, Bordeaux and many more destinations.

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

Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week