Natural garden and home projects and enjoy the peace near Autun, France

Details

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  Description

  We are Jackelien and Gerard, a Dutch couple living in Burgundy. We came here 20 years ago. In all these years we managed to transform a part of the 2 hectares we live on - vast wilderness of bush and the forest - into a nice naturel garden with lots of water basins (including our natural swimming pool), nice terraces and funny garden houses, places to relax (including a sauna and a Hot Tub), our own vegetable garden and greenhouse. We respect nature. We build everything ourselves and we love to share our knowledge and work-experience with others.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Farmstay help

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We love to share our knowledge and work-experience in gardening, building, wood constructions, handling tools and cooking. We also love to exchange knowledge with others.

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  Projects involving children

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

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  Help

  The help on our property depends on the weather and the season. In autumn and winter we are mostly busy clearing paths in the forest, repairing and making natural fences, cutting hedges, sawing trees and splitting wood. In spring we are especially busy with mowing, weeding, sowing and planting. And in summer you will find us cleaning the ponds, maintaining the vegetable garden and the plants in the greenhouse. And, of course, in between all this we take care of our chickens, our 2 cats and our dog.
  
  Apart from all the maintenance on our property, we hope we can start in 2021 installing a fence to keep our future sheep in, and building a small sheepfold. In addition we are going to construct a watercourse to connect two existing water basins.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  French: Fluent
  German: 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.
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  Accommodation

  We can offer you a separate guesthouse with 2 bedrooms (4 beds), your own shower, living room and kitchen. Jackelien is a vegetarian and Gerard is not. Cooking is Jackelien’s biggest hobby and her specialty is Asian cuisine. Typical Dutch, French and Italian dishes are also regularly on the menu.

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  What else ...

  Our place is a beautiful, well-hidden and quiet place where we live in a natural environment. The forest surrounds us and there are spectacular hikes, mountain bike routes and walks you can make. It is quiet. The nearest neighbor lives 300 m away, a drive to Autun, the nearest town, is 20 minutes.
  Autun is a lovely old town with a lot of history and art. And talking about art: when our work in the house or the garden is finished, we love to draw and paint. Jackelien also is a mosaic-artist and a variety of courses is possible for those who feel like it.
  Just next to Autun starts the natural parc Le Morvan, with mountains, lakes, and beautiful and adventures spots to explore.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  Our internet connection is suitable to use app's like Zoom or Skype.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  There is some space to park a little camper-van on our property, but the access to our place is quit difficult (steep and gravel road). Driving a large camper-van or motor-home would not be possible because of the access-road.

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  Can possibly accept pets

  We can only accept pets if they will be friendly to ours (dog, cats and chickens) and if they won't run of after the wild life in the forest and indoor we have one simple rule: pets don't belong in your bed. If you have a dog: our Abby is a female and can act quite dominant to other female dogs.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  Hours expected

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

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