Help us grow a place for nature, creativity and community in Provence, France

Details

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  Description

  Hello!
  
  We are small regenerative farm based in Provence, in the Var, near a small village at the foot of the mountains, between the Verdon Regional Park and the Préalpes d’Azur. I’m Anne, 45 years old, French-Swiss, and the mother of a 20-year-old young woman living in Paris.
  
  We co-founded the farm in 2017 with Hugo. Hugo holds a diploma in organic market gardening; I trained for one year at the Bec Hellouin Farm as a market gardener, and together we explored many practices of Living Agriculture: permaculture, regenerative agriculture, small-scale market gardening, agroforestry, etc.
  Starting from a blank slate of 5 hectares, we built many things ourselves with the help of my father. We practiced small-scale market gardening and sold our vegetables for 4–5 years, but in 2022/2023, each of us, one after the other, found ourselves exhausted.
  
  That is when we reoriented our agricultural activity toward an aromatic and dry-garden plant nursery, which I now run with my older sister Fanny, who is also my neighbor. We continue to grow delicious vegetables outdoors and in the greenhouse using bio-intensive gardening techniques, but only for our own personal consumption and when we have time.
  
  The most important project we've always had is hosting others on our land through our non-profit association. We would like it to become a safe heaven for young people to reconnect to nature, explore and learn how to live with it through all the different ways it can sustains us: from wood building and carving to food production, preserving and preparation, artisan and artistic work with plants, soil, sowing, weaving, ect... A lot already exists but some key elements are still missing that we need help for.
  
  Hugo has returned to his first passion—photography—for which he has great talent. He remains available, however, to share the agricultural knowledge and experience he has accumulated over the past 15 years.
  As for me, I passionately share both my agricultural knowledge and my entrepreneurial, project-management, and project-support experience.
  Curious and introspective by nature, we are both committed to a path of self-discovery and love exchanging and philosophising about Life, Humanity, and our place within the Earth ecosystem.
  With us are our 2 cats, Youyou and Lala.
  
  We have a deep love for nature and the land. We have learned so much by its side, and being in contact with it every day contributes greatly to our balance and well-being. We wholeheartedly wish to share its wonderful, rich, and nourishing world, along with the humble knowledge we have gathered, with anyone who feels called to it.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Art Projects

  Help with Eco Projects

  Light gardening

  Creative DIY projects

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Light maintenance
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  Interests

  

  Vegetarian or vegan

  

  Sustainability

  

  Farming

  

  Self development

  

  Plant care

  

  Carpentry

  

  Gardening

  

  Cooking & food

  

  Art & design

  

  Books

  

  DIY & crafts

  

  Writing

  

  Drawing & painting

  

  Dancing

  

  Outdoor activities

  

  Beach

  

  Camping

  

  Yoga / Wellness

  

  Hiking

  

  Nature
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  What's this?
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We are curious beings and have learnt so much already on our paths through our transition and building the farm. We welcome wwoofers already but would be happy to share what we know and learn with a larger crowd.

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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 we are seeking is not related to the economic farming activity which is the nursery. We welcome volunteers for this over specific seasons.
  
  We are looking for volunteers to help us with our non profit association. This today means finishing to set the stage for hosting young people. A lot has been done already but we still need to finish off some things like: some work in the tent, building some outdoor furniture and shade, a chicken coop, a wild basketry hut, managing some spaces like the olive tree field, the futur pond, the forest ect.. We also have a beautiful glass greenhouse of 400m2 to finish up with some painting, some sewing, missing elements for shade, cooking ect. and a project to plant a garden on half of it, so lots of fun and creative space on that. There is also of course help with the garden : as old market gardeners we have some yummy varieties we like to grow for our own consumption and have lots of experience to share. And we would love some help on the communication side of things as well. But to begin with, we are mainly looking for manual help with a mix of big and small tasks.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  French: Fluent

  This host offers a language exchange
  I would be happy to speak french to anyone wishing to learn and practice the language.
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  Accommodation

  We offer accommodation and 3 meals a day. Accomodation is in a large safari tent in the forest. Those who prefer may also pitch a tent on the farm. Most of the time, everyone is free to have breakfast at their own pace and we try and prepare at least one daily meal together, usually lunch. The rest of the time, things can flow more naturally depending on everyones needs. There is a big independent kitchen space for cooking.

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  What else ...

  The farm offers an endless space for exploration and creativity, with many nature-related activities to try: floral workshops for bouquets, drying, pressing, and natural dyeing; a DIY workshop for woodworking and sculpture; sewing, knitting, macramé, clay, drawing, painting, and surely more that I am forgetting.
  I also love cooking, and we have a large kitchen where we bake our own einkorn bread, make lacto-ferments, cakes decorated with edible flowers, homemade pasta, and many other delicious explorations. We have fun and love sharing and trying new domestic skills—I would, for example, love to learn straw weaving.
  
  Otherwise, the region is magnificent, with an incredible diversity of landscapes within 1 to 1.5 hours by car: the Verdon Gorges, the Esterel Massif, the Sainte-Baume Massif, and cities ranging from San Remo to Toulon.
  Close by, you’ll find beautiful hilltop villages, wonderful hikes with sea views and good biking and a magical river just 20 minutes away by car. Some buses are available that can take you to Grasse, Cannes, Nice, St Raphael.

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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

  Wifi is available in one specific area and debit is limited monthly. We encourage anyone who comes to take this opportunity to limit the use of the internet to was is strictly needed only.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  We can welcome camper vans on a mid shaddy - mid sunny almost flat area.

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  Can possibly accept pets

  As our land is also a place we live and work, it is important that animals be social and well trained as to not cause any damages in the gardens.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  My animals / pets

  Youyou

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