Información de perfil
Evaluación del anfitrión
90 %
Porcentaje de respuesta
100.0 %
Usually responds ≤ 1 dia
Comentarios
9
Correo verificado
Medallas (1)
Detalles
Descripción
Stay from Tuesday to Sunday, or longer if willing to housesit for a day a week
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Art project: looking for an artist/graphic designer for a dazzle (razzle dazzle) painting on an interior wall
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The property is a former cattle farm in the valley of the river Oise, situated in the French countryside of the Thiérache (Hauts-de-France).
Since 2015 it is being transformed into a permaculture smallholding with a food forest, currently by Luc (52), originally from Flanders/Belgium. And as the tradition wants it, the (former) meadow is being surrounded by a Thiérache-style hedge.
The idea is to be – as much as possible – self-sufficient. "Reduce, re-use, recycle". This also means using electricity, gas, heating and water wisely, “back to basics" in fact. There is a dry (and a wet) toilet.
The house is being restored to show more of its original features and the barn could do with some small restauration. That implies using as much as possible traditional materials and techniques, and if they are not available, turning to modern ecological alternatives.
Help is always welcome with the food forest and/or with the transformation/renovation, depending on the season and the weather.
Specific things that could be going on – Luc would be very happy to teach them to you – are mowing with the scyth and laying hedges (different styles, with a preference for cross hedges). And every now and then there is also wood that needs doing.
Don't hesitate to mention what you would like to do when you think of coming over, so we can make sure we match!
Ideally you are pro-active, able to work together, and at the same time able to get things done on your own.
The night life is limited to watching the stars (there is little light pollution) and observing bats and other creatures of the night. Or sitting outside with a drink and remenescing the day and comtemplating life.
Social life is quite limited as well, as the population in the village is aging and most people have their daily tasks like gardening and householding.
Luc loves the French culture and savoir-vivre and would like to share that with you. He would like to learn more about you, where you come from, what thrives you and also find out how different (or not) the daily life is where you come from.
Staying here means participating in the daily life, working and living together, and sharing all daily tasks that come with it, like bringing wood into the house, doing groceries (once a week), cleaning and cooking (i.e. they don't count as “work”).
Luc is usually the chef in the kitchen (no Michelin rating yet, and probably not soon to get one) but he gets by. He is also always interested in learning new dishes, especially traditional dishes from where you come from.
That means three simple but complete meals a day. If you would like it to be vegetarian, you should definitvely give the chef a hand, because he has no idea of how to do it, except skipping the meat and giving more vegetables. Vegan is also possbile if you BYO.
There are cats at the house.
Cellphone network coverage is limited inside the house. There is cable with wifi available.
There is a bike at your disposal.
The property is at 11 km from the train station (Hirson) and Luc is happy to pick you up there!
(Pick-up sometimes also possible in Brussels, Belgium or at the train station of Mons (Bergen), Belgium.)
The car is a two-seater so only one workawayer can be accomodated at a time, unless you have our own transportation; there is a guest room with a twin bed.
Tipos de ayuda y oportunidades de aprendizaje
Proyectos artísticos
Ayuda en proyectos ecológicos
Jardinería
Proyectos de construcción y bricolaje
Ayuda en una granja
Ayuda doméstica
Mantenimiento general
Objetivos de sostenibilidad de las NU que intenta conseguir este anfitrión
Intercambio cultural y oportunidades de aprendizaje
You are invited to participate in the French and Belgian culture.
I would love to learn about you, your culture, the daily life and taste the traditional food from where you come from. It would be great if you could teach me how to prepare some of the traditional food from where you come from.
I can teach you:
- about permaculture
- how to mow with a scyth
- different styles of hedge laying
- building and restoring using older techniques
- how to make traditional French and Belgian food
- Dutch
Ayuda
I am looking for help with biological/organic kitchen gardening and the transformation of the pasture (according to permaculture principles) into a food forest. Help is also welcome with mowing the grass and doing hay and planting and laying hedges.
I am also looking for help with building and restoring the house and barn, using traditional techniques and materials or modern ecological alternatives.
Don't hesitate to mention what you would like to do when you thing of coming over, so we can make sure we match.
Idiomas
Idiomas hablados
Inglés: Fluido
Francés: Fluido
Holandés: FluidoEste anfitrión ofrece intercambio de idiomas
Este anfitrión ha indicado que está interesado en compartir su idioma o aprender otro.
Ponte en contacto con él para obtener más información.
Alojamiento
- a spare room in the house with a shared bathroom
- a parking space for your car/camper/caravan/van
- your own tent
- the hayloft ;-)
There are cats so I can't accomodate for animals, except the horse or donkey you are travelling with.
Algo más...
At less than 5 minutes walking, there is the Axe vert, an old small track railway that is today transformed into a walking- and cyclingpath from Guise to Hirson, and that is a part of EuroVelo 3 (Trondheim - Santiago de Compostela). Next to it is the river Oise, the perfect place to enjoy the peace and calm of the water and ideal for canoe or kayak.
There are quite a lot of nice forests and lakes nearby, among others the Parc naturel de l’Avesnois, the pond Etangs des Moines in Fourmies, the communal forest of Hirson with its Domaine de Blangy and its cascade.
There is the Piscine de l’Ile verte in Hirson with swimming pool, sauna, hammam, jacuzzi, fitness and bowling.
Also worth a visit is the Familistère in Guise (the Utopia of Godin, the man from the stoves) and the abbey of Saint-Michel.
Parfondeval, wich is one of the most beautifull villages of France, is at half an hour drive.
The medieval city of Laon, situated on a rock of a honderd meters high, with a lot of things to see and its cathedral, is at an hours drive.
For those who love brocantes (flee markets): from April untill Octobre, there is always one to be found nearby.
Please note that public transportation is very limited, so you would have to have your own transportation, call for a taxi or get Luc to take you on a touristic trip.
There is a bike at your disposal.
Un poco más de información
Acceso a Internet
Acceso a Internet limitado
Tenemos animales
Somos fumadores
Puede alojar familias
Puede acoger a nómadas digitales
There is optic cable (fibre) internet in the house.
Espacio para aparcar autocaravanas
There is a parking spot with some privacy and electricity available.
¿Cuántos voluntarios puedes hospedar?
Uno
Horas esperadas
About 5 hours a day, 5 days a week (flexible)
Comentarios (4)
Very gentle and kind, both to people and animals!
Comentarios
Son opciones de calificación adicionales para cuando los miembros dejan sus comentarios. Se muestra la calificación media dejada en cada opción.
Precisión del perfil:
(4.3)
Intercambio cultural:
(4.3)
Comunicación:
(4.7)
Very gentle and kind, both to people and animals!
As soon as we arrived, they made us feel very welcome and were flexible to help me with my remote work as well as completing work on the farm.
They have a beautiful area of land and lots of things to get on with, so we did a lot of weeding (which we enjoyed!) and… read more
They have done lots of work and immediately got along great with our animals.
They were very flexible and prepared delicious meals for us.
With Laura and William, your house is filled with so much love and laughter that they will brighten your day, even the lesser ones.
Laura and… read more
We were right in the middle of a hectic period and her calmness did us an enormous amount of good.
We have had nice and explorative conversations with her and enjoyed her tremendous efforts and dynamism.
She is able to work very well on her own, takes initiative, is a… read more
He is a gentleman and definitely put in a lot more than his fair share of work!
It was nice and smooth working together with him.
When doing things on his own, he would get the job done and at the same time he would have found something extra to do.
We also had the chance to benefit from his… read more
They live in a beautiful part of France and were kind enough to take… read more
