DIY, decorating and gardening - a dream of self sufficiency in Dienne, France

Infos

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  Description

  Hi. We are Neil and Catherine and we are restoring a 16th century longere in the Limousin area of France. We have a barn which we have converted into a walled garden with pool, stone outbuildings and 7 acres which we are planting in fruit. We of course want to have the dream of self sufficiency, but need to protect the house and buildings from more damage years of neglect have caused. We have a dog called Bruce, and two cats- Flo and Bluey. We love cooking and a few drinks, love to entertain and have fun. We work hard but we are absolutely immersed in the culture here and everything it has to offer.
  
  We speak basic French and English is our first language.
  
  We can offer our workaways a self contained gite with super king bed, kitchen and bathroom, and use of our pool and grounds. Although you will have your own kitchen we hope you will choose to eat and socialise with us.

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  Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre

  Projets artistiques

  Pratique d’une langue

  Jardinage

  Bricolage et construction

  Entretien général
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  Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre

  In return for your company, we will teach you English, DIY and building skills, and you will be immersed in our very rural French commune. We are 20 minutes from Poitiers which is a fabulous university town, and are in a great area for cycling and walking in the parks around us.

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  Aide

  HI, we are a Kiwi/English couple in our early 50s restoring a 16th century farm house and outbuildings in Dienne, near Poitiers. We would really love some help with general labouring work, gardening. We also have a small pond that we want to clear and bring back into use. We are rebuilding a pigsty, rooms and landscaping the grounds. We have 7 acres we are planting in veg and fruit trees and yes we are trying to move to the dream of near self sufficiency.
  
  We would also like help with decorating inside the gite and house.

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  Langues

  Langues parlées
  Anglais: Courant
  Français: Débutant

  Cet hôte propose un échange linguistique
  We are English speakers and learning French. We speak French to a basic level.
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  Hébergement

  We have a 1 bedroom gite, all self contained (decoration is a bit 80s!- see pics), super king bed. It does have cooking facilities however we would like to have our guests eat with us and we cook for you. We can also teach you cooking if you would like! The pool is lovely so in summer its BBQ and sun and water!
  
  We also have room for camper vans if you are travelling in one, with electric available. You can camp as well if you like- there are 7 private acres.
  
  There is a mechanic onsite - might be useful!.
  
  Cyclists and motorcyclists very very welcome.

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  Autres infos...

  Its best if you have a vehicle but we can arrange pick ups and drop offs if you need them. We are 10 minutes walk from a small village but the larger attractions need transport. Thats the beauty of where we are- very quiet and restfull, very rural France ! There is a huge market on a Saturday and loads of the other villages have weekday smaller markets. In a hour and a half you can be in La Rochelle! We are only 1 hour 25 from Paris by train so weekends away are easy!

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  Informations complémentaires

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    Accès Internet

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    Accès Internet limité

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    Nous avons des animaux

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    Nous sommes fumeurs

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    Familles bienvenues

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  Possibilité d’accueillir les digital nomads

  Very good internet connections inside, around the pool and you will have your own space to work in the gite with a desk etc.

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  Espace pour garer des vans

  7 acres to choose from and power provided. We have a workshop on site and a Neil is a mechanic.

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  Possibilité d'accueillir les animaux

  We have our own dog and cats, and are establishing farm animals. There are cats in the commune. You are very welcome with your pets.

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  Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?

  Deux

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