Help us with our eco renovation and expanding our organic veg plot in Limburg region, Belgium

Infos

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  Description

  WE ARE STOPPING AS WORKAWAY HOST IN OCTOBER 2024!
  We are Jules and Hayley - 2 Brits living in Belgium. I have lived here for 23 years and Hayley for the last 10. We want to live a more sustainable life here in the small town of Kinrooi in Belgian Limburg. We are currently finishing an eco renovation on our house using hemp, loam and straw bales.
  
  We have a go at growing our own fruit & veg - now that the renovation is almost finished, we can spend more time in the garden and rebuilding the outbuildings. Every year we try to expand the area of our garden which is available for growing - this involves doing battle with well established brambles and bind-weed and doing it without the use of pesticides... although Hayley hasn't completely ruled out investing in a flamethrower.

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  Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre

  Aide avec des éco-projets

  Jardinage

  Bricolage et construction

  Cuisine/repas pour la famille

  Aide à la maison

  Entretien général
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  Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre

  We give all of our guests the option to enjoy the Belgian lifestyle and cuisine.

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  Aide

  We live in a house that was a self build in the 1950s - with all the quirks, odd building material choices and lack of right angles that go along with it. We needed to do something about the house and its complete lack of insulation and settled on insulating the roof and external walls with hempcrete and adding a wood frame extension with straw bale walls.
  We're trying to reuse and recycle as much material as we can and chose an eco renovation because that was something that mattered to us. We've learned a lot about the techniques we're using and would be happy to share this knowledge with you if you have an interest, or to learn from you if this is something you've done before.
  
  Depending on your skills and interests there are many things that you may be able to help us with. We are clearing up the garden after the renovation and are going to re-build the outbuildings, which requires some preparation.
  Maybe you even have ideas on a better way for us to recycle old joists into bookshelves?
  
  In the coming years, we hope to expand our organic garden plot, to become more self-sufficient. We have a lot of garden which always needs attention and maintenance. If this is your passion, or just something you enjoy doing, we've got plenty to keep you busy.

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  Langues

  Langues parlées
  Anglais: Courant
  Hollandais: Courant
  Français: Débutant
  Italien: Débutant

  Cet hôte propose un échange linguistique
  We both speak English and are happy to help you improve yours. Jules is learning Italian, so would appreciate someone who can teach him more.
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  Hébergement

  PLEASE NOTE!: We are currently only able to accept visitors who are happy to sleep in a tent (we will provide bedding) or who are travelling in their own camper.
  You can use the toilet and power-shower in the family bathroom, in the house. We have towels and toiletries available.
  
  We are very happy for you to share our family meals, although you are welcome to bow out of this if you prefer your own cooking.
  
  We recently adopted two (indoor) cats, who aren't allowed into the bedrooms. There is also a stray cat that lives in our garden.

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  Autres infos...

  We live in a small town in the North East of Belgium. Limburg is famous for its hospitality and cycling routes. There are local bus services, we have bikes that you could use or we'd be happy to drive you to the train stations if you want to go further afield - we're just a few kilometres from the Dutch border and 15 minutes from their nearest train station.
  Although we seem to live in the middle of nowhere, we are actually within reach of many different European destinations. We're within 2 hours travel of Amsterdam, Cologne, Brussels, the Ardennes, Antwerp, Luxemburg, Northern France and within an hours travel of Maastricht, Tongeren, Aachen and Eindhoven. If you have your sights on further travel, the high-speed rail network of all neighbouring countries can be accessed within an hour of here.
  There are local facilities for watersports and, of course, many cafes with long menu lists of Belgian beers.
  
  We don't have many specific requirements other than asking people not to smoke in the house and to be considerate of our home and neighbours.
  
  We've been WorkAway Hosts 20 times now and Hayley worked as a residential volunteer with a housing charity in London for a year, so we have experience from both sides of volunteering.

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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

  Cet hôte a indiqué qu’il aimait accueillir les digital nomads.

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  Espace pour garer des vans

  If you're one of the WorkAwayers travelling with a campervan we can provide you with a good camping spot next to the house with access to the kitchen and bathroom/shower in the house.

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  Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?

  Deux

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