Help with 2 eco houses, 2 gardens in North Calais, France

Infos

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  Description

  A modern eco build with large garden, cafe and shop, and an old farmhouse in process of renovation and landscaping.
  
  Eric and I live in an eco modern build with a huge garden, a cafe and shop. We are also renovating an old farmhouse in the same village, using old building methods with clay, hay, chalk, flint, and recycling to the maximum.
  
  I come from an urban background involving the arts, cooking and gardening. Eric comes from the countryside with a background in farming. He works as a nature and heritage guide, wildlife sculpter, and carrer.
  
  Our mutual loves are the garden, the natural world, cooking, building, and decorating. We are versatile in loving both modern and old and interested in reinstating old ways into new context.
  
  The business is a small cafe, shop and garden. The cafe serves simple fresh local produce, the shop sells vintage brocante fair and the garden is open for customers to enjoy. The garden is mix of wild and cultivated with a large collection of flowers, shrubs and decorative trees. There’s an orchard, a herb garden and a small vegetable garden. Together we have started to do guided visits of the garden addressing different topics of design, plant diversity, natural and wild gardening techniques in addition to topics of animal wildlife focusing on birds and insects.
  
  The old house has a large garden with orchard also, and a wood. All is in very early development stages. We plan to integrate contemporary landscaping trends, but with a view of incorporating plants and methods in keeping with the style of the origins of the house and it’s time. Biodiversity is key as well as having the garden melds into the surrounding landscape. In time we will start guided visits of the farmhouse and it’s garden for both building techniques, history of local architecture and the development of it’s garden.
  
  We are an eccentric creative pair needing a helping hand with the gardens and our building project. I'm also in need of keen tastebuds to check out my culinary on-going research for the café!
  
  We are in an unassuming but fascinating part of the country, located between Paris, London and Brussels. The historical context of Flemish and English relations with the French make for rich cultural stories, architecture, cuisine etc etc. The land is dedicated to farmland but adjacent to a stricking coastline. We are in the middle of the Seven Valleys, giving a varied landscape of hills, plateaux, valleys, rivers, and forests, next to a coastline of vast sand and pebble beaches, dunes, and clifts.
  
  The estuaries of the Canche, the Authie and the Somme are three fascinating nature reserves which attract visitors from all over. Equally we have all around us, some charming northern villages, towns and cities. So be it historical interest, natural outdoor activities, pastoral restfulness or a bit of chic town life, it's all happening!

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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

  Aide informatique/internet
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  Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre

  This is an area with a fascinating cultural heritage to start. We are bilingual in French and English and we are in the middle of a small French community. We are equally connected to many English people who live in the area.
  Our project involves cooking, eco, and sustainable gardening. I am an experimental cook and keen to develop an original and healthy cuisine. We use produce cultivated and wild ftom the garden. We regularly go to the local market. These elements should bring a convivial, tasty and interesting involment with food production and an opportunity to sit around the table and exchange.
  We love the arts, nature, food and all culture and keen to share.

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  Projets impliquant des enfants

  Ce projet peut impliquer des enfants. Pour en savoir plus, consultez nos directives et conseils ici.

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  Aide

  We are looking for help with
  GARDENING: plantin, weeding, trimming and pruning edges and trees, clearing.
  We are also looking for basic building and DIY.

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  Langues parlées

  Anglais: Courant
  Français: Courant

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  Hébergement

  We are offering a double bed/bedroom with it's own bathroom, ideal for a single person or a couple. We have lots of outdoor space for camping.

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  Autres infos...

  There is a wealth of activities in the area to satisfy interests in culture, nature, history, urban entertainement. The public transport is limited, but we have a car, a bicycle, and there are trains for journeys a little further afield or local stops.
  
  We have our gardens for a relaxed time of rest, numerous books. There are walks all around the countryside but we are also happy to take our workaways with us for our adventures away from home.

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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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  Espace pour garer des vans

  Cet hôte a de la place pour les vans.

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  Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?

  Plus de 2

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  Nombre d'heures attendues

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

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