Modern eco build with large permaculture garden in North Calais, France

Infos

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  Description

  My Mother, a healthy 94 year old and I, live in a eco modern build with a huge garden and a cafe and shop. We've been here a few years now, but are new to country living. We are urban souls in the countryside, and loving it.
  
  My business is a small cafe with a shop selling vintage dishes. I'm open on the weekends serving fresh local products with a special emphasis on herbs all grown in my garden.
  
  We have an orchard, a potager, loads of herbs and slowly developing a large flower garden as well. I am keeping a large area wild and our gardening in the potager is following principals of permaculture. We just recently got some chickens and a large part of the land is rented to a farmer for his cows. We have a cat and so animal life is something we really enjoy.
  
  We are an eccentric creative pair from London and Canada, needing a helping hand with garden, small building projects, painting, decorating etc. I'm also in need of keen tastebuds to check out my culinary on-going research for the cafe!
  
  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, plateaus, valleys, rivers, foress, next to a coastline of vast sand beaches, dunes, cliffs, pebble beaches.
  
  The estuaries of Canche, Authie and la Somme's nature reserves, attract visitors from all over. Equally we have all around us, some beautiful villages, towns and cities. So be it historical interest, natural outdoor activities, chic and sexy town life, it's all happening!

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  Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre

  Jardinage

  Bricolage et construction

  Compagnie pour pers. âgée

  Entretien général

  Aide avec des éco-projets

  Aide à la maison
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  Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre

  This is an area with a fascinating cultural heritage to start. I am completely 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 for my cafe. The garden is a working garden which will serve the cafe. We regularly go to the local market. These elements should bring a convivial, tasty and interesting involment with food production. I ran a fine food shop and cafe in London and now looking to set up a smaller but more niche and eclectic commercial experience.
  
  We are both well traveled and have keen artististic interests particularly in painting and photography. My Mother has painted and drawn her whole life and the house if filled with her work along with works by local talent.
  
  It's an opportunity to live in an ecological house, designed by Greek/London architects, built by the oldest wood construction company in the area. This combination of attributes being a bit of a rarity in these parts, means the house is going to be a model house.

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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: setting up vegetable gardens, trimming and pruning edges and trees, clearing and digging.
  SMALL BUILDING JOBS: Outdoor steps, shed, greenhouse.

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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 also have an open concept studio space with double bed, with wet room on same floor. We have loads of camping space.

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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 bycicle, and there are trains for journeys a little further afield or local stops.
  
  This is our start with the Workaway program and we are looking forward to the exchange. We are easy going versatile people. We have friends in the area who are with the program and have had the pleasure of meeting many workaways.
  
  We have lived vicariously for a while through our friends and now ready to enjoy the exchange for ourselves.

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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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  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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