Help us with renovations in a small village near Carcassonne, France

Detalhes

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  Descrição

  Update: From now on, Longer stays are preferred (4-12 weeks).
  
  We are a couple of international artists (Laury is a sculptor, she is French but was raised in the USA for 6 years and her mother was Dutch - while Joe is a professional freelance videographer and is an American with dual citizenship with Great Britain).
  
  
  UPDATE March 2023
  
  We're not going to re-write the description, but in truth, most of the renovation work is done. There are still small projects (painting for example, a bit of stone work and other 'punch list' items. Nothing major). The news, however is our house is on the market (we want to downsize but move to another place in Chalabre). Therefore there is more emphasis on cleaning (it's a BIG house), window washing, dog walking and--who knows--at some point maybe even packing in readiness for a move. That said, we really want someone who can teach Joe French. He's made some small progress with a couple other workawayers, but now, with the heavy work behind us, he doesn't have much of an excuse anymore to not sit down for an hour a day and master French. So we're looking for a good teacher!
  
  
  UPDATE : We're now also looking for a French teacher for Joe, so those interested in this profile who are also able to teach French are a top choice for us.
  
  At two old French houses where we run Art Projects from time to time, and we continue to need help with some renovations! From sanding old beams, to plastering and painting and tiling...(and all the rest in between and above).
  
  We also can use help with every day living tasks such as cleaning this vast place / cooking / dog walking, and occasionally with house sitting.
  
  We have been renovating three places: a small townhouse, plus a ruin, plus a big 20 room French "Maison de Maitre" in a medieval town in the Southwest of France. We work to a high standard with as many Eco features as we can which requires enthusiastic volunteers. Part of the bigger house is 18th century - the other part is 14th century.
  
  Thanks to fantastic Workaways (some of whom have returned again and again) the 14th century portion of the house was completed and the 18th century portion is now almost finished. There's a picture below of the attic during the early days. Now it is all done and has become one of our favourite places in both the houses--it has two bedrooms, a movie room, bathroom, kitchenette and an Italian walk-in shower. It is also the usual residence of our workaways, though there are other rooms in the house for workaways, guests and family.
  
  The ruin is an old stone Forge (1652) inside a private walled garden with an attached 18th century wood structure house that will be gutted and re-done from the top down. The Forge portion is the first phase of the project and is now rapidly moving toward completion. The pictures show and give you an idea of the type of work which we have done in the past, in addition to electrical, framing, flooring, plastering ,etc., includes a lot of stone work and rendering which is quite fun and satisfying work. Now there are just a few snagging bits to finish (a bit of woodwork, some painting).
  
  Although we can also accommodate single people, the work is ideal for a Workaway couple to dedicate itself to the stone restoration work at the Old Forge-- such as finishing the cleaning up and re-pointing some of the stone walls of the Forge courtyard. In the summer you'll be able to gorge yourself with table grapes off the 100 year old grapevine that lines the Forge wall. This is a long-term project, so the longer you can stay, the better!
  
  Though our profile states a minimum of two weeks, our preference is for long stays, meaning a month or more. Some of our workaways have stayed months at a time and returned later for more. This is, of course, after a trial period to confirm we have chosen the right Workaways and you have chose the right Host!
  
  So much to do and all of it fun and interesting! We love to share with you our love of the area and its culture.
  
  Bags of atmosphere and tons of opportunities to explore the surrounding area: vineyards, lakes, Cathar Castles, Pyrenees (skiing nearby in winter), Roman baths... The small town of Chalabre is 45 minutes from the walled city of Carcassonne, 45 minutes from Foix, 90 minutes from Toulouse as well as the Mediterranean and Andorra, and just 3 hours from Barcelona. The village of Chalabre is not large (one baker, two butchers, three greengrocers, a pharmacy, two cafes, one hotel/restaurant) and has no train service, just one bus in and out to Limoux (but we are happy to come pick you up and drop you off from another nearby train station such as Pamiers).
  
  We are warm, friendly hosts who love to work hard and also love to play. There is so much for you to do here in your spare time: great walking and bicycling on the Voie Verte, exploring the Cathar Way, hiking in the mountains, canoeing, swimming in lakes, playing tennis in the local inexpensive tennis courts (we have rackets and you can find someone locally to play with unless you can tempt Joe), internet-surfing, ambling around local "vide greniers" (the equivalent of car boot sales = literally "empty your attic fairs"), etc.
  
  Training provided for any tasks we ask you to do - strong arms and a willingness to work and play hard are all you need! We have a zero drugs tolerance - but we love a glass of wine at the end of the day. We expect you to pay your share of wine if you drink more than one (but the first glass of a work day evening is on us!)
  
  And yes, we have fibre internet access which reaches most rooms in the house. It works mostly everywhere, including on the sunny terrace. We also have a movie room with Amazon Prime.

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  Tipos de ajuda e oportunidades de aprendizado

  Projetos artísticos

  Prática de idiomas

  Ajuda em projetos ambientais

  Construção/faça você mesmo

  Cuidar de animais

  Criar/cozinhar refeições caseiras

  Ajuda a cuidar da casa

  Manutenção geral
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  Oportunidades de intercâmbio cultural e aprendizado

  You will be around people from all nationalities (we have Russian, English, Belgian, Irish, Dutch, American, Australian and German neighbours in this small town as well as of course many FRENCH people!!!! :)
  
  We both love to share our skills (our own artforms sculpture and video, and also our knowledge of renovations work). You might also learn to cook in different ways than you are familiar with (Laury's style of cooking is very international with a French base).
  
  Driving on the right hand side of the road might be an experience for some of you!
  
  Learning the way of life of international people living in the midst of a small French town will also be an experience in itself.

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  Ajuda

  We are flexible as to working hours - and we believe the best way forward with any offer to volunteer is to take it on an individual basis. If you are happy to work long hours for a number of days and then take a long break of several days - that's fine. If you'd rather work shorter days and go off exploring every day that is fine too.
  
  Really your schedule will be up to you - provided it is fair to us to accommodate and feed you in exchange for the work you put in.
  
  We need a lot of elbow work (depending on when you come, there is demolition, wallpaper removal/stripping, insulation, carpentry, joinery, electrical work, painting and decorating, stonework, and cleaning at all phases). Please be aware it's best if you have work shoes that can protect your toes and one set of clothes that can get ruined (by plaster, paint, etc.). We have some spare clothing if necessary but not spare work shoes.
  
  We also welcome help with creating meals, walking the two dogs, etc.

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  Idiomas

  Inglês: Fluente
  Francês: Fluente
  Holandês: Iniciante
  Chinês (mandarim): Iniciante

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  Acomodação

  The house is HUGE - and functional, though parts are still under renovations.... Not a good place for anyone allergic to cats /dogs or for dust allergy sufferers as renovations do imply dust and some demolition, and then the clean-up of building materials. You will have your own room. There is good fibre driven wi-fi and mobile phone signal (but only some mobile networks work here), and hot water for showers or baths...!
  
  How to travel here:? You can arrive by bicycle, by car, by plane (closest airports are Carcassonne, followed by Toulouse) or by train (not to Chalabre directly) to stations in the nearby towns listed in order of closeness: Limoux, Pamiers, Carcassonne, Foix.
  
  There is no public transport to and from Chalabre - which is why as hosts we will encourage you to tag along with us to some of the lovely spots around us (whether for recreation or for shopping, etc.).

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  Algo mais...

  In your time off you can hike around the area, or if you have your own car or we trust you with ours or you just tag along with us you can visit Mirepoix, Limoux, Carcassonne, Foix, Toulouse, Ax-les-Thermes (skiing and also Roman Baths all year), Andorra, Barcelona, or go and dip your feet in the Mediterranean. (Re car, as long as you have a few years driving experience, a driving license and we feel we can trust your driving, you can borrow our car).
  
  We expect you to work hard and then enjoy yourself a lot too - and we will go out of our way to make the latter happen. We eat fresh food and will feed you well. We also love to drink good wine / beer and laugh and relax. Within a few hundred metres of the house you are out in the open countryside in the foothills of the Pyrennees: mountain walking, biking, lake swimming, horsebackriding, skiiing are all available depending on the season, your budget and your stamina.
  
  Joe here - advice to smokers: We have a beautiful private terrace--actually the 3 storey ruin of a former house where the walls still stand--where you can smoke. It's really quite interesting...you walk from the 17th century house on the square through to the next house (14th century) onto the ruins of the next one, our terrace where we usually eat in the summer months.

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  Mais alguns detalhes

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    Acesso à internet

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    Acesso à internet limitado

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    Temos mascotes

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    Somos fumantes

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    Pode hospedar famílias

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  Pode hospedar nômades digitais

  Good fibre internet connection and own desk in room or in library

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  Espaço para estacionar campervans

  A van can be parked in many places around the village for free.

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  Pode aceitar animais

  A well-behaved dog that is friendly to our cats would be welcome.

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  Quantos Workawayers pode acomodar?

  Mais de 2

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  Horas previstas

  Maximum 5 hours a day, 5 days a week

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