Come help fix up an old manor home in the heart of a vibrant town, Basse-Ville Quimperle, France

Detalhes

• 

  Descrição

  Update, Oct 2023: I've paused our profile for a while. Our work schedules are pretty hectic for now and we're not able to offer that great of a workaway experience. We have plans to quit working someday and work full time on the house. If that happens, we'll make an update here and start promoting our profile.
  
  ----
  
  My wife and I were volunteers with Workaway and other platforms for a few years. We loved the adventure and the community around it all. There were some amazing farmsteads, but usually with nothing much going on in the immediate vicinity. We always looked for somewhere to volunteer near somewhere that had a bit more going on, but never found it. Well, if you've been wanting the same, look no further.
  
  Where are we?
  
  Our 500-year-old house is right in the heart of Basse-Ville Quimperle. There are 4 bars within a three-minute walking distance. There are street festivals most weekends in the summer, there's a guy down the block who DJs from his balcony when the weather is nice, and there is an entire book of activities organized by the town. Oh, and the beach is only 17 minutes away. There is a train station in town, exactly 1km away, so even if you don't have transport, we're still good to host you.
  
  Who are we?
  
  We're Rick (American) and Fanette (French) and Jules (aged 6 and identifies more as a cat than any nationality). We're in our mid-late 40's going on 21. We speak both English and French in the house, but probably 90% English. We met while backpacking in Thailand. We liked it there so we stayed there for 8 years, then headed off for other adventures for a decade which ended with us impulse-buying this house in need of a renovation. Fanette has worked as a professional food photographer and photography business coach for the past 6 years. Rick unfortunately works from a desk 5 days a week. If you come to volunteer, he'll sneak away to join you while you work because he likes working on the house more than working on IT projects. We eat mostly vegetarian, but are not strict about it. There are also 2 cats that live here. They're both friendly. One is old and slow, the other is young and feisty.
  
  So what do we need help with?
  
  In a word: everything. We have a lot of ideas, but sometimes get so overwhelmed we decide to figure things out later and have some wine. We have a lot of cool things planned for the house, and we do have a lot of work that we could keep you busy with. A lot of our stone walls are old and need re-pointing. A lot of them need to be cleaned up first. There's a few garage and basement floors that need cementing. A lot of rooms need painting. Some walls will come down. Some heaters might get moved. Windows need replaced, floorboards fixed, light fixtures installed. We'd prefer someone with some experience with this type of work, but it's not required if you're up for a challenge. There is also a lot of gardening that could be done. Yes, despite being in the middle of a town, we have a large backyard. If you're an artistic type, we'd love you to come and pitch a vision for one of the rooms, or create some artwork for our bare walls (we'll buy the supplies)!
  
  What do we expect?
  
  The things we'll be working on will require some experience with stonework, concrete work, woodwork, or plumbing. It will require being comfortable working on a ladder.
  
  Our workaway will likely be a different experience than most others. From our own experience as workaway helpers, we always worked alongside the hosts for the day. Sometimes we'll be able to do that for you, and sometimes we won't. If we need to be at our desks for most of the day, you might end up working on the projects at your own pace. We'll always try make time to hang out, but our work schedules won't really allow us to make this your typical workaway during the day. Also we don't track hours, as in 'X hours in exchange for room and board'. Just come, give an honest effort at the projects, and enjoy your time in this town.
  
  What can we offer?
  
  Some great conversation about traveling, the occasional glass of wine, and an introduction to the people and activities of Quimperle (there's a lot going on here). Rick is very active with the local cultural/language exchange group and you'd be welcome to come and join us on an excursion, or come talk about your country. There are often presentations on dance, song, or food from a region of one of our members. You're also welcome to join the French lessons every Wednesday or Saturday - all levels are welcome.
  
  Due to our work, we keep an erratic meal schedule. What we found works for meals is that we all have breakfast together, then we're all on our own for lunch, then get together for a dinner, Sometime we'll cook dinner, sometimes you might cook, and sometimes we'll cook together. There are two great weekly farmers markets in town, always stocked with fresh ingredients.
  
  We are in town, so we have decent WiFi (yes!). We have a bike and there are a ton of walking trails nearby. There is a river you can rent canoes on in the summer. There are dozens of small shops within spitting distance, and a grocery store about 1km away. Fair warning, we live above a pizza shop and the scents will have you wanting pizza every night.
  
  What would your accommodations be?
  
  A suite with a private bath. It's ideal for one person or a couple. The last workawayers who stayed said it was the nicest room they stayed in.
  
  Once the warmer weather arrives, we'll have the other bedrooms opened back up.
  
  Who are we looking for?
  
  For some reason, we're picturing a couple or a group. We're open to a solo traveler, but with our work and family schedules, we're not sure a solo traveler would enjoy our experience.

• 

  Tipos de ajuda e oportunidades de aprendizado

  Construção/faça você mesmo

  Ajuda a cuidar da casa

  Manutenção geral
• 

  Oportunidades de intercâmbio cultural e aprendizado

  You can learn some French or English if that interests you. Rick attends a French speaking and cultural exchange group, and anyone is welcome to join. Culturally, there are a lot of things going on in the area (more in the summer than winter).

• 

  Projetos que envolvem crianças

  Este projeto pode envolver crianças. Para mais informações, veja aqui nossas diretrizes e dicas.

• 

  Ajuda

  We're looking for people with DIY skills. Mostly we have stonework and woodwork to be done. I plan to install a lot of windows (I think there are 18 or so needing replaced). There will be a little pluming and electrical, but not much and I typically do that myself. There will be painting too. Just a lot of general fixin' stuff. Experience isn't as critical as a willingness to try.

• 

  Idiomas

  Idiomas
  Inglês: Fluente
  Francês: Fluente
  Espanhol: Iniciante
  Thai: Iniciante

  Este anfitrião oferece intercâmbio de idiomas
  Este anfitrião indicou que tem interesse em compartilhar seu idioma ou em aprender um novo.
  Entre em contato com ele para obter mais informações.
  
• 

  Acomodação

  We have several open bedrooms, one is a private little apartment. Where you stay will depend on which rooms might be under construction at the time.

• 

  Mais alguns detalhes

  • 

    Acesso à internet

  • 

    Acesso à internet limitado

  • 

    Temos mascotes

  • 

    Somos fumantes

  • 

    Pode hospedar famílias

• 

  Pode hospedar nômades digitais

  We have ADSL and it seems to get 30Mbps most days. The town says Fiber should be here in late 2022 or early 2023. We have an office set up with a small table. I'd built out a really nice office in my last house, and hope to do the same here too. We've only been in the house 6 weeks, so we're still working from a table and chairs, but it works and we have plenty of space.

• 

  Espaço para estacionar campervans

  We have a really big garage. It would fit a van-based camper, but not a full sized one. We could figure how to get you water and electric. I love working on cars and have all sorts of tools, parts, and jacks if you need to make repairs. There are also several parking lots nearby that you can park a camper for free. However, I don't think they have water/elec. I know the town has a camper lot, but it's a few euros a day.

• 

  Quantos Workawayers pode acomodar?

  Mais de 2

• 

  Horas previstas

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

Comentário (1)