Collaborative projects and cultural exchange in Provence, Cote D'Azur, South of France

Details

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  Description

  The hosts of this listing are retired university professors , citizens of both Europe and the USA. We will be in France from April 2025 to November 2025 . If you are interested in gardening while learning or improving your knowledge of French language and culture during this period, this might be a good match for you.
  
  We will offer you self catering accommodation in exchange for just 3 hours gardening help in weekday mornings.
  Our place in France is in the heart of a beautiful medieval village approx. 4 kms from the Mediterranean. The setting is a large beautiful garden which had fallen into a state of neglect when we first encountered it. Over the years with the help of volunteers, we have restored the garden to its former glory. Now it is mainly a matter of maintenance. To this end, the host works alongside volunteers always in the early in morning for this is a warm sunny environment, and really warm at the height of summer . If you have gardening knowledge and experience we are keen to hear from you.
  
  We provide self catering, nice quality accommodation in a beautiful setting with views of the Mediterranean. We can teach you to play pickleball , a new racquet sport which is now the no 1. recreational pastime in the USA.
  
  Gardening experience and knowledge of plants are especially valued. Final requirement is our 4 week minimum, we like to get to know our gardening volunteers, so please do not contact us if you are looking for shorter stays.
  
  We can introduce you to French-speakers, including a close friend who gives private French language lessons for a fee and you can hang out at the Cafe du Progres (5 mins walk) to converse with the locals. If you are ready to play boule, there is always a game going on the local square which is very close by.
  
  The village is famous for its micro-climate and beautifully maintained public gardens. It is a 3 minute walk to the Musee to discover village history, medieval to modern. There are many lovely beaches within a few kms for swimming and sunbathing. We have our own private pickleball court and a ping pong table and there is a tennis club in the village where courts can be hired by the hour. Even In winter there are cafes, bars and shops open within 2 minutes walk .
  
  The old village has a post office, two churches, two hotels, a boulangerie, tourist office, art gallery, red cross thrift shop, at least a dozen tourist shops ( some closed between November & February), a town hall with facilities for yoga classes, bridge and scrabble club etc, there is also within 2 minutes, a newspaper and book shop selling international newspapers and the 'cafe du progess' for coffee and croissant in the morning and wine beer and/ or dinner in the evening. Within 10 minutes walk, in the more modern part of the village (Bormes Le Pin) , is a bank, 3 doctors, a dentist, pharmacy, shoe mender, 3 hairdressers, 5 more cafes, a bistro bar which good for mingling while watching sporting events on television, a tennis club. A daily mini bus service run for most of the year from the old village to the nearest local beaches and to Lavandou where there are many more cafe/bars restaurants and nightclubs. There are also good hikes in the hills and along coastal paths and also bike trails. It is about 25 minutes by bus to Hyeres and 50 minutes to Toulon, or St Tropez and public transport is cheap - the ride to them all is only 3 euros, There are weekly local markets in the old village, in Bormes le Pin, Le Lavandou, La Londe, St Tropez and many local flea markets where great bargains ( antiques and semi antiques) can be found.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Art Projects

  Gardening

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We can introduce you to French-speakers, including a close friend who gives private French language lessons for a fee and you can hang out at the Cafe du Progres (5 mins walk) to converse with the locals. If you are ready to play boule, there is always a game going on the local square which is very close by. However, this is not a sleepy village where time stands still. Tourism is France's biggest economic activity and an important source of income for the local population. In a real sense, local culture is 'for sale' . Once or twice a year, local enthusiasts dress up in traditional village gear and parade around the village streets on fete days. But life was hard in the days when this quaint clothing was worn.
  
  Before the arrival of the railway 120 years ago, local peasant farmers carried out back breaking work terrassing the surrounding hillsides to grow vegetables in a stony inhosbitable terrain. In those days, this area was one of the poorest in France, now it is one of richest. . You can still see the traces of the terrasses associated with this ancient form of subsistence farming if you get lost on the hill behind our place. The arrival of the train quickly transformed the local economy by opening up the markets of Lyon and Paris in the early 20th century to local growers who could send their produce including flowers (mimosa & freesia) cultivated on the terrassed hillsides along the Mediterranean. The same hillsides are covered by cork oak trees whose bark stimulated bouchon production ( wine bottle corks) an important craft in the local economy before tourism.
  
  The arrival of trains signalled the beginnings of modern tourism. Vsitors may experience, even take part in, local celebrations. For example : if you are here on August 17th you may witness the re-enactment of allied forces landing on the local beaches to end the wartime occupation - including dancing on the local square to a live music Glen Miller Big band.
  
  Motivated workaways seeking to improve their knowledge of water-wise Mediterranean plants can explore the famous public gardens in Bormes, attend annual plant fairs where regional paysagistes exhibit unusual plants and the weekly guided tour of the village gardens. They can also improve their gardening knowledge and skills by working in our garden.
  
  The fact that you cater for yourself in this listing involves regular trips to shops and traditional markets where there is much to learn about seasonal crops and local handicrafts.
  
  There are also bars for hanging out with locals and weekly clubs for pétanque ( boules), bridge, scrabble, yoga & dancing classes. Many of our volunteers have become addicted to pickleball - the world's fastest growing sport.
  
  As far as exotic cultures are concerned , Bormes is a magnet for Argentinian visitors being the birthplace of Hyppolite Bouchard, a hero of Argentinian independance. An annual celebration of the links with this famous son of Bormes are the
  annual open air tango lessons on the village square directly below accessed from our pathway. Argentinian workaways who stayed here about 10 ears ago, actually learnt the Tango during lessons provided by the Mairie on summer evenings .

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  Help

  This workaway offer is for people who like working outdoors doing energetic, physical tasks in a methodical manner. The host is an experienced gardener and works alongside volunteers offering guidance where necessary. We ask volunteers to wear appropriate protective clothing and to take care with the tools they use.
  
  Tasks include weeding, clearing, digging flower beds, pruning and thinning bushes and trees, watering plants, shredding garden waste for compost, making compost and mulch, laying mulch. Knowledge and skill with activities such as repairing wooden compost bins are very useful. We naturally expect everyone who stays with us to do some domestic cleaning of their own accommodation to make sure it is clean and comfortable for the next volunteer. From time to time , we have hosted artists, illustrators, photographers who have created some lovely images of the house or the garden.
  
  The minimum stay is four weeks and, and since we do not provide meals, work hours are kept to 15 per week - 3 hours in the early morning Monday to Friday. In addition we expect workawayers to maintain the apartment we provide in the same state or cleanliness they find when they arrive ( probably an additional 2 hours per week) . The accommodation is self catering. spacious, well equipped (including bedlinen, towels, kitchen equipment etc) , warm/cool and comfortable, with daily access to wifi ( mostly though not guaranteed for 24 hours ). You can see examples of what the accommodation is like in the photos on this listing. Other than refreshments after work we do not provide meals on a regular basis. There is access to a well equipped kitchen in the accommodation. We prefer our workawayers to arrive and depart on weekends, work hours are usually between 7-10 or 11 am Monday to Friday depending on the weather . It is often too hot to work later during the middle of the day.

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  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent

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  Accommodation

  Our accommodation is spacious and fully equipped for workawayers to cook their own food. We provide only light refreshments on workdays.
  
  Volunteers stay either in a self contained studio apartment ( with shower + Kitchen & wifi) with sun terrace and sea views, or in a comfortable private bedroom / 1 bathroom apartment with shared use of well equipped kitchen and plenty of space for eating and relaxing outside . From June to September, at minimum, we guarantee a comfortable private bedroom with a lovely view of the Mediterranean and use of a furnished terrace outside with panoramic views of the Mediterranean.There is a washing machine available for workaways to do their own laundry. Bed Linen and towels are provided subject to their being returned clean and ready for the next volunteer.
  
  The property is in the heart of a famous and lively village . The local Mairie hosts frequent outdoor musical events, markets, floral festivals and lively celebrations on National Holidays. . It is a very short walk to village centre, and close to beautiful beaches and countryside.
  
  There is public transport available to Toulon, Hyeres, the local beaches, St Tropez is 40 minutes by bus ( the 3 euros fixed fare takes you to all local destinations). Plus a local mini bus service goes from the old village to Lavandou, (the nearest local town, 3 kms). Volunteers with prior workaway experience tell us that the self catering accommodation we offer is well above average. Smoking is not permitted in the accommodation.

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  What else ...

  Please come with shoes suitable for gardening and gardening gloves. No flip flops, slip ons or sandals permitted in the garden and socks are essential . If you wear shorts, come equipped with plenty of insect repellant. There is a red cross 'thrift'/charity shop in the village, where low price clothing bargains ( useful for gardening but also often Stylish and French ) can be found - open on Tues and Thursdays. There is also a lively flea market every Sunday throughout the Winter/Spring n a nearby village- again a source for recycled clothing and other treasures . Bear this in mind as you pack for your journey though strong protective well fitting shoes are essential and not to be found second hand.
  
  We offer working holidays short or extended with a 4 week minimum. Extended stays are also possible and suit retired people wanting a 2- 6 month stay in France to learn the language and experience living in a new environment . You must have your own health and accident insurance. We expect everyone who stays with us to leave the accommodation in the same clean condition they find when they arrive, to clean up the kitchen after cooking and other shared areas of the accommodation. We ask you to return any bed and bath linen and beach towels we provide washed and dried before you leave.
  
  Travel Arrangements Most of our workaways come by train to Toulon Station. The bus station is directly next to the train station in Toulon which makes the journey straightforward. The bus journey to Bormes costs 3 euros, and takes just over one hour.
  The nearest aeroport ( Toulon) is well sited for Bormes (25 mins drive) . The other two airports are Marseille and Nice - both are 2 hours away by car . There are trains from Marseille and Nice to Toulon and to Paris- in all cases you will need to take the bus from the airport to the train station. There is a local car park in the village.
  
  We will ask you to provide some personal ( full name, age, home address & tel. , next of kin, as well as details of your arrival time and mode of transport, so we can make arrangements to meet you locally.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  Wifi is live in all the accommodation 24 hours a day . Smoking in not permitted. We do not currently have any pets and our pattern of work is unfavorable for families with children and child care responsibilities. We can host digital nomads in our garden studio apartment where use of the heavy internet does not interfere with the access of more occasional users.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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