Come be a part of our family for a while, learn and teach and share with us in a tiny village in Burgundy, France

Details

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  Description

  IMPORTANT COVID REGULATIONS!!!!
  We are vaccinated against covid so we will host again.
  We do ask that you are vaccinated to. We still follow the covid guidelines, meaning wearing masks and disinfecting, keeping distance and so on..
  While living here, we ask you to do the same, whenever we leave the property.
  
  
  
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  We are a Flemish couple living a life of peace and quiet on the border of a tiny village in Burgundy. To us family and friendship are very important. We have a nice house, huge garden and field. A horse, a dog, cats, chickens and plenty of birds that sing to us in nature lol. Trying to provide in our own, vegetables, fruits and herbs.
  Living on the west side of the Morvan we have fantastic landscape views all year round. We love to live and live to love and are very sincere about it. We would love to have you with us for as long or short as you wish ... we can teach you but are not afraid to admit you might teach us as well. We do chores in the morning,(sometimes the afternoon), fun the rest of the day. Fun meaning : playing with the horse, being lazy, creative in any possible way(basket weaving - still learning, woodworking, ... )board games, walks, going out, playing music (I'll teach you to play the guitar if you want), sports, talk to animals (joking of course because we are not Dr Doolittle and Co lol) We believe in treating animals with a fully natural approach (talk their language not ours) .... anything really that is fun or creatively challenging, local tourism..... For sure I have forgotten some and open to your ideas as well :)
  We speak French, English and Dutch.
  
  You will be part of our little family for as long as you stay ...
  Don't be afraid to be curious and ask whatever you feel like ....
  
  (the wife is butting in :P)
  Hello there!
  My husband found this site and the moment he told me about this and I checked it out, I was immediately enthusiastic.
  Due to a chronic disease, I'm not able to work as hard as I used to. So him finding this site gave me hope that we could get some help in and around the house. Maybe one day we could finally finish our dream.
  I’m limited in different ways and have to be careful in how I schedule/use my energy.
  We have achieved a lot, but we still have tons of work to do, to finish our little paradise.
  
  As my husband said, we have a variety of animals and we have land and even a tractor, but we are no 'real' farm.
  However we have lots of different types of work, so don't be afraid to tell us what kind of work you would prefer to do.
  
  My dream is that my husband, one day can lean back and start enjoying his retirement. How lovely would it be, to look back one day and say... we achieved this thanks to all our new friends that came, helped and left wonderful memories!
  
  
  A few things my husband left out and I read were important to mention....
  
  We live at the border of a small community. At the end of our street. Where our driveway just hits the pavement and then the road changes into a dirt road that leads you right into the forest. Our land is right next to that beautiful forest.
  We live in peace and quiet however neighbors aren't that far away. You just need to yell and help will arrive immediately.
  
  Because we live so close to the forest we are really lucky to hear the deers, foxes or owls call. With any luck, you might even spot them. Our land is protected by a fence and a guard dog, so the wildlife doesn't have to worry about us ;)
  
  A bit about us:
  We are a loving couple that moved to France to be able to be together. Fulfilling mostly my horse dream we bought a nice piece of land. I have such love for animals that our family quickly grew and we now have, One dog, two cats, one horse, and a few chickens. We had more but sadly enough we lost a few animals ☹
  We would love to be able to live from our land. Grow our own vegetables, fruits, herbs etc....
  
  We love to laugh, have fun and simply enjoy life. Life is short and you need to enjoy every minute of it.
  I have to many hobby's to list. I like many things and I never get bored. On the contrary, my days are way to short!
  I know that I'm sick and I try to accept it and listen to my body, but from time to time my eagerness will catch me and I overdo, witch means I need a time out and give my body the time to recuperate.
  
  I am a positive woman and won't let my disease throw me down.
  I find honesty really important.
  Everything happens for a reason and we can learn lessons from the smallest things that happen.
  
  
  I also adore and have a deep respect for mother nature.
  I’m starting to learn more about the medicinal plants, tree's, flowers and herbs... I'm still a beginnier but slowly I gain more and more knowledge. Its fascinating to see what nature can do for you. To bad its a lost art...
  But I'm happy enough to regain that knowledge and use it in my daily live. ^^
  
  The way I work with my animals is based on trust and respect. I don't tell them what to do. We work as a team and we work together. I try to keep it playful and fun. I do groundwork (although I still have to learn a lot). Try to learn as many as I can of the numerous ways that are available, like Parelli, monty Roberts, TRT method, and many more and I reduce it to my own way, the way that my horse feels good about. I work in freedom and take the time the horse needs. Riding isn't a must for me. That my horse is happy and healthy is the most important thing.
  
  I work in the same way with my other animals.
  
  My husband loves to be outdoors. He rarely can be kept still. That's why we agreed to only work a few hours a day, so we also have time for eachother and to do other things we like to do.
  He loves to work with wood, build things and if there is something he can't do, he will go online and search for a solution and will learn how to do it. (He is such a bless)
  
  Both of us love board games, love to binge-watch (or however you call it) play computer games, play the guitar and sing and so on....
  
  As you scroll down our profile you will notice we are non-smokers.
  However, we are open to people who smoke if they don't mind smoking outside and I would appreciate it that when you smoke around us, you blow the smoke away from us. (as I'm really sensitive to smoke and tend to fall sick if I inhale too much.) We have a little canopy next to the house so you won't get wet. ;)
  
  Since I'm the cook around here I like to mention that we eat practically everything that is edable. That includes meat.
  I'm open to special diets and to meet your requirements, but if it involves buying special products that we don't usually buy for ourselfs then I'm really sorry but I have to decline that.
  
  My husband is my biggest love, but my animals don't fall far behind. It is really important to me that you are an animal lover or at least tolerate them. The dog runs around the yard practically all day long and the cats live indoors.
  So they might occasionally run in front of your feet. The other animals are behind fences. ;)
  All animals are (most of the part) well behaved.
  
  Hope to meet you soon!
  
  Stuff to do in 2022 (apart from the daily stuff)
  
  Most urgent things to do:
  - assembling wood for the winter (cutting and stocking)
  - Fencing the horse pasture
  - gardening stuff (seeding, weeding, trimming)
  - cleaning up the garden (lot of wood lying around)
  - Building a raised deck
  
  Not so urgent:
  - Making elevated vegetable beds.
  
  
  Extra important stuff:
  
  - Riding my horse isn’t an option. However, if you really want to ride, we can go to my horseriding club where there are plenty of horses to choose from. 30 euro's (give or take for a private lesson) Of course I will be with you if any translation is needed. :)
  
  (the wife tunes out!)

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Language practice

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  What's your benefit? Hopefully an unforgettable time and friendship. Languages. Learning several working skills in and out of the house. Learning to play music or even write songs. Visit a very beautiful, peaceful but culturally rich part of the countryside in France ... Learn a different way of approaching/communicating with animals ...
  We have multiple medieval sites, city's, villages, etc.. around. If you like, we happily take some time out to show you around!

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  Help

  What do we expect from you ? First and formost : pass a great and unforgettable time with us.. Depending on your skills and your want to learn ... there's always a task you will be great at ! Whether it is cooking, gardening, painting, tractor work, wood cutting, cleaning in- and outside, knitting, ... No special skills required. Would be great if you have the will and the want to learn or even teach us something ...

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  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent
  French: Fluent
  Dutch: Fluent

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  Accommodation

  We have a nice big (6-8m long) vintage caravan with a comfortable really good double matras.
  The caravan is dry, has a closet, heating, toilet a place to sit, fridge and so on…
  We provided an extra roof above it and added mosquitonets at some windows and the door so those little bloodsuckers cant come in and bite you.

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  What else ...

  As we live in the countryside, there's no Starbuck's or McDonalds nearby haha. But we have a car so we go out occasionally to towns nearby. You will be able to spend your time the way you want but we can do many things together, whether it be games, walks, just hanging around discussing (love to discuss ;p ), visit places ...

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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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  Space for parking camper vans

  We can provide water and electricity. Please keep in mind that the only access on our land is the main gate. The street to our house is quite doable but the bigger your campervan, caravan or motor-home the more difficult the turn. We advice vehicles no longer then 6m, unless you are a very experienced driver. If you are unsure, contact us so we can send you a picture.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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  Hours expected

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

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