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Renovation, DIY and manual help

5.0
(5 reviews)5

The experience

We (Damien, french, Samantha, English and Teogan our little toddler) live in a beautiful part of the french Pyrénées with amazing hikes on our doorstep with the convenience of a fully functional town with all the amenities you need.

We are renovating a large building which in part is a backpackers and in part is our home. We have a project to extend our flat so need help on firstly demolition/destruction and then on building and decoration/renov

What you offer

5 hours of help per day

Gardening: Help grow plants and cultivate gardens

Painting & Decorating: Help with painting or decorating the property facilities.

Building & Repairing: Help with a wide range of repairs or building.

What you get

2 days off per week

Private Room: You will have a bed in a private room. In other words, a room just for you.

Lunch: You are entitled to a free lunch, every day of your stay.

Free Laundry: You can use our laundry room freely.

Bikes at your disposal: You can use our bikes any time you want.

Yoga classes: Take free yoga classes at our place.

Use our equipped kitchen: Feel free to use our kitchen and make your own delicious food.

Fast Internet Access: High-speed internet for you to work remotely

Requirements

Intermediate English or Intermediate French

Over 24 years old

Welcomes solo volunteers, couples, and partners of volunteers

What's not included

Flights, Travel Insurance, Internal Transportation and Visa

Program Details

We are a little family opening our home to volunteers and have been doing so for the last 5/6 years with some fantastic experiences (initially using workaway but now also worldpackers).
We will provide one full, home cooked meal in exchange for about 4 (max 5) hours of work 5 days a week. You will also have access to the large bar area which is in the backpackers section of the building (there's a projector for films and a Wii we can all use). There's also a lovely terrace for sunny days. The backpackers will mainly be closed but there may be weeks we'll open and of course you're welcome to share time with the travelers that stay with us.
You will have your own private room with linen included but please bring your own towel.

Activities & Shift

Things like sanding, working with wood for the ceiling, putting up wall partitions, painting etc. We will ask you to work with us for about 4 hours (maximum 5hrs) a day 5 days a week and can sort out which days off you would like to take. Some of the time we may ask you to take care of Teo (he's 2.5 years old, active and understands french and English) - this will require just playing with him, taking him to the park/keeping him entertained. So we really need people who are happy doing both these kinds of jobs - with children and renovating (:
You can join some yoga classes if it all aligns with your working time - Sam teaches one morning and one evening a week. Usually we'll ask you to start work in the morning around 9/930 and work until lunchtime although (particularly if you're taking care of Teo) this can vary.

Rules

We are open to discussion and open minded people who are used to hosting and have had some really great times. We enjoy sharing moments out of working time with volunteers when we can and encourage you to take advantage of the beautiful surroundings - hikes and the mountains. We are at 700m altitude and hitchhiking to go on hikes works really well. We are also next to some thermal baths which are lovely to relax in just 200m from our front door (with discount although they are closed in just march and November). We ask volunteers to respect the spaces they live in and respect us and our little Teo. We work on trust and confidence. We ask you not to smoke inside nor when looking after Teo. We enjoy sharing a little wine all together.
Please help with the food prep/setting the table/washing up of our shared meal - which we will provide.