🌿 Volunteer at a Living Art Garden in Normandy

5.0

(8 reviews)8

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The experience

📍 Haute-Normandie, France
Welcome to an extraordinary artistic garden in the heart of Normandy’s Pays de Caux – a 2.5-hectare botanical haven that has inspired the soul of the Impressionist movement. Set around a 17th-century priory, this is not your average volunteering experience – it’s a cinema in motion where nature plays the lead role.

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What you offer

5 hours of help per week

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

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

Gardening: Help grow plants and cultivate gardens

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What you get

1 day off per week

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

Shared Dorm: You will have a bed in a shared room, which means you will share the same room with other travelers.

Breakfast: You are entitled to a free breakfast, every day of your stay.

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

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Requirements

Welcomes solo volunteers, couples, and partners of volunteers

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What's not included

Flights, Travel Insurance, Internal Transportation and Visa

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Program Details

🎨 The Project
Join Cécile – a passionate artist-gardener – in her life’s work: maintaining and sharing a unique garden that holds over 3,000 botanical species, 100+ types of bamboo, aromatic plants, and old roses. But this November, we're switching from roots to roofs: we need help renovating the house at the center of the garden.

🌱 Educational Bonus
For plant lovers and curious minds, you can also learn about botany, phytosociology, and artistic gardening – an immersive, poetic experience in one of France’s most inspiring natural settings.
Interested?
If you're practical, respectful, and excited about helping transform a historic home while living among thousands of plants, contact us today!
Let’s build beauty and comfort together.

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Activities & Shift

🛠️ Urgent Call – November Help Needed!
We’re looking for two skilled volunteers to help renovate the kitchen and a bedroom inside the priory.
Skills needed:
Painting
Sound and thermal insulation
Plumbing
Electrical work
Tiling
Please note: there is no garden work in November, only indoor renovation to help us create a cozy space for winter.
🕰️ Work Schedule & Conditions
5–6 hours per day, usually starting midday (mornings are too damp for work)
1 day off per week (flexible depending on weather and workload)
Minimum stay: 6–10 weeks preferred, but short-term help is welcome for the renovation project
Accommodation and meals provided
Vegetarian-friendly kitchen
A couple of glasses of wine are welcome after work – but no excessive drinking or tobacco, please (healthier plants to enjoy await!).
🐾 Other Details
WiFi & mobile coverage available
Non-smokers only
Must love cats – we share the space with a few furry residents
Great cultural exchange: Cecile speaks French, English, Spanish, and German and loves language learning
You’ll also enjoy teaching or learning traditional cooking, local history, and botany