Horse riding and general help welcome on very small family farm in Normandy, France

Details

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  Description

  ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS (Sorry to shout but) YOU MUST:
  Be a competent manual car driver (no exceptions - 10km from public transport)
  Stay a minimum of 3 weeks
  Be genuinely independent and self-motivated
  
  If you can't confidently tick all three boxes above, this isn't for you.
  
  We'd love to find a pair or couple keen on riding our 2 horses to keep them from getting bored. The horses must go out together for safety, so if you're solo you won't be able to ride unless there happens to be someone else here who can ride with you. We're also looking for a bit of help around the place, especially with our sheep, poultry, horses, and cats. If you're into gardening, your skills would be much appreciated during the summer.
  
  We welcome people from April through October for stays of at least 3 weeks. January to March is lambing season - if you can genuinely help with lambing (including the messy reality of it), you're particularly welcome during winter months. Otherwise, winter stays are mainly house-sitting over Christmas. If you enjoy cooking, you'll fit right in – we've had some fantastic chefs over the years.
  
  After years of hard work, we've finally completed the renovation of our 14th-century home and the setting up of our smallholding. It's been a labour of love, and everything is now running smoothly. This is not a commercial farm.
  
  We are a bilingual French/English family with 4 kids (20, 19, 19, 16). Only the 16-year-old is still at home now. Since 2010 we have had over 150 helpers, with quite a few coming back over the years and a few staying for over a year (and some over 2 years) which has been fabulous.
  
  This stay would suit a couple or two friends best. Our weekdays are busy with work/school and the animals - we're generally only around for a couple of hours in the evening. You need to be comfortable being independent and not relying on us for company. Solo people are welcome but should expect limited social interaction and no horse riding unless you can ride and lead (the horses get too distressed when separated).
  
  DRIVING - ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL
  Having a driving licence and being able to operate a manual car is essential. There is no public transport within 10km. You can generally have use of a car with a bit of prior notice, but we need people who can drive safely and confidently - this includes station pickups and errands.
  
  HORSES - RIDING EXPERIENCE WANTED
  If you can ride we have 2 really lovely horses (well one's a large pony) who need more exercise. We use a very gentle method with them, and they are both really lovely boys. They do need someone who is genuinely competent with horses - otherwise, they just come home when they want to, which is clearly not ideal! Riding isn't mandatory, but it's definitely our preference. They don’t go out solo so that’s why we prefer 2 people if possible.
  
  The Work (averages less than 20 hours a week)
  Seasonal Tasks:
  From December through to March, we need extra help with our small flock of sheep, as they have their lambs. They come into the stables to eat in the evening, but are out the rest of the time in the fields. They require feeding - hard feed and hay, straw added to their bedding etc ready for them to come in the evening. If we have any orphan lambs, they need to be given a bottle several times a day. In the winter, the horses also need feeding.
  
  Year-round:
  -Cook evening meals most weeknights - we rely on this
  -Cats, horses and poultry need feeding
  We normally do all this, but happy to hand over to you. I work from home but travel a lot, and the rest of the family are gone from 7am.
  
  Gardening: picking veg/fruit, weeding, mowing (April-Nov), hedge trimming, collecting chopped wood
  
  General tidying: chaos is never far away - areas need tidying inside and outside
  Recycling runs to local bins
  
  Cooking: We love to eat well and produce most of our own meat. We live in an area incredibly rich in local producers and amazing food - it's the dairy capital of France. We have a very good local market in Saint Pierre sur Dives on Monday mornings.
  
  Location
  We are in a great location for visiting Normandy - Mont St Michel, Bayeux tapestry and the D-Day beaches. Our closest town is Saint Pierre sur Dives and we go to work/school in Caen. We have a beach house close to Granville and Coutances, which you are welcome to use but only out of season, while doing any odd jobs that need doing there. Deauville and Honfleur are an easy drive from home.
  
  Accommodation: You have your own separate part of the house, which has several bedrooms used for helpers and guests, bathroom, toilet, kitchen etc. We do use the bottom part as "your kitchen" has the washing machine in. You have a very good wood burner and it's all comfortable.
  
  Food: If we are away we will give you a food allowance, otherwise most people prefer to eat with us in the evenings and we would normally expect to cover all your food costs. If you would prefer to eat alone and buy your own food that's also fine.
  
  What We Need
  There are always things to be done, so any helper must be independent, a team player, a self-starter and preferably a non-smoker. If possible you should be someone who thinks what can I do to help?
  
  We are bilingual French/English and are happy to speak either at home. We welcome people from anywhere as long as they can speak either English or French.
  
  Please get in touch if you are interested - but make sure you've read and understood the essential requirements above.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance

  House sitting
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  Interests

  

  Technology

  

  Farming

  

  Carpentry

  

  Gardening

  

  Cooking & food
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We are a bilingual family, French father English mother. Happy to have people from any culture/language as long as they can communicate in English or French.
  
  We are in a great location for visiting Normandy - we are fairly close to the D-Day beaches, Deauville etc. We have a beach house near Granville, which is good for visiting the west coast of Normandy.
  
  We currently have up to 7 outdoor cats (only 3 are ours), 2 horses, 12 - 30 sheep (depending on the season), 6 ducks, 10 chickens and a cockerel - happy to show anyone about any of them.

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  Help

  • Cooking
  •. Feeding the animals.
  • Gardening – weeding, weed wacking/strimming, mowing, watering, picking fruit, veg etc depending on the season.
  • Generally keeping the place in working order.
  • Doing a bit of maintenance on the beach house (out of season).
  • Doing the recycling, bins.

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  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent
  French: Fluent

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  Accommodation

  You have your own separate accommodation, bedroom(s), dining area, bathroom.

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  What else ...

  You MUST have a driving licence and KNOW HOW TO DRIVE A MANUAL CAR. The car is shared with me, so not always available, but with some prior warning we can make this work.
  
  We are in a fairly rural location so you need to be happy with your own and our company. Going out involves driving. We are surrounded by chateaux and manoirs and well placed for trips to Deauville, Mont Saint Michel, D-Day beaches, Bayeux tapestry, Cherbourg, Caen, Granville, Vire, Lisieux, Falaise.

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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

  You would normally have your own 4g internet connection. It’s not perfect but it’ll work for zoom etc

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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  My animals / pets

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