Help out with non-profit queer summer events in a wild forest in Creuse, France

Infos

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  Description

  Hello hello !!
  
  My name is Fleurs (She/her), I am a transfem non binary person and I am looking for queer, feminist and decolonialist folks to help with a collective project !
  
  Every summer small queer events are organized in the deep forest (see pictures and comments about the land). The place is gorgeous, there is a river, a prairie, some big magic stones and even small waterfalls…
  
  I need help during spring, summer and fall time (the project takes a break in winter) to improve and prepare the land for non profit events. We will do the tasks together and i will teach you how to do ti so you can learn a lot of interesting things. For the special tasks that needs qualification or that are dangerous, a professional will be hired do the work.
  
  The tasks we will do together will be things such as :
  
  - cut the grass
  
  - Tream trees and weed to keep the land clean
  
  - Fill holes with gravels on a trail
  
  - Moove stones to improve the access on the land
  
  - Make a big artistic and colorfull queer painting
  
  - Cook for the team
  
  - Make signs and decorations for events
  
  - etc...
  
  VERY IMPORTANT : I am looking for queer and feminist people conscient and educated about systemic oppressions such as sexism, racism, transphobia, transmisogyny, homophobia, lesbophobia, heterosexism, fatphobia, biphobia, ableism, ageism, etc… People who are allies and People questionning their gender identity and/or their sexual orientation are very welcome too !!!
  
  I need help from may the 1st to September (not sure yet after thous dates...)
  
  I prefer if you can stay at least 2 weeks... There are only 6 beds in the house (and a lot of people will be coming) so if you want more intimacy you can bring your own equipment and sleep in the forest camping (bring a tent and sleeping gears !!) there is access to a hot shower and a collective kitchen.
  
  THE FOOD IS NOT PROVIDED !! but there is the possibility of self organizing collectively to buy what we need and cook together.
  
  Participation is based on free will, there is no amount of work expected, and you can choose what task fits you best on a daily basis… Listen to yourself and take care, you diserve it ;-). Everything you'll do here is for the queer Community, so do it with love for yourself ;-).

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  Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre

  Bénévolat

  Projets artistiques

  Aide avec des éco-projets

  Jardinage

  Bricolage et construction

  Cuisine/repas pour la famille

  Aide à la maison

  Entretien général
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  Centres d’intérêt

  

  LGBT+

  

  Végétarien ou végan

  

  Événements/vie sociale

  

  Ferme

  

  Soin des plantes

  

  Musique

  

  Langues

  

  Bricolage / artisanat

  

  Art et design

  

  Cuisine et alimentation

  

  Jardinage

  

  Menuiserie

  

  Livres

  

  Histoire

  

  Animaux

  

  Montagne

  

  Randonnée

  

  Yoga / bien-être

  

  Camping

  

  Sports d'aventure

  

  Nature

  

  Danse

  

  Activités en plein air
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  Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre

  I will teach you how to take care of a natural forest, I will teach you how to work with wood to build small camping shelters, i will teach you how to use small tools properly.
  
  I host a lot of international queer travelers so you will benefit from a multicultural experience and a very interesting collective dynamic. I speak french, english and spanish. I can teach you how to play guitare and rock climbing.
  
  You will meet my local queer friends.
  
  You will be part of a unic magic queer adventure in a gorgeous forest😁
  
  There is a feary living in the woods. That's an old legend that was told by old people around here. The land is the house of a magic feary that lives near the big rock at the entrance of the land... Maybe you'll meet her ;-)

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  Projets impliquant des enfants

  Ce projet peut impliquer des enfants. Pour en savoir plus, consultez nos directives et conseils ici.

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  Aide

  The missions will be things such as :
  
  - Prepare the land and the forest for the event (rebuild the trail, trim the trees, cut the grass, clean some spaces, etc…)
  
  - Make some paintings and colorful decorations
  
  - Create a chill place with sofas and matresses inside one of the existing building

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  Langues parlées

  Anglais: Courant
  Espagnol: Courant
  Français: Courant

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  Hébergement

  It is located in a valley, a prairie surrounded by forest and crossed by a fresh and clean river (drinkable water after filtering or boiling). Lots of wildness and beauty. There is no car access, only a small dirt road through forest, it looks like a bubble of nature outside of the modern world…
  
  The land is located in Creuse (Limousin) in the middle of France. It is a wonderful nature preserved area (no factories, no big cities, only small fields and forest hills...). Friendly neighbours, quite life, amazing wild nature...
  
  There are lots of fruit trees already planted that start to give fruits !! A nice forest for sleeping, a river to bath, a kitchen, dry compost toilets, a bit of sun and joy, what else do we need ?...
  
  The collective living space is a small wooden cabin built on a piece of land in the lost french countryside. No big cities, no cars, no pollution, only green grass, flowers, small trails, trees, old style farmers, wild animals (and cows of course...)
  
  Toilets are dry compost toilets. There is a washing machine for laundry. The confort is basic, don't expect anything fancy or like a modern house, basically you can prépare yourself to go camping into the wilde.
  
  There is light, electricity, hot water and internet wifi.
  
  Food is not provided, only accomodation is offered. i don't want to create a relationship based on commercial exchanges ("i work because you give me food, i give you food because you work for me..." is not my philosophy. I think that it is important to base our exchanges on happy gifts and free will rather than obligations and measurments... And also the events organised on the land are non profit events and I don't have a lot of money so I can’t afford feeding an entire team during several weeks... I don't want you to feel forced to work because I buy food for you. I prefer this kind of relationship where we both feel free to give what we can and want... If we have time, i can teach you rock climbing in natural areas, playing guitare or Shibari in exchange for your help ;-)

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  Autres infos...

  The land is located in Creuse (Limousin) in the middle of France. It is a wonderful nature preserved area (no factories, no big cities, only small fields and forest hills...). Friendly neighbours, quite life, amazing wilde nature...
  
  MONEY AND FOOD
  
  The food will be bought and cooked collectively (unless you need to have your own specific food that’s of course totally ok). We will use someone’s car once a week to buy what we need for the team.
  
  No amount of money is asked. There will be a box where everyone can put money regarding their financial means. The list of food to be bought will be decided collectively and we will take into account the individual food restrictions. Collective food will be vegan (it is ok to eat whatever you want/need as long as we make sure nobody is inconvenienced.
  
  No money is asked for accommodation.
  
  ACCOMMODATION
  
  The dormitory is small (3 double beds and 3 single beds). There is a mobile home with two separate room and a living room for people with specific needs. However, the mobile home is not connected to water nor electricity. If you want you can also bring your sleeping gears (tent, camping mattress and sleeping bag) so that you can have your own space within nature (in the field or inside the forest).
  
  ITEMS TO BRING
  
  - Sleeping bag or a sheet (even a liner is ok). There are blankets, the idea is to avoid having to clean the bed sheets each time someone arrives or leaves…
  
  - Electric head lamp
  
  - Working gloves
  
  - Waterproof working clothes
  
  - Waterproof working shoes
  
  - Warm clothes
  
  - Towel, soap, shampoo, etc…
  
  - Games and art gears
  
  PHONE AND INTERNET
  
  The phone signal is not very good in the area and you might have to walk around in order to find a good connexion… However, there is a wifi internet connexion inside the house and a computer with fiber internet connexion.
  
  LAUNDRY AND WATER
  
  There is a washing machine and a dryer that can be used for cleaning your clothes. The tap water is drinkable and there is a hot shower in the house.
  
  TEAM ORGANISATION
  
  When living in a group, especially in a small space, it is important to have moments for collective self regulation. When possible, I propose that every end of day we hold a “heart circle” where everyone takes turns to say how they feel, what’s good and what’s not good for them here and now. The rule is that nobody answers nor refers to what has been said until the circle is ended (meaning everyone who wishes to talk has talked). Then, if some of the things said needs a collective discussion we can have it. This is not mandatory to take part in the heart circle (nothing is mandatory actually, listen to your needs). It is also possible to propose different tools instead or in addition to this one…
  
  It is important that everyone feels happy with what they do everyday. So, every morning, we will have a list of things that need to be done and give them numbers. Then everyone closes their eyes and then all together at the same time we indicate with our hands the number of the task we prefer for the day. Then we open eyes and see how wa can make teams. If too many people are on one team or if people are missing on some other teams we can make a second decision with closed eyes based on second choices.
  
  It is very welcome to take a day off when you need, you just have to tell someone that will inform the rest of the group. You can also indicate if you will join for the lunch meal or if you need to take the entire day on your own…
  
  COLLECTIVE DAYS OFF
  
  Even when you enjoy meaningful work, life isn’t only about work. Rest and fun is also super important. So we will have a collective day off at least once a week or when we feel that we need it. It is a day where we can go swimming in a lake, go rock climbing, visit some places or just rest and read… The idea is to spend time as a group also with activities other than preparing the land for the queer events.
  
  SOCIAL JUSTICE
  
  Not everybody is at the same level of deconstruction and that’s ok. We have the right to make mistakes and learn from them… Safe spaces don't exist and everyone can have oppressive behaviours. When it comes to queer communities, I am strongly against callouts and cancel cultures (that should be used only against very privileged people with social power). So the only thing I ask you is to be ready to listen and welcome other’s comments about your behavior or your sayings. That means, if that happens, don’t defend yourself immediately, just listen and welcome it and give yourself the time to process what it does to you and to find accompaniment from the group to navigate (don’t ask accompaniment from the person who made the comment or someone who is concerned by the topic). For example, if someone says to you “what you say is racist”, don’t defend yourself immediately by saying that you are not racist. Just ask the person how she feels and take time to process your emotions, we will be here to help you as a group…
  
  Everything we do, let’s do it from a place of love…
  
  ALCOHOL AND DRUGS
  
  You are free to do what you want or need, but it is important that nobody is affected negatively by your consumption. Some people with addictions don’t want to be exposed to an environment where they’ll be tempted. So whatever product you want to use, do it discreetly. If you drink alcohol, put it in an opaque cup or glass and don’t leave the bottles visible. Go outside for smoking, etc… And the very important rule : don’t propose !! (but you can share if someone ask you of course)
  
  NUDITY
  
  We will decide that collectively and discuss it each time someone new arrives…
  
  POLITIC
  
  I claim to be queers, feminists and anarchists. But those words are used by a lot of different people with different meanings so it is important to explain what they mean for me.
  
  I prefer to talk about privileges rather than identities…
  
  For me queer doesn’t only mean being a gender and/or sexual dissident, it also means questioning the different aspects of oppression, on a systemic level but also on a personal level. It means looking inside ourselves to see what oppressor we are and do the work that needs to be done to stop being oppressive towards others.
  
  Being feminist means being conscient about the existence of heteropatriarchy and sexism everywhere in our society and taking it into account in our interactions. But for me being feminist is about freeing every single individual from the chain of heteropatriarchy and not creating monster figures of masculinity and hating them. If you want my opinion I think that mainstream feminist is highly transphobic. My feminism is a transfeminism…
  
  Being anarchist doesn’t only mean fighting and resisting governments and power abuse. It also means looking inside and find the cop in ourselves…
  
  NEIGHBORHOOD
  
  Being queer in the countryside is not something easy. Most people around me don’t officially know that I am queer because there is a lot of queerphobia (in cities and in the countryside) but in a city you’ll find many allies and queer people to support you but where I live I am the only one... So if you are used to city life, you have to understand that things work differently here. For example, the level of interaction I can have with my neighbors is exactly the same as the one you can have with your housemates. I see them everyday, I often talk with them, we invite each other for a meal, we share tools and help each other when needed… Everybody knows everybody in the area… But the thing is that you choose your housemates, I didn’t choose my neighbors… But still, I have to live amongst them…
  
  They are old people, not as educated as we can be about certain topics, and the only information they have about the queer community is the one they get by watching TV… But they are not bad people, they are just from a different world. And worlds need to merge and people to connect in order for the society to grow and improve… So let’s go slowly and step by step with them… The first thing to do is respect their culture and their way of life even if we disagree. Let’s not impose our lifestyle on them. Let’s be ourselves though. Don’t hide who you are but adapt your actions cleverly regarding where you are or with who you are and also remember that the way they perceive us is what makes my life here easy and possible or a total nightmare… However, it is always a very positive thing to talk with my neighbors because the image they will have from us will be the one we give them, not the one they’ve heard from other sources…

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  Informations complémentaires

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    Accès Internet

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    Accès Internet limité

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    Nous avons des animaux

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    Nous sommes fumeurs

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    Familles bienvenues

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  Espace pour garer des vans

  It is possible to bring a campervan and sleep in it

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  Possibilité d'accueillir les animaux

  Cet hôte a dit qu’il acceptait les personnes voyageant avec un animal.

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  Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?

  Plus de 2

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  Mes animaux

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