We have a large old farm property in Brittany, northern France. We are slowly renovating it using traditional methods, my hubbie is a master stonemason who specialises in restoring old buildings (churches, manors etc) but this time hes doing it for us! His knowledge of stone and lime is amazing and he is very passionate about it. If anyone is interested in learning about building with stone, carving, lime and all its applications then he would be a great person to work alongside - he can talk about it relentlessly! We have a lot of work to do to repair our old 15thC house and outlying buildings. We hope to thatch some areas, use mainly reclaimed materials or materials sourced locally, lay clay floors. Will be making an outdoor composting loo, poss reed bed, poss small hydro system.

Lots of work on the land and in the woods, coppicing etc. We are creating a large stone raised bed area for our kitchen garden. We make our own cider using the traditional cider press here. We keep sheep, poultry, rabbits, pigeons etc for our own consumption and try to be as self-sufficient as possible.

We are looking for someone to come and live and help out here - swapping skills and knowledge, help look after the animals (pigs and cows should be here soon), carry out building maintenance, help with the land, etc.

We would rather a long stay - 12-24 months - perhaps a couple, even kids, the most important thing would be that we were like minded and could get on and both got something out of it. Due to France's draconian laws its impossible to pay someone casually - no money could be involved and you would need to be prepared to become a resident here to get basic health cover. We would provide accommodation in a mobile home and all food - you may prefer your own area to do your own veg and animals? We have loads of space. We could however offer the right person some legit work with my hubbie when he does go and work (in the Channel Islands), which he does about once a month for a few days.

May suit someone in a transitionial period of their live, or a semi-retired couple who have income from their home, or someone looking to downshift or move to France and would like a real taste of it first?

If you interested in finding our more initially - please email me: heritage.admin@orange.fr
Regards
Abbaye