General info

Live in a castle with us! – In the little village of Serbonnes, next to Sens, 100km away from Paris (direction South-East)I’m restoring the castle of Grand-Varennes and its Grounds. As I’ve been working for a year, much has already been done. The second floor remains to be done, it will be the floor dedicated to guests. We shall create 4 en-suite bedrooms and an open-plan kitchen/living-room. Work to be done is skimming, painting, tiling and decoration… The park has been prepared to be turned into a permaculture ground. From the late winter, we shall begin with designing and planting vegetables and fruit trees. Work to be done is… gardening!

I’m French, 52 years old, in a long term relationship with my partner who lived in California and has moved to France this year. I speak English, Italian, English and French.

The castle has all the modern comfort, there are 3 double bedrooms dedicated to volunteers.

What type of host are you?

• Private/Individual/family

What are you looking for help with?

• Building
• Cleaning
• Farming/ gardening
• General Help

What’s the mission of your community?

Ultimately, I will turn 10 of the castle bedrooms to an artists residence. Waiting to be ready and having completed the networking with foundations for art, I shall advertise 5 rooms as B&B. In the old stables, we organize cultural events for the locals (film society, cabaret dinners, concerts…), and we host as well as functions and private events.

How many volunteers could you host?

• More than two

When would you need volunteers?

• all year long

How many hours of help per day?

• 4-5 hours of help per day

How many days of help per week?

• 4 days of help per week – 3 days off

Are accommodation and food included?

Yes, we offer food and accommodation

Not a cent will ever be charged for food or what so ever. When we some times go to some local restaurants, volunteers are my guests. For those who need help with transportation, I offer to pay for the train ticket between Paris and the castle.

What type of accommodation can you provide?

• Private Room
• Private room for a couple

Diet – nutrition information

We cook at home and buy products from local and/or organic farms. We are 90% vegetarian.

VISA – could you provide Visa support/info/invitation letters?

No, we cannot help with Visa but we can offer assistance

Volunteers’ benefits:

The site is exceptionally beautiful. Our village is quiet but very pleasant, there is a coffee shop/bar. The castle is along the river Yonne and we have 2 small motorboats that the volunteers can use. The castle is about one hour away from Paris by train. Volunteers can spend their weekends visiting Paris.

Language

French, English, German, Italien

How to get to your site

To come to my place from Paris, it’s easy. One shall catch a regional train (TER) in Paris-Gare-de-Lyon in direction of Laroche-Migennes and get off the train in Pont-sur-Yonne (5 minutes away from the castle) where my partner or myself will come and fetch the volunteer (the train ticket costs 10,70€ for people younger than 26 years old, 21€ for the others).

Is there internet access?

Yes!

CONTACT DETAILS 🔍📧

Facebook : “Eude Panel”, as well as “les amis de grand-varennes”
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXZWSV1sHg_kEkhkU9MYpHg
WhatsApp: +33768919793
Hostname: Eude PANEL
Host Email: eude.panel@lilo.org

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