We’re a four person family and work and live within a vegan sanctuary for rescued farm and companion animals. We have over 140 animals with us at any given time and we’d love to have some help!
Volunteer at an animal sanctuary in France – requirements & tasks
We need hlp with many different things so you can be sure we will accommodate your skills and preferences 🙂 We need help with:
CHILD HELP / HOUSE HELP : Our children are bilingual French & English, we would dearly love them to learn Swedish, can you help? There have a minimum of 4 hours schooling a day which is structured to lesson plans + homeworks. However if you can teach the subject with outside/forest work they love this. Holiday period is different A high level of ENGLISH required. FRENCH preferred, but not necessary. SWEDISH preferred. MATH to college level. PHYSICS/CHEMISTRY preferred. Can you play an instrument? We have piano/flute/sax/guitars in the house. Cleaning-hoovering & dusting the house daily. Helping children to keep rooms in order. This role is to be more part of family, so would suit someone flexible, compassionate, educated and above all kind and respectful.
SANCTUARY WORKERS: Hours depending on time of year, needs, days to be arranged on application. Experience with animals preferred, especially cows/horses/pigs, but not necessary. This is a very physically demanding position. Jobs include: walking dogs/cleaning kennels, cleaning pig houses/moving pigs, cleaning sheep, raking garden. Cleaning cow barns and stables. Grooming horses/cows, cleaning out guinea pigs/rabbits/birds. Poo picking, feeds. Gardening in season + watering. Clearing electric fence lines.
GARDENER: Flexible hours depending on the heat level. Jobs depend on season. Weeding/watering/digging/making beds/preparing greenhouses & poly tunnels. Sowing. Maintenance of beds. Clearing orchard. Tending to trees, etc. … Moving compost. We have 2 large patches and 2 small, experience preferred as time is needed to teach what to do if not. A passion for working outside and getting dirty essential. Any task tackled should be with an eye for detail and commitment to finish. This is physically demanding. We are reliant on our harvest.
MAINTENANCE: Flexible hours depending on jobs in hand. Good DIY skills essential, ideas of jobs: maintaining/building/fixing fences/ animal houses/barns. Clearing leaves/wood from grounds, moving trees/wood, chopping wood…. Can you plumb? Have electrical skills? Not essential but preferred as the jobs needed within the sanctuary are vast, including renovations to bathrooms/bedrooms.
The buildings are to be free from animal products as are sanctuary grounds, this is paramount. No smoking inside houses or grounds or vaping. Hours/days of work and days off to be arranged individually when you contact us and depending on your role/task/schedule/time of the year and weather.
Volunteer at an animal sanctuary in France – what we offer
You will get a room for you or to share with other volunteers. On working days, lunch and dinner is provided.
We are surrounded by countryside, there are many walks and places to enjoy being in nature. ST PARDOUX lake is 15 away, so if you enjoy long bike rides, wild swimming or paddle boarding this will be of interest. There are also some quiet beaches.
Other volunteering opportunities in Europe
- Help to develop a craft business while volunteering in Portugal.
- Help to take care of a home and garden; Volunteer in southern Italy.
- Volunteer in a B&B in France and explore medieval villages.
- Help create a paradise for artists while volunteering in France.
- Work on fundraising projects while volunteering in Germany.
- Volunteer as a waitress in Greece on a stunning Kos island.
- Volunteer in northern Italy; Help with gardening enjoying a view at wineries.
- Volunteer on a idyllic farm in Sussex, England.
Posts by us
- Guide to living and volunteering in Nepal
- Why you should get travel insurance while volunteering abroad.
- How to volunteer responsibly and ethically abroad?
- Volunteering in Malaysia — what to do, what to expect and what to pack
- Everything you need to know about volunteering in Kenya
- Meet a great host who’s offering a stay in a nature park in Greece
- Meet our host who’s offering a farm stay in Ireland
- Planning to go to Italy on a help exchange? We interview a great host
- 8 reasons to take a gap year abroad