à plus, Anlhiac

the view from the our room (the gîte bedroom)

Coming full circle?

Today is our last day at Le Bourmier in Anlhiac, in the Périgord region of France. Our host, Leni Dipple, has been an inspiring and supportive teacher. We have spent hours in the gardens learning about growing vegetables, weeding, pruning, landscaping and building. We have spent hours in the country kitchen, becoming familiar with food without packaging, without hormones – food from neighbours, food with natural richness.

Lucky to be working at the same time as two other enthusiastic wwoofers, and to have the benefit of Leni’s (and her daughter Corinne’s) love of the region, we have been privileged to experience so much more than farm life.

There have been forays into local cafés, markets, brocantes (second hand shops full of treasures), stores, churches, an umbrella factory, a dance shoe factory, a doctor’s office and a Buddhist meditation centre. We have been encouraged to write, read and explore. We discussed poetry, history, slow food, the environment, life in France and life in general.

Every morning we awoke to the sounds of cuckoos, donkeys and cows. Our lungs and legs have benefitted from the clear air and from working in the meadows, walking the trails and biking (or walking our broken bikes) up the long sloping hills. 

Our second farm, where we head to overnight, is in le Parc des Cévennes, southeast of this region.

We encourage you to find out more about how you can wwoof or stay at Leni’s wonderful gîte.

Thank you for following our journey so far,

Katie and Eric