Welcome to Dawal!

We just acquired the house, and we are slowly settling down. For now we are quite busy with our installation, but we will soon have an English version of this website.

Meanwhile, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if you would like to come, or simply discuss. You can also check out the pictures published in the French version of this website.

Dawal is:

  • A safe place to meet, discuss, learn together, where people can take refuge, slow down, rest a bit, or create..
  • A collective of humans, made of residents and travellers, to foster and maintain this place.

We welcome people and small groups. For more information, please get in touch with Boris.

Dawal is also a self-organising site for communality and experimentation.

Another focus is on providing a low-cost, temporary work space for individuals and groups so they can to come together and take the time needed to develop their practices and projects. This can be in the form of nightly stays for up to one week, or day use of the house and site.

There is no formal application to stay here – all are welcome to use this space. There is zero requirement to present your project, and Dawal does not seek to lay claim to any work produced here. It is a flexible, non-pressured environment, where all types of practice are welcomed and valued.

Getting here

We are located in the Morvan region; it’s in the country side, and we are surrounded by fields, cows, and trees. It is very nice, but quite distant from the busy towns and train stations. You can get there by car, bike, or we can come fetch you from a nearby bus or train station.

On a map, it is roughly one hour west of Dijon:

Dawal location on a map of France

You can check out the (openstreet) map for a better idea.

By car

The physical address is: 81 Route de la Charnière, 58230 Moux-en-Morvan. Coordinates are:

  • Latitude/Longitude : 47.1549454, 4.1494906
  • Degrees/Minutes/Seconds : 47° 9’ 22" N, 4° 9’ 29.8" E

By public transport

Closest train stations are Montbard or Dijon. From both towns, you can take a bus that will go to Saulieu. We can easily get you from there. Please get in touch if you have any doubt.

Facilities

The place is fully equipped to receive people:

  • Big kitchen
  • Living room with wood-burning stove
  • Winter garden / conservatory
  • Library with workspaces & wood-burning stove
  • A cellar with a pizza oven (for summer)
  • Barn with many tools
  • Terrace with BBQ
  • Gardens and Forest (we grow vegetables and fruits)
  • Multi-purpose room for meetings, gatherings, etc
  • Internet connection & WIFI

Note: Have you noticed there is no TV set? 😉

Staying over & rooms

Dawal currently has comfy beds for up to 4 stayers, and space for tents and trucks on the outside. Duvets, pillows, sheets and towels are provided.

There is a dorm on the first floor with:

  • 2x single bed
  • 1x double bed

Bedrooms are non-gendered, but if you have particular preferences, we can work out arrangements together.

Arrangements can be made for additional sleeping spots if necessary. Especially bigger groups can bring mats and sleeping bags, or when the weather permits can camp on-site.

What about food?

Dawal is self-catering and is well equipped to cook for larger numbers. In the kitchen, mealtimes are often gatherings, with stayers sometimes choosing to cook and eat together.

There is a small shop and bakery close by within a 20-minute walking distance or 5-minute car ride. Bigger supermarkets and shops are about 25-minute car drive away.

Kitty & Costs

There are two kitties at Dawal, one is Pitchounette (pronounced: PI - CHU - NET).

There is also a kitty aka a common pool for shared food and other common expenses.

Basically we practice free and fair pricing — i.e. pay what you can, depending on your resources and ability. We are currently working on a suggested scale, to help people understand what the cost is to us, and make the whole place sustainable.

For overnight stays, we have a suggestion scale for what you could pay. We will not ask you to explain your financial situation, no will we check. This is a rough guide to be able to allow for space to be used by individuals and groups and continue Dawal. We are also happy to accept material donations (see our list of wanted items), in-kind contributions such as taking on responsibilities for improvement, ongoing or one-time tasks.

For longer stays, please get in touch & let’s discuss.

Suggestion scale (daily rate per person)

  • Cost covering [FIXME: amount/rate].

We are still working on this! Any input is more than welcome! 😉

As an example & a comparison, while there is no fixed price, the monks at the abbaye of Solesmes suggest a donation of about 40 euros per day per guest, to cover the costs of one-night stay and three meals. 😀

This is supposed to cover the heating, food, water and electricity — well, everything that one has to pay for in our society, basically.

We do want to receive anybody who needs it, independently of their resources. For this reason we recommend an adapted contribution, based on good will and understanding.

  • Solidarity rate, for those who cannot afford much: 15€ /day.
  • And a benefactor rate at 40€ /day, if you are able to pay more, or an institution/funding body is paying for your stay. It does subsidise the stays of those who can’t pay.