In PAF there is no staff; your stay is not organised by others. PAF has no funding and is based on self-organization.
There are only four rules in PAF:
- make things possible for others
- don't leave traces
- the do-er decides
- mind asymmetries
Prices
Prices include a simple room with nice countryside views containing a single or double bed and a sink with hot water, plus table, chair, lamp, cupboard, the use of kitchen, bathrooms, common spaces and working spaces. Payment is due on the day of arrival. You will be refunded if you leave earlier.
Price per person per night: 1–5 days: 20 €
Price per person per night for more than 5 days:18 €
Price per person per month: 475 €
Membership
A membership to the association PAF is necessary for everybody who stays at paf. For security reasons everybody has to sign a paper declairing that PAF is not liable in case of any loss, material damage or personal injury occurred to current members and to non-members even in case of gross negligence.
The membership fee is 12 euro, for one full year.
Legal status
For the time being the legal status of PAF is not that of an official institution but that of a private initiative. A cultural association (law 1901) called PAF was founded on 30/12/2006.
President is Valentina Desideri, Treasurer is Xavier Le Roy, Director is Jan Ritsema.
Each guest is fully responsible for his/her own actions. PAF is not responsible for any damages or injuries to person or property and shall not be held liable in case of accident.
Media facilities
- wireless internet in most of the building and parts of the garden
- VHS players & recorders (media space)
- DVD players & recorders (media space)
- video-beamers (media space)
- VHS and DVD library (media space).
- professional sound system (mixing desk, amplifier, 4 loudspeakers)
- Paf Cinema more than 3000 quality movies, hundreds of performances, documentaries.
The PAF library is built with the contribution of everybody, so if you would like to share your videos,films, documentaries or performances please copy them from your laptop to the harddisks.
Please ask me or Valentina how to do this.
Food & Shopping
- meals are self-organized, according to the users (individuals or groups.) Please keep the kitchen and other communal spaces clean. This means clean immediately after making the food and also after eating. We will be very grateful for this.
- the supermarket “Intermarché” is in Saint-Erme, behind the railway station; opening hours: Monday to Friday 9.00 to 12.30 and 14.30 to 19.00, Saturday 9.00 – 19.00, Sunday 9.00 to 11.30.
- in the village you can find a very good bakery near the rail passage at 2km from Paf, closed on mondays) a second bakery is closer in Ramecourt at 1km (closed on tuesdays), pharmacy and tobacco store(closed on wednesdays) (opposite the station), and beauty salon, dry cleaning in Intermarché, car school, electric shop, burgerking, kebab restaurant (opposite train station) , pizza stand, car repair, gasoline station (Intermarché, same opening hours) and a big tools shop (Baudoux).
ATM machine, inside Intermarché, in the entrance hall.
Postoffice in Ramecourt, 1200m from Paf. Open 9-12 and 14-16. Post is send at 16h.
Bank, Credit Agricole, in Sissonne, at 7km from PAF
The train station is rarely open but you can buy a ticket at the slot machine with your creditcard. When this does not work you warn the train conducteur and he gives you a ticket without fine. It does not take Visa cards.
Blackboard
In the hall there is a blackboard where you can announce activities you want to open to possibly interested people. This is also the place to discover what others have planned and to see whatever general announcements there may be.
Bicycles
Two electric bicycles and 5 normal bikes are in the bikes barn and are available for use. Please be considerate in returning them to the garage when you are finished. See for how to use them under -Communal Spaces-.
Taxi
A taxi service exists in St Erme. To go to the supermarket or to the station, you can call Taxi Leblanc (+0033 323 22 69 09). Please plan your trip, don't call at last minute.
Communal Spaces
This is not a complete list of every available space at PAF, only a list of the most commonly-used spaces for meetings, work and other purposes.
Basement:
Big Dance Hall
Old Kitchen
Darkroom for photo-development
On the Ground Floor:
Smoking Room
2 Dining Rooms (one hosts PAF-radio)
2 Kitchens (each kitchen has one or two stoves with oven, dishwasher, utensils, coffeemachines, waterboilers, toasters, etc)
Pantry (food and cleaning products storage, etc.)
Laundry Room (2 washing machines, 2 dryers, sheets and towel storage)
Tools Room (lightbulbs, electric cables,electric and petrol heaters etc)
Cleaning Room (with cleaning materials, etc)
Peacock Studio
New Studio
Bluish Green Studio
Hall
Music Room
Piano Room
Chapel
1st Floor:
Media Space
Small Working Space
Big Studio
2nd Floor:
Studio St. Louise
Studio St. Therese
Studio St.Lucie
2 painters studios
Attic Drying Room (used in the summer for drying clothes)
Attic Chapel
Outdoor Spaces
Three inner court yards
Little Mountain
Garden
Fruit Garden
Hangar (for parking the cars and for Open Air cinema when bad weather)
and then from left to right:
garden tools barn
wood for stove barn
Paint and Petrol barn
Wood barn
Metal barn (entrance to attic)
Plumber barn (metal door)
Electric bikes (2) and normal bikes (5) barn.
(Electric bikes, the keys are on the inside of the door, plug key, no violence please, look if it is loaded, red lights, if not load it, plug in corner, with charger, entrance for plug on right top side of the battery-pack, loading takes one night, keep it loaded, that others have a full battery, when you return with an almost empty battery, as driving without electric support is very heavy. Use the bike as a normal bike, that means, use the gear as normal, when climbing on the fast one, when going down on the slow one. When you want the electric push work you have to turn the pedals around: when you don't work the bike does not work either. Is fair isn't it?) This barn has stairs to the attic.
Electric material barn
Future Sauna and Cool-down barn
Garage
Eric's place.
Walks
There are numerous paths through the woods in the area, also places to sit or walk or work on nice days. When you leave the terrain, cross the road, climb 150m, take the road 200m and go left, straight on or to the right into woods, where you will meet, wild pigs, deers, rabbits, phaesants, and such.
The farm on your left is called Bibrax, from the time of Asterix and Obelix. Further on the left where you see the pine trees, is the socalled Camp Romain, the roman camp, where Julius Ceasar won the final battle against 120.000 Gaulois. In De Bello Galico he writes about this battle of Bibrax, a penguin edition.
You can also walk to the right, when leaving the building, after the church go immediately to the right and then climb the road behind to the Church. You will find the tiny beginnings of sources that feed the river Aisne, there.
Hope you enjoy your stay and that you work well.
Be more than welcome.