Elders leading the way to resilience

This report describes and assesses the experience of Ofunato, Japan, which was devastated by the 2011 Great Eastern Japan Earthquake. With facilitation by the NGO Ibasho, elders and other community members planned and built the Ibasho Café, which now acts as a hub that is restoring the fabric of a community still badly damaged by the disaster. This report provides lessons learned that are applicable to other actors that want to support community-driven approaches that empower elders to contribute to their communities and strengthen resilience. 

With elders leading the operation of Ibasho Café, the space is strengthening social capital and resilience, while at the same time changing people’s mindsets about aging. The development and operation of the Ibasho Café in Ofunato has also provided valuable lessons on how to implement this approach. These lessons focus on three key areas: 

• Empowering elders and the broader community;
• The role of external actors and other stakeholders; and 
• And the design and functions of the physical space.