In 2011, over 18,000 people were killed and more than 65,000 people were displaced when a massive earthquake and tsunami hit northern Japan. Entire communities were devastated, but among the survivors, both older and young spoke of elders who saved younger people’s lives by guiding them to higher ground and teaching them how to survive with extremely limited resources. In turn, older people expressed a great deal of gratitude for the aid they received. Many people of all ages wanted to give back and be useful to others but did not know how.
The Ibasho cafe project was initiated in February 2012, and many volunteer experts from around the world worked tirelessly with community elders to bring this project to reality in June 2013. The result: a place where the entire community can gather and work together toward recovery. It is a place where elders take a leadership role and serve their entire community, strengthening bonds and building resilience.
Ibasho House celebrate their 2-year anniversary in June, 2015. Please read the progress report at Ibasho in Japan_2015
The accomplishments of community elders exceeded our expectations, and we are so proud of their contributions to our society:
- Elders organized 330 events and welcomed more than 11,000 visitors
- Intergenerational activities with local schools and temporary housing communities
- To make their operation self sustainable, elders started an organic farm, a farmer’s market, a noodle shop, and a child day care, and learned to apply for grants proposals
- Travel to Philippines to help setting up Ibasho project, and donated funds collected by elders in Ofunato.
- Peer to Peer knowledge exchange program: Invited Filipino elders to Ibasho House in Ofunato
- Elders from Ibasho participated in the UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction.
- Media coverage: 6 lectures in international conference. Reports and articles published in: AARP, The World Bank, LeadingAge, RedCross, NHK, and Bloomberg.
Ibasho sincerely thanks Honeywell Hometown Solutions, Operation USA, Tenjin-kai, the City of Ofunato, Hokkaido University, Ito-gumi and other individuals for supporting this project. From Ibasho and elders in Massaki, we would like to extend our sincere appreciations to Dr. Yasuhiro Tanaka for the local support.
