CONFERENCE VERSIONELDERSLEADING THE WAY TO
RESILIENCE
Emi Kiyota, Yasuhiro Tanaka, Margaret Arnold, and Daniel Aldrich

ELDERSLEADING THE WAY TO
RESILIENCE
Emi Kiyota, Yasuhiro Tanaka, Margaret Arnold, and Daniel Aldrich

GLOBAL FACILITY FOR DISASTER REDUCTION AND RECOVERY©2015 The World BankThe International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
The World Bank Group
1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433, USA
March 2015
Disclaimer: This report is a product of the staff of the World Bank with external contributions. The
findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this volume do not necessarily reﬂect the viewsof the World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent.
The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries,
colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any
judgments on the part of the World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement
or acceptance of such boundaries.
Design: miki@ultradesigns.com
All photographs courtesy of Yasuhiro Tanaka
Page 18 photos courtesy of Tomohiro Murata

Contentsv

Acknowledgements

1
4
4
6

Introduction and key concepts
Concept of ibasho
Social capital
Resilience

9
10
13
14

Ibasho Café
Ibasho Café principles and process
Impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake
Overview of the Ibasho Café project in Ofunato

19
20
21
22
23
24
25
25

Synthesis of research findings
Who are Ibasho Users?
Impact of Ibasho Café on efficiency
Impact of Ibasho Café on social networks
Impact of Ibasho Café on sense of belonging
Impact of Ibasho Café on participation in volunteer activities
Impact of Ibasho Café on participation perception of recovery
Change over time

27
27
28
30

Lessons learned
Empowering elders and the broader community
The role of external facilitators and other stakeholders
Design and functions of the physical space

31 Conclusions
33 References

35
35
36
36
36
36

Annex 1. Methodology
Research Questions
Research Methodologies
Quantitative Data: Survey
Qualitative Data: Participant Observation
Analytical Method

39 Annex 2. Data and analysis
42 Profile of Ibasho users
44 Perception of positive/negative impacts
45 Impact of Ibasho Café on self-efficacy
46 Impact of Ibasho Café on social networks
48 Impact of Ibasho Café on sense of belonging
49 Impact of Ibasho Café on participation in volunteer activities
50 Impact of Ibasho Café on perception of recovery
55 Annex 3. Survey questionnaire
Tables40 Table A1. Survey data collection matrix
41 Table A2. Descriptive statistics for 2013 Ofunato survey data
42 Table A3. Descriptive statistics for 2014 Ofunato survey data
46 Table A4. Estimated regression coefficients for efficacy
47 Table A5. Estimated coefficients for number of friends in neighborhood
48 Table A5.1. How many people do you talk with
49 Table A6. Estimated coefficients for sense of belonging to neighborhood
52 Table A7. Estimated coefficients for family recovery
53 Table A8. Estimated coefficients for neighborhood recovery
54 Table A9. Trust in neighbors
Figures
2 Figure 1.
11 Figure 2.
13 Figure 3.
14 Figure 4.
15 Figure 5.
16 Figure 6.
17 Figure 7.
43 Figure 8.
43 Figure 9.
43 Figure 10.
44 Figure 11.

Theory of change for Ibasho Café project
Ibasho mission and principles
GEJE earthquake map
Map of Ofunato City
Massaki neighborhood map
Ibasho Café floor plan
Ibasho Café work process
How well Ibasho Café is known by local residents
Ibasho users by age
Ibasho users by family structure
Ibasho users by housing situation

AcknowledgementsT

his report describes and assesses the experience of Ofunato,
Japan, which was devastated by the 2011 Great EasternJapan Earthquake. After the GEJE, older people wanted to dosomething useful to help Ofunato recover. 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 fabricof a community still badly damaged by the disaster. With elders
leading the operation of Ibasho Café, the space is strengtheningsocial capital and resilience, while at the same time changing
people’s mindsets about aging.

As part of its Inclusive Community Resilience program, the World Bank’s Global Facility
for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), provided support to evaluate the impact of
the Ibasho approach on Ofunato’s recovery. Under this initiative, support was also provided
to conduct a peer-to-peer exchange between elder community members of Ofunato andelders in Ormoc, Leyte, in the Philippines, which was devastated by Typhoon Haiyan inNovember 2013. The elders of the Ofunato Ibasho Café and the elders in Ormoc sharedviews on the disaster events and their recovery experience, and exchanged ideas on howelders of both communities can contribute to strengthening broader community resilience.
A documentary film of the Ibasho experience was also produced with GFDRR support, andis accessible at www.gfdrr.org or www.ibasho.org.
This report was prepared by a core team comprised of Emi Kiyota, Yasuhiro Tanaka,Margaret Arnold, and Daniel Aldrich. The study team would like to express its sincere

Document title v

gratitude to the elders involved in the Ibasho Café for supporting this research, and for theirvaluable comments that enrich this report. The study team also acknowledges the generous
support and collaboration it received in undertaking the study from the City of Ofunato
and its Mayor, Mr. Kimiaki Toda; the residents of the temporary housing communities in
Ofunato, Tenjinkai, and Shokyukai; Habitat for Humanity Japan, Ofunato Elementary School,
Ofunato Middle School; NPO Ibasho Sozo Project; and Tohoku University. A number ofpeople provided valuable inputs and suggestions to the report, including: Kanako Iuchi,
Kimiko Kumagai, Elise Nakhnikan, Toshio Niinuma, Kaori Sato, Yukimi Uchide, and Gerald
Weisman. Tafadzwa Dube, Andrés González Flores, Elizabeth Acul and Gracie Ochieng
provided valuable coordination and administrative support. The report was edited by
Marian Mabel and designed by Miki Fernández.

People with more ties to each other and to their community are more likely to stay after a disaster.

Document title vi

Introduction andkey concepts

Japan has the world’s highest proportion of older people. In 2013,
there were 31.9 million people over 65 years in 2013, up from30.8 million in 2012. That is the highest recorded figure for thatage group in the history of Japan, making people over 65 more thana quarter (25.1%) of the nation’s total population of 127.3 million.
That percentage is expected to rise to 32 percent by 2030 and 40
percent by 2050. (UNDESA, 2010).
The graying of the population is not just in Japan, but is a global phenomenon. With
the incidence of natural hazard events on the rise due to climate change other factors,
engaging all members of society, including elders, in disaster risk management andinclusive approaches to strengthening resilience is a critical issue. For this reason, we canall learn from the challenges faced and the lessons learned in Japan as a result of the Great
East Japan Earthquake (GEJE).
The impact of an aging society is often seen as a negative and older people are treatedas liabilities, a vulnerable population in need of care and support, especially in the wakeof a disaster. While the intentions behind this are benevolent, this narrow interpretation of
aging overlooks the positive contributions elders can make to our society. In marginalizing
older people, elders lose opportunities for interaction and the ability to contribute tosociety, and young people lose the wisdom and talents that elders have to offer—knowledge
and experience that can be particularly valuable when standard systems cease to function
due to disruptions caused by natural disasters.
With the simultaneous rise in the number of elders and in climate-related natural
disasters, societies worldwide are facing two critical questions: How can we care forElders leading the way to resilience 1

unprecedented numbers of elderly in our society? And how can we reduce the vulnerabilityof elderly populations affected by disasters and empower them to strengthen resilience? To
create an effective response, we need both intelligent policy making and practical solutions
emerging from citizen engagement.
The concept of ibasho—a Japanese term meaning a place where one feels a sense of
belonging and purpose, and is accepted as oneself—challenges prevalent perceptions
about aging. The Ibasho approach recognizes elders as valuable assets to their community,
empowering them to be active participants and changing the harmful outcomes createdby society’s negative perceptions and expectations—social isolation, a loss of dignity
and respect, and a sense of uselessness and irrelevance. This approach improves thecommunity’s ability to withstand shocks caused by natural hazards by creating a strong
informal support system in which elders are the catalyst to strengthen social capital amongcommunity members of all ages.
Elders are particularly vulnerable to the effects of a hazard event due to their physical,
social, and economic conditions. They can also provide essential support. As the Great East
Japan Earthquake (GEJE) of March 11, 2011 demonstrated, evacuees need to support eachother in order to survive until help arrives after a disaster. Elders are an important partof the community networks that are crucial to making that work. After the GEJE, people
emphasized how important it was for them to be surrounded by familiar faces after thetsunami, speaking to the importance of pre-existing community ties. People also remarked
that “Elders knew how to manage without electricity and water.” These reactions suggestthat younger people need elders’ skills and perspective as much as elders need the supportof the younger generation in order to create a resilient community.
The first Ibasho Café was developed in Ofunato, a city in Iwate prefecture that wasdevastated by the GEJE. The project objective was to help strengthen the social capitalneeded to recover from the disaster, giving community members of all ages a place
where they can develop more and deeper connections with each other. Since the café

Figure 1. Theory of change for Ibasho Café project
Ibasho Café
Challenging social perception
about aging■■ Changing mindset of care■■ Empowering elders■■

Empowering elders
2 Elders leading the way to resilience

Elders as a resource■■ Reverse role of care■■ Community ownership■■ Transfer of knowledge■■was completed in June 2013, all generations have connected in the space, with children
coming to read books in the English library, older people teaching young people, younger
people helping elders navigate technology, and so on. In the first year, elders organizedapproximately 70 events and welcomed more than 5,500 visitors.
This study focuses on the effects of the Ibasho Café on social capital in the city andneighborhoods of Ofunato after the Great East Japan Earthquake. The study used bothquantitative and qualitative measures to evaluate the effect of the Ibasho Café on the levelof social capital among community members, its impact on the community’s perceptionof the recovery process, and the general well-being of community members. Quantitative
data was gathered through semi-structured surveys conducted in 2013 before the café
began operation, and in the fall of 2014 after a year of operation. Participant observation
conducted with ethnographical methods over the course of a year captured the qualitative
data, recording the experiences of Ibasho Café users and staff members. Full details on themethodology and data analysis are presented in annexes 1-3.

Key concepts
The theory of change behind this project draws on multiple constructs, including elder
empowerment, ibasho, community bonding, social capital, and community resilience.
Figure 1 explains how these concepts relate to each other, based on four assumptions:
1. Empowering elders changes the way they feel about their role in their community
2. Creating the Ibasho Café (both physical and social infrastructures) with elders in aleadership role increases the community bonding among the members of all ages
3. A strong sense of community bonding increases the level of social network andcommunity participation, enhancing the sense of belonging and trust, and developing
reciprocity between neighbors
4. An enhanced sense of social capital strengthens the community’s resilience so it isbetter prepared to withstand future natural disasters and the impacts of global aging.

Social capitalMulti-generational interactions■■ Various levels of relationships:
thin and thick■■ Informal support■■

Community bonding

Network■■ Belonging■■ Efficacy■■ Trust■■ Reciprocity
■■

■■
■■

Natural disaster
Global aging

Community resilience
Elders leading the way to resilience 3

Concept of ibasho
The straightforward definition of the Japanese term ibasho is “whereabouts” or “location”.
It also refers to a physical place where a person feels at home, is accepted and can beoneself, and to the social relationships associated with that place. The critical elementof ibasho is that it involves sharing a physical place in an informal manner, allowing forstable relationships to establish over time through an interdependent support system. It isa place that provides a sense of belonging to individuals, allows people to pursue their own
interests and gives them opportunities to talk to others (Sumita 2003). Further, an ibasho
allows participants to select their role and use their skills and experience as they like,
without imposing strong expectations on participants (Tanaka 2007).
The Ibasho Café aims to relieve elder isolation through the creation of a community
gathering space, staffed and managed by local residents. The café provides a public place
without a rigid or specific purpose, where people can do as they want and find their own role.
This notion is similar to Ray Oldenburg’s concept of a “third place,” which consists of “social
surroundings separate from the two usual social environments of home and the workplace”(Oldenburg 1989). The difference between ibasho and third place is that ibasho is createdand maintained by participants who shape it to fit their needs and the needs of their peers.
A third place could be a Starbucks café staffed by paid employees, for example. The Ibasho
Café developed in Ofunato is a locally owned nonprofit managed by local elderly volunteers.

Social capitalSocial capital consists of the “networks, norms, and social trust that facilitate coordinationand cooperation for mutual benefit” (Putnam 1995: 67). Social scientists generally divide
social capital into three categories: bonding, bridging, and linking. Bonding social capitalrefers to relationships among individuals who are quite similar and may be family or kin;they usually share a language, educational achievement, and norms. Bridging social capitalconnects people who are different in significant ways such as age, socio-economic level,
race/ethnicity or education. Institutions such as clubs, schools, and workplaces frequently
create these kinds of ties. Linking social capital connects regular citizens with those inpower and authority (Szreter and Woolcock 2004). Bridging and linking social capital areseen as exposing individuals to new ideas, values and perspectives (Woolcock 2004). The
Ibasho Café may provide all three kinds of bonding, though it is likely to be most useful instrengthening social capital through bridging.
While many scholars focus solely on the benefits from strong social capital (Cohen andRogers 1995), it can also have negative repercussions. If internal bonding becomes toostrong, it can create an exclusive network of insiders who have little interest in anyoneelse. Putman (1997) referred to the negative effects of social capital as its “dark side” andFukuyama (1995) called it the “narrow radius of trust.” Beyond simple exclusivity, it ispossible that very strong bonding social capital without equally strong bridging social

4 Elders leading the way to resiliencecapital can reinforce patterns of discrimination against out-groups and minorities, making
the role played by Ibasho Café all the more important to strengthening a sense of community.
In undertaking the study, community members of Ofunato were asked questions
relating to different aspects of social capital, as explained below:

Changing the perception of self-efficacy
Social scientists refer to self-efficacy as an individual’s belief that he or she can have an
impact on his or her environment. People with higher levels of efficacy are more likely toundertake communal activities, engage decision makers, and participate in activities suchas voting, petition signing, and attendance at meetings, etc. By facilitating connections andengaging previously-isolated individuals in social activities, an Ibasho Café may enhance
the self-efficacy of participants. For example, residents who had never participated in local
politics may be inspired by their work running and managing Ibasho to sign a petition
for more parks or become involved in a campaign to provide more funding for elder care.
Moreover, people who feel that they have control over their environment may be more
likely to take the initiative to help fellow survivors through volunteering, donating blood,or leading renewal projects.

Deepening or widening social networks
People who regularly attend events, volunteer, and become involved in community
activities through institutions like Ibasho can make new acquaintances and friends.
Having opportunities to create and sustain friendships is important, and research showsthat individuals with deeper social networks have better mental and physical health. In
addition, people with more trust and cooperation with each other had a better chance ofsurviving the disaster than people who trusted less.

Enhancing a sense of belonging
A stronger sense of a belonging to a community is often connected with a stronger
sense of purpose and a drive to help others, enriching one’s quality of life. People who
feel a part of their neighborhood are more likely to participate in communal events (e.g.,community clean-up, neighborhood watch groups, looking after neighborhood children),and joining others in a program like Ibasho may help people see themselves as membersof a neighborhood rather than merely residents in it. After a disaster, people who feel moreconnected to their neighborhood are more likely to stay in a damaged area and work for
its recovery. Those who feel disconnected from their neighbors and are uninvolved are
more likely to relocate after a disaster. This divide may reflect a similar situation for elderly
individuals in their communities. Those with stronger connections to their neighbors areable to participate in their community life longer, while those with less connection to theirneighbors may lack the social support to stay in their community.

Elders leading the way to resilience 5

Heightening a sense of trust of one’s neighbors
Social capital inheres in people’s personal connections and interactions with others
and in the shared values associated with these contacts and relationships. Social capitalwith a shared goal can only be achieved when community members trust one another. In
something of a circular process (Fu, 2004) of social feedback, a heightened sense of trust
between neighbors may make community members more likely to engage in neighborhood
activities like an Ibasho Café; the café itself may help community members build up theirtrust of one another, young and old.

Creating reciprocity among community members
Reciprocity is a voluntary collective behavior that generates the good will needed to help
one another achieve goals that fit with shared norms or values. In a culture of reciprocity,
individuals consider not only their own self-interest but also their responsibility to thecommunity. Familiar and stable relationships can relieve members of anxiety and uncertainty
about other people’s motivations and actions. On an individual level, a person has trust
in another based on what they know about them – their disposition, ability, reputationand so forth. On the collective level, if someone does not trust an agency or organization
with whom they are affiliated, they won’t trust the organization to follow-through on anagreement (Dasgupta, 2000).

Resilience
Benson et al. (2012) defines social resilience as “the ability to withstand, recover from, andreorganize in response to crises so that all members of society may develop or maintainthe ability to thrive.” A key aspect of thriving despite crises is the ability of a community
to resume the rhythms of life together after a major shock. Many people still think ofdisaster response and recovery as government responsibility, such as formal search andrescue teams or shelter, food and water. Experience shows, however, that first responders
to disasters are typically family, neighbors and friends. In interviews with survivors of the2011 earthquake and tsunami, many described how friends, kin, and caregivers helped
them evacuate their homes after the earthquake during the short 40 minutes they had
before the tsunami arrived. Without the help of these neighbors and colleagues, manyelderly evacuees may not have survived. Research shows that, in communities with higher
levels of social capital and trust, fewer people perished from the tsunami than in similarareas without these characteristics (Aldrich and Sawada 2015). Similarly, following the
1995 Kobe earthquake, most lives saved in the first few days following the event werethanks to neighbors who knew where to dig in the rubble for their friends (Horwich 2000;
Shaw and Goda 2004).

6 Elders leading the way to resilienceBeyond immediate and short-term responses from the community, resilience in aneighborhood depends strongly on the depth of its reservoir of social capital. In a crisis,social capital accelerates the recovery process and reduces mortality by three main
mechanisms. First, stronger social capital allows for collective action and mobilization.
Many of the difficulties that arise during and after crises are collective action problems,
requiring people to work together. For example, when police services are compromised,
residents can band together to fend off scavengers and thieves by creating community
patrols. Without trust in each other, such group activities will not succeed. Second, deeper
bonds also allow residents to draw on one another for mutual aid. With disrupted accessto food, medical supplies and child-care services for days or weeks after a crisis, residents
must find such resources within their networks. Neighbors with bonds of trust can borrow
tools, food, places to stay, and information; those without such connections may find it
more challenging. Finally, people with more ties to each other and to their community are
more likely to remain in the area after a disaster, investing time and effort in rebuilding.
Those with fewer ties are more likely to uproot themselves and family members and restart
their lives in an undamaged place.

Elders discussing how to build and use the terrace area of the Ibasho Café.

Elders leading the way to resilience 7

Outdoor cafe when the weather is nice.
8 Elders leading the way to resilienceIbasho CaféB

eautiful buildings, furniture, and decorations will not makepeople happy if they are lonely, bored, and marginalized,even in care facilities with the best of intentions. The Ibasho
concept was developed to improve the living environment for elders
so they can live with meaning and voice about where and how they
live, as an active and contributing member of their communities.
When elders lose their sense of belonging and purpose, it caneasily lead to social isolation resulting in physical and emotional
decline. This happens not only in Japan but in other parts of world,
as modernization changes family structures and lifestyles as wellas the role of community in our lives. The Ibasho Café project aims
to enable elders to maintain balanced relationships, interactingwith people of all ages, from the local community and beyond. In
particular, elders can interact with and influence the growth ofchildren and young people in their community. While initially “thin,”these relationships can be important, letting children know there isa non-family adult who knows and cares about them. And as elders
invest more time and effort into Ibasho, “thin” relationships likethese may grow into friendship (Torche and Valenzuela, 2011).
Elders leading the way to resilience 9

Ibasho Café mission, principles and process
Ibasho Café is an informal gathering place where the larger community can come together.
Elders take a leadership role – in development, planning, operations, management, finance,
etc.— sharing their knowledge and experience with each other and with younger generations.
The objective is to create and strengthen social ties while operating a sustainable business.
In developing the Ibasho Café, the following mission objectives and guiding principles
were followed:

Create a place where elders are valued as a community resource
Ibasho recognizes that place plays an important role in how elders are viewed in society.
Ibasho creates a place where elders are in charge and people of all ages can come together,allowing elders to form new relationships with younger people, share their friendship as
well as their knowledge, experience, skills, and wisdom. Most importantly, a café allows all
members of the community to experience an everyday place where Ibasho principles areembraced.

Collaboratively determine a unique social mission that extends beyond thecommunity
An Ibasho Café empowers elders to support people outside their own community, tapping
into the strong sense of social purpose that is common among elders and sending a positive
message about their contributions to society at large. At the Ibasho Café in Japan, forinstance, elders are setting aside some profit and collecting donations for a disaster relief
fund to help elders affected by natural disasters in the future.

Eight guiding principles of Ibasho
1. Older people are a valuable asset to the community: Ibasho believes in a society
where the elderly can contribute with confidence and their wisdom and knowledge arevalued.
2. Create informal gathering places: Living in institutions with strict rules and schedules
is confining and limiting. Ibasho creates places of normalcy where elders can stop byat their leisure to do what they want.
3. Community members must drive development and implementation: Each Ibasho
place, whether a café or elder care facility, is created not for elders but with them.
Other members of the community must also be involved in the development andoperation of the new place, so all can share a sense of ownership and pride.
4. All generations must be involved in the community: Connecting within one’s own
generation is easy and comfortable, but stopping there cuts a person off from otherperspectives and sources of knowledge, as well as other individual relationships.

10 Elders leading the way to resilienceIbasho creates places where the young learn from their elders and the elderly learn
from the young.
5. Local culture and traditions must be respected: Each community has its own history
and culture, even if it is not something easily identified. Ibasho creates places where
people can discover and reflect on the treasures of their communities.
6. All residents must participate in normal community life: An Ibasho, like a community,
succeeds only when it is a welcoming home for everyone, regardless of age or ability,
gender, ethnicity, stage of life, or any of the other traits that differentiate a diverse
community. Even the socially-disconnected should be able to find a place there. Ibasho
is a place to not to worry about what one cannot do, but rather to enjoy what one cando.
7. Communities must be environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable: An
Ibasho protects the nature that brings bounty to life, is economically self-sufficient,and cherishes and nurtures the connections among individuals.
8. The community must grow organically and embrace imperfection gracefully: Ibasho
does not strive for perfection. It is adaptive and flexible, as life is forever changing.
Each community has its own path to balance, believes in the possibility of change, andgently embraces imperfection.
The Ibasho Café achieve these objectives and adheres to the stated principles throughboth the physical and social aspects of the project (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Ibasho mission and principles

Elders engagementfor development

Ibashoprinciples

Non-institutional
environment

Close proximity tocommunity services

Not for profit
organization/
cooperative
Non-institutional
services

IbashoGoverned by elders
SocialmissionPhisical environment

Ibasho mission

Social environment

Elders leading the way to resilience 11

Physical attributes
Because Ibasho involves creating an actual place that will nurture a sense of community,
the physical environment was an important factor in the project’s success. It is noninstitutional and is sited close to the people it serves. In Ofunato, the café is adjacent
to temporary housing communities, making it easily accessible for people displaced fromtheir homes and seeking to continue the community of old and new friends.

Social attributes
Several social attributes are key to the success of the Ibasho Café:
1. Elders must be engaged in the development process. To create sustainable and integrated communities that value elders’ input and meet their needs, elders must takeleading roles in the creation and realization of their community’s café.
2. It is formally owned by the community elders. An Ibasho Café is a community-driven
project rather than a policy-driven initiative. To make that work, it should be structured
as a not-for-profit organization or a cooperative and owned by a group of elder community members.
3. It offers non-institutional services. In an institutional environment, elders are expected to receive care, rather than care for others. Routines are rigid and the environment
sterile, without much of a sense of comfort. Ibasho aims to provide a “normal” place
where people can come when they want and do what they like. Elders are active participants and have opportunities to be useful to others.
4. It is governed by the elders, with support from the local government. To ensure longterm sustainability, the Ibasho Café should function as a sustainable business. Linkages to and support from the local government also help to ensure sustainability. This
could come in the form of legal or IT support.

12 Elders leading the way to resilienceImpact of the Great East Japan Earthquake
The Great East Japan Earthquake caused one of the most devastating tsunamis in recorded
history. With a magnitude of 9.0 off the Sanriku coast of northern Japan, the earthquake
and resulting tsunami left vast damage in a wide section of the country’s coastal area,
especially in three prefectures: Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima. Significantly deadlier than
the 1995 Kobe earthquake, which killed 6,434 people, the 2011 disaster left 15,883 people
dead and 2,668 missing. In addition, 126,656 houses were destroyed and another 272,300
damaged. Immediately after the earthquake and tsunami, 8 million households lost powerand 1.8 million had water outages, paralyzing basic living and communication systems.
Figure 3. GEJE earthquake map

Ofunato-City
Epicenter of ofthetheGreat
Epicenter
Great
East Japan Earthquake
EastJapan Earthquake

Combined with the resulting nuclear power plant accident in Fukushima, this disaster
forced approximately 470,000 people to evacuate. Initially, more than 2,000 evacuationsites housed evacuees until they were able to move to temporary housing units or join
family members. Soon after, more than 53,200 temporary housing units were built andapproximately 60,000 existing apartment units provided to house evacuees until they
could find permanent accommodations.

Older people in the Great East Japanese Earthquake
As is the case in every disaster, elders were particularly vulnerable to the effects of theGreat East Japan Earthquake. Two-thirds of those that lost their lives were over 60 years
Facing page: Brain fit exercise with community members.
Elders leading the way to resilience 13

old.1 There were several reasons for this increased vulnerability. The affected prefectures
had very large elder populations. Some individuals with dementia were too disoriented
to evacuate and others were unable to outrun the oncoming waves.2 Those who were left
battled for survival in cramped conditions with insufficient food, water, and heat, andsometimes without life-saving drugs, conditions that were particularly difficult for the very
young and the very old.
In the wake of the disaster, Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima Prefectures faced a range ofissues that were especially challenging for frail elders, including limited access to housing
and welfare services. With many medical and care facilities destroyed by the powerful
waves,3 access to health services was also limited, a particular concern for the many elders
who required continuous treatment for chronic diseases.

Overview of the Ibasho Café project in Ofunato
The Ibasho team visited Ofunato (Figure 4) after the disaster, conducting interviews withelderly survivors still living in temporary housing communities almost a year later. Bothelderly residents and the younger generation 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. Older people also expressed a great deal of gratitude for all the aid they
had received. In addition to tales of extraordinary courage and hardship, many elders
expressed a strong desire to give back, contribute to the rebuilding of their communities,
and to be useful to others, although they did not know how.
Figure 4. Map of Ofunato City
Sanriku-Cho-Yoshihama

Hikoroichi-Cho
Takkon
-Cho
Ikawa
-Cho

Sakari-Cho
Ofunato-Cho

Massaki-Cho123Sanriku-Cho-OkiraiAkasaki-ChoSanriku-Cho-Ryori

Ofunato-City

http://wbi.worldbank.org/wbi/Data/wbi/wbicms/files/drupal-acquia/wbi/drm_kn3-6.pdf
http://www.npa.go.jp/archive/keibi/biki/keisatsusoti/zentaiban.pdf
http://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/shingi/2r9852000001yxlj-att/2r9852000001yy9a.pdf

14 Elders leading the way to resilience

These conversations made it clear that elders’ wisdom and experience had become
more valued when the standard system was interrupted. Establishing an Ibasho Café would
create opportunities for elders to actively participate in the recovery of their community,
rather than be treated as liabilities to be cared for and protected. The café project was
initiated by the non-profit organization, Ibasho, in February 2012, eleven months after theJapan earthquake and tsunami.
Ibasho partnered with Tenjinkai, a social welfare organization in Ofunato, to help
reach out to elders in the city. The team visited five communities, conducted informalinterviews with elders living in temporary housing communities, and met with local
leaders and city officials to understand the needs of community members. The Massaki
neighborhood was selected as the site for the café because there was strong community
interest and commitment from leaders, members, and government (Figure 5). Following
Figure 5. Massaki neighborhood map
50mGroup Relocation for
Disaster Mitigation

Iwate Prefecture
Road 38

Disaster Recovery
Group Relocation for
Public Housing
Disaster Mitigation
BRT (Bus Rapid Transit)

Ibasho House
Iwate Prefecture
Road 275

Disaster Recovery
Public Housing

Ibasho Farm
Support Center

Massaki Brabch of
JA Ofunato

Community Center ofMassaki District

MassakiElementrary School

Massaki Junior High School

Yamagishi
Temporary Housing

Tairabayashi
Temporary Housing
Massaki Nursery
Ota Temporary Housing

Group Relocation for
Disaster Mitigation
Group Relocation for
Disaster Mitigation

Group Relocation for
Disaster Mitigation

BRT Goishi-Kaigan Station

Elders leading the way to resilience 15

close consultation and collaboration with local elders, and with support from the Mayorof Ofunato, a local family donated an old farmhouse as the building for the café and thelandowner agreed to ten years rent-free.
The significance of the farmhouse was important for the project. It centered thecafé in a culturally significant, permanent structure in the area damaged by the tsunami,
conveying the life and history of the community. The farmhouse was disassembled, moved
and reconstructed as the Ibasho Café in the Massaki area (Figure 6). The farmhouse had
been built with a traditional Japanese architectural technique that did not use nails, andthis gave elder carpenters opportunities to transfer their knowledge and skills to younger
craftsmen.
Over 18 months, Ibasho organized more than 10 community workshops where
community members of all ages worked with the Ibasho elders to develop a shared vision of
the café’s purpose, design, and operations, all the while challenging preconceived notions
about what was “appropriate” for elders. The café, as a gathering place for all ages, would
offer traditional local meals and drinks for visitors, supported by donations. Elders could
bring foods they’ve cooked at home, warm up meals onsite, or prepare light meals together
Figure 6. Ibasho Café floor plan
15.860Den
Kitchen

7,630

LibraryCafé

12.125

Terrace
Japanese-styleroom

Terrace

3,700
16 Elders leading the way to resilienceNat the cafe. To ensure the long-term sustainability of the café as a community initiative,
founders formed the Ibasho Sozo Project, a not-for-profit organization led by a group of
local elders.
The Ibasho Café opened on June 13, 2013, two years after the GEJE.
Strong governing and operational teams led by local elders plan and implement the
café’s activities and organize monthly operational meetings with operation core teammembers. The nine elected board members, all members of the community, meet quarterly.
The governing elders created four types of income-generating activities to cover operationand maintenance costs: (i) soliciting donations for food and drinks; (ii) organic farming;(iii) organizing a farmers’ market; and, (iv) applying for grants. The income generated fromthese activities has allowed them to organize activities for community members of all ages
and has provided employment for three part-time staff members, all of them community
members who were affected by the disaster.
Figure 7 illustrates the steps followed in establishing and maintaining the Ibasho Café.

Figure 7. Ibasho Café work process

Ongoing
supportIbashoFind
local partner

Conduct
assessment

Research

Assemble Ibasho
project teamOperation
plan

Education

Form community
organization

Workshops
Construction
DesignElders leading the way to resilience 17

18 Elders leading the way to resilienceSynthesis ofresearch findingsT

he research team conducted two rounds of community surveys
in the city of Ofunato and its neighborhoods, including Massaki,
where the Ibasho Café is located, and other neighborhoods forcomparison. The first survey was conducted in the summer of 2013,just before the café began operations, and the second during thefall of 2014. In addition, the team conducted approximately six
hours of participant observation at the café every day for more thana year. The findings here profile Ibasho Café users, and synthesize
the survey findings regarding the impact of Ibasho Café on different
components of community-level social capital–self-efficacy,
network, sense of belonging–as well as community perceptions ofdisaster recovery and reconstruction. A full discussion of survey
findings, the survey data collection matrix (Table A1) and 2013 and2014 descriptive statistics for Ofunato survey data (Tables A2 andA3) are presented in Annex 2.

Elders leading the way to resilience 19

Who are the Ibasho users?
In the first year of the café, 5,560 people visited the Ibasho house. Nearly all of the café’s
regular visitors lived within walking distance in the Massaki neighborhood, suggesting thatwalkability is key to determining whether users would engage with this type of service—especially older users. Respondents from outside Massaki indicated that the need fortransportation may deter elders from visiting Ibasho Café, as few drive and others may
find transportation too costly. About 60 percent of the city-wide survey respondents were
aware of the café. Most of the people at the café who were younger than 75 years old werestill working, perhaps due to economic drivers or indicating that people prefer an activerole after age 60, whether in the workforce, through community activities, or both. (Figures
8-11, Annex 2)
Most of the café’s patrons felt that the Ibasho Café had improved their social connections
and their everyday life experience. People were happy to be in the company of othersat the café, connecting with old friends and meeting new people of all ages from in andoutside the neighborhood. Going to the café provided people with a place to go that wasmeaningful and fun, where they could volunteer in the community any day of the week, bebusy, and learn from others. The farmers’ market and café also offered a child-friendly place
for shopping and visiting. The few negative impressions were primarily concerns about
the number of elderly in the café, traffic, noise, and attracting people from outside theneighborhood. (Annex 2)

20 Elders leading the way to resilienceImpact of Ibasho Café on self-efficacy
The survey research found that people who attended more Ibasho events felt more strongly
that they could make their community a better place than those who did not go to the café.
For café participants, there was little difference whether they lived in the neighborhood orelsewhere in the city. (Table A4, Annex 2).
This sense of elders’ self-efficacy was in evidence daily at the café. The elders who
managed Ibasho organized events to educate children about traditional local culture,such as cooking, holiday decorations, and traditional festivals. Elders organized activities
and events for disaster risk management, teaching younger generations how to live in anenvironmentally sustainable manner and to survive without electricity and water. Theyreached out to young mothers, volunteering to watch their children.
Before the Ibasho Café was built, elders were unconvinced of their own efficacy.
But through their work with the café over the course of the year, they developed enoughconfidence to make an impact not only on their own community but also on communities
abroad. Upon learning that the Ibasho concept was being replicated in the Philippines,
several of the elders expressed an interest in supporting the project. They traveled to
the Philippines to help local elders set up an Ibasho Café in an area affected by Typhoon
Haiyan. After returning to Japan, they created a disaster-recovery fund and reached out
to their community members to help people in the disaster-affected area in Philippines.
Subsequently, more elders expressed an interest in going to the Philippines to help thesurvivors of Haiyan.

“I have learned that we have something we can do to help people in the Philippines.
I always thought that helping people in other countries was beyond what we could
do. But we don’t have to be in United Nations or international organizations to makedifference. We received so much help from others. It is our turn to do something for thepeople in the Philippines. There is a lot I want to do with them and to learn from them.
I hope we can help each other for a long time.” —74 year old man

One year after the Ibasho Café opened, the elders who operate it started an organic
farm and a farmers’ market. The farm and market provide vegetables and other fresh foods
for temporary housing residents, give elders a convenient place to purchase their daily
necessities, and help to generate the income needed to operate the café. Elders have also
learned to apply for grants to fund positions for three part-time staff, all of whom are young
adults affected by the disaster.

Facing page: Traditional way to heat the Ibasho Café.

Elders leading the way to resilience 21

Impact of Ibasho Café on social networks
People who regularly attended the café reported having more friends than those who
were not at the café quite so often. This applied to attendees living in Massaki, theneighborhood where the café is located, as well as to people living elsewhere in the city
(Table A5, Annex 2).
These findings–that Ibasho fostered social networks–are reinforced by experiences at thecafe. Many people had previously known other café participants only by sight and had never
had a chance to sit down and talk. As one person put it: “Now we’re friends because we have
conversations here.” People who came for events would often stop to chat with a neighborover a cup of coffee or tea. Others initiated relationships simply through informal, one-onone conversations. People formed groups around common interests like a hobby or a family
situation, which evolved into smaller, more intimate support networks within the larger systemof the Ibasho Café. The farmhouse is small enough so people can easily see what is happening
in the space, but large enough to allow community members to organize small activities andgatherings they could not otherwise hold in their homes or other public spaces.
The café also provided a place where elders living alone could spend time surroundedby familiar faces, even if they didn’t seek out interaction with others. One 94-year-old
women came every day, sitting at “her place” all day. When she did not come to the café fortwo days, some members of the community went to her apartment, where they discoveredthat she had broken her arm on the way back from Ibasho. From then on, Ibasho elders tookturns walking with her between the café and her apartment. “It is so nice to have a place
like this where I can come,” she said. “I would be alone in my apartment and doing nothing.

22 Elders leading the way to resiliencePeople know me in this place, so I sit here all day and go home in the evening. I have tohave this place, so I will have to contribute.” The woman, who walks the 10 minutes fromher apartment every day except in the rain, when she takes a taxi, leaves a small donation
every day before going back home.
Friendships also formed that reached beyond the community. After the disaster,
many volunteers and visitors came from out of town—sometimes from other countries—toorganize events for community members. The Ibasho Café provided a comfortable, informal
place where outsiders can find and get to know people from the community, and many longdistance friendships were formed there. One 39-year-old woman organized music eventsand English learning classes for the community, and periodically visits Ibasho Café to visit
elders with her friends. As she described it:“After the disaster occurred, I felt an urge to help, but had no connections. Ibasho Café
was the place where visitors could organize spontaneous activities or simply sit down
and chat with local people. It is a place I can go back, stop in, and have a cup of tea
and snacks with people who have become friends. It makes a difference that I have aplace where I feel welcomed as a friend by local people.“

Impact of Ibasho Café on sense of belonging
Survey research found that regular attendance at the café was significantly tied toindividuals’ deeper connection to their neighborhood and the city (Table A6, Appendix
II). Observations at the café suggest two possible reasons why. First, most of the people
who come to the café are from the Massaki neighborhood, where many residents have
lived in their home for years, with a long attachment to the community and friendships
with their neighbors. Also, Ibasho Café users may already be inclined to participate incommunity activities, such as the local festival or sporting events, and have strong preexisting relationships with other members of their community. One 56-year-old woman
described her commitment to her community, despite having lost her house to the tsunami:“We had a big house with many nice things that my mother-in-law was so proud of.
When my family went back after the tsunami, we discovered the foundation of the house
but nothing else. Most of my neighbors experienced the same, and we moved to thetemporary housing community. Thanks to Ibasho Café, we can still get together to see
what we are doing. We have no intention of moving away because we have been living
here for more than 50 years. This is my home and the place where all my friends are.”Facing page: Visitors sit around the heater and talk during the winter.

Elders leading the way to resilience 23

People from out of town come by and share their talents and enjoy their time with community members.

Impact of Ibasho Café on participation in volunteer
activities
Before the GEJE, most people who were older, with a higher income, had a large social
network, or lived in the Massaki area were active volunteers in the community; younger
people and individuals who were less affluent and less social, were not. After the earthquake,
more people of all ages volunteered. Membership in the café, however, did not seem toeffect the level of volunteerism; 80 percent of Ibasho members had volunteered in the past,
about the same as people living in the area generally. This likely reflects Massaki’s strong
culture of community participation before the disaster. Because the Ibasho project was
initiated with leaders of local groups in Massaki, those leaders and their members stayed
to support Ibasho Café. People living outside the area also had a tradition of volunteering(70%), though somewhat less than in Massaki (79%).
While the level of participation in local organizations remained almost the same, thetype of involvement changed after the disaster. People participated less in the neighborhood
association and women’s association, with many elders retiring from the local festival andcultural events committee. Instead, people participated in more leisure-related volunteer
activities. This suggests that the people who always participated in community activities
may be the same ones likely to get involved in a new initiative for their community, however,they have also started to participate in more life enriching and fun activities, rather than
only engaged in community duties. For people who retired from cultural event organizing
committees, or who lost their roles because the community was destroyed, Ibasho Café
may provide a new social role. A 67-year-old volunteer reflected:
24 Elders leading the way to resilience“This disaster changed the way I think about volunteering. After losing my home, somany people helped me from everywhere, even people I did not know, and I wanted togive something back. I was asked by a volunteer group to take charge of Ibasho Café’ssocial networking and website. And with help from the Ibasho Café people, I am learning
to post information about Ibasho activities. It is nice to have a place where I can comeand do something useful for people in my community.”

Ibasho Café impact on perceptions of recovery
Perceptions of how well a person’s family and neighborhood will recover from the disaster
varied with their age, gender, and levels of education, income, and self-efficacy. Younger
people were more optimistic, as were women and people with higher education, income,and belief in their ability to control their environment (Tables A7 and A8, Annex 2). But
visits to the Ibasho Café had no bearing on an individuals’ outlook, nor did living in or
outside of Massaki.
When discussing the recovery, many local residents talk about securing a stable place tolive. Their interest is not a longing for the physical structure of a house but the importanceof reestablishing a sense of belonging, security, privacy, comfort, and familiarity, and being
surrounded by friends, family and their own possessions. Looking forward, people are alsointerested in neighborhood planning, more public space, and improved communications
among the local residents and with local government. When asked about the recovery
process, a 56-year-old woman responded:“I do not think my life has been recovered because I am still living in a temporary housing
unit. For me, full recovery means that I can live in my own home and see other people’shouses being built. We want our neighbors to have a clear prospect to their life, notonly my household. Then we have chance to get together as a community. I don’t feel
normal because local events and festivals are not back. We need to feel that the sense ofcommunity we lost is back. ”

Change over time
Data from the community surveys revealed that from the summer of 2013 to the fall of
2014, social networks remained largely stable, as did neighbors’ trust in each other, theirsense of belonging, and their feeling of control over their environment. Also, across the city,
people felt their families and neighborhoods were recovering from the disaster.
Improvements were more apparent in the neighborhood of Massaki. Over the courseof the year, Massaki residents’ perceptions of family and neighborhood recovery increased

Elders leading the way to resilience 25

considerably more than in other parts of the city. This may be because the Ibasho Café
was built in Massaki, making residents proud of the permanent structure that replaced thecity’s temporary one – even if they did not attend. It may also be a reflection of the strong
community commitment to creating a social space for its residents, convincing the city tochoose Massaki for the café. Community leaders’ commitment may have also brought aboutother improvements that increased people’s sense of progress regarding post-disasterrecovery.
Importantly, there was a sense of confidence and solidarity among the elders, embodied
by their accomplishments and the environment they had created at the café. Community
leaders learned that it takes a long time to develop community solidarity when initiatinga new idea and approach. Even so, they met early challenges, e.g., in developing a feasible
operational plan in keeping with the members’ vision, and were proud of what they could
do for their community. Several leaders have recruited other members of the community
to be members of the board. Local residents have also become more involved, suggesting
ways to improve the café through more outreach, communication and transportation, andgreater operational flexibility to support all ages and different interests.
As Ibasho elders developed their own sense of solidarity, the café facilitated bonding
with the rest of the community. Its leaders hope it will become even more effective atcreating community bonds in the future. The main members of the operation team are
discussing how to create a more inclusive environment by reaching out to more community
members of all ages and inviting them to participate in Ibasho operations.

26 Elders leading the way to resilience

Learning how to make Soba noodles.

Lessons learnedT

he NGO Ibasho is working with communities in othercountries to facilitate the development of similar initiatives
that empower elders to contribute to their communities andstrengthen resilience. The development and operation of the Ibasho
Café in Ofunato has provided valuable lessons on how to implement
this approach. Applicable to other actors that want to support
community-driven approaches that engage elders, the lessons focus
on four key areas: empowering elders and the broader community,
the role of external actors and other stakeholders, and the design
and functions of the physical space:

Empowering elders and the broader community
Establish community consensus on vision, needs, and resources first
Assessing community needs and resources, and developing a group commitment andconsensus, must come before designing a space or planning the programs that will beoffered, and before community elders can take a leadership role.

Invest the time in establishing shared goals and changing mindsets about aging
It takes time for people—including elders—to recognize that a new approach is needed to
fully integrate older people into community life and enable them to play a positive and useful

Elders leading the way to resilience 27

role. While the physical construction of the café took about six months, the community of
Ofunato invested a year and a half in co-designing and planning the type of gathering place
they wanted in their community and how it would function. It was useful to provide aframework to community members to develop and implement their ideas, particularly in
the initial phase. Once they gained confidence and agreed upon clearly defined goals, they
were ready to operate on their own.

Encourage a strong solidarity and support system among elders
The creation of Ibasho’s non-profit organization fostered solidarity and a shared sense ofownership among the elders who manage it, which helps to ensure the long-term identity andsustainability of the café. Having a collective voice and shared responsibility in managing
the café has helped the elders address operational challenges and external pressures todirect the activities of the café.

The role of external facilitators and otherstakeholders
Let the community lead the way
Outside experts should act only as facilitators, empowering local members to create thecommunity they want and helping them become fully integrated as active participants andleaders. Experts should encourage community members to share their views freely in order
to avoid discouraging community participation. While members of the local community are
acquiring the skills and confidence needed to manage day-to-day administration and planfor the future, it is important to appoint a local coordinator who is involved in the project
development and early operations. The project coordinator must act as a partner, not aleader, providing support and technical assistance to help the local elders make a smoothtransition to leadership in the early stage of operation.
It is also essential to understand the community’s pre-existing power dynamics andinterpersonal issues. Facilitators should promote an inclusive approach by ensuring thatall voices are heard, and help community members work together to share the space andresources. This may require adjusting the goals and mission of the organization over time
to suit the community’s capacity and changing needs.
Project leadership needs to be flexible as the project evolves, and all participants canbe encouraged to take leadership roles for different tasks. In Ofunato, elders took the leadon various tasks according to their skills and capacities. For instance, a retired carpenter
took a leadership role for fixing and maintaining the building, while a woman elder led theorganization of certain cultural activities.

28 Elders leading the way to resilience

Work through a trusted local partner
It is essential to work with a credible local partner who is trusted by community elders
to participate in project development and help lead ongoing operations. The social
welfare organization, Tenjinkai, played in important role in establishing a relationshipwith the communities in Ofunato. Throughout the development process, members of the
facilitation team can work with the local partner to assess the capacities of the community,and encourage an inclusive approach by reaching out to people with different interests,
abilities, and age groups to take on different responsibilities. Without a local partner andleaders who fully understand the meaning of a community-driven project, the project could
revert to having an “elder care” approach rather than empowering community elders tomanage the project themselves.

Ensure inclusive and transparent decision-making and communications
Maintain transparent communication with community members. Design the workshop
programs so participants can provide feedback, share workshop outcomes, and communicate
how their inputs will be implemented. Ensure consensus on decision-making processes forthe final design.

Reach out to the community for help and resources
When resources are limited, look to the community and come up with creative problemsolving alternatives. The experience in Ofunato showed that having limited resources
encouraged the elders to do creative problem solving and develop their own solutions tochallenges.

Bridge the project and lessons learned to broader communities
As the project creates internal bonding among local residents, also think about how tocreate bridges with people who have different backgrounds and link to other communities.
Invite outside people or groups to exchange ideas, and to give the elders an opportunity toshare what they have learned and receive recognition for their hard work.

Involve local government
The project can provide an important opportunity to strengthen the relationship between
community and local government, which would further support project sustainability. In
Ofunato, the local government and the mayor welcomed the community initiative andfound ways to offer support. Local governments can provide such support as adapting
social policy, licensing procedures or building codes as needed to accommodate innovativeideas; or by offering in-kind support in the form of technical assistance, computer, legal, or
accounting support. They can provide public land, or invest in upfront development costs
to create a public space.

Elders leading the way to resilience 29

Design and function of the physical space
Create a community space for all ages
Though the operation of the Ibasho Café aims to target older people, planning andoperations should embrace community members of all ages. Creating an age-specific spaceis counter to Ibasho’s principal of fostering interaction and building social capital, and will
likely limit the sustainability of the initiative.

Design a low-cost, low-O&M, high-efficiency space
Project infrastructure should not create a financial and maintenance burden for thecommunity members who run it, and leaders should take full advantage of energy-efficiency
technologies. The lower the cost of operations and maintenance (O&M) – for heating,cooling, repairs and other maintenance – the more money project leaders have to spend on
the programs.

Budget resources for evolving café aesthetics and function
For members of the community, part of making the project their own is decorating it or
making other adjustments as they see fit. Be sure to set aside funding to allow for cosmetic
and functional adjustments once the café is open.

Provide accessible transportation
Creating a social gathering place operated by elders raised the issue of accessibility. In
Ofunato, the research found that elders over the age of 75 living outside of the Massaki
neighborhood participated less in Ibasho Café events to limited access to transport. Sincemany elders rely on public transportation to move about, it is important to think about how
people will get there when planning where to create a place, ideally selecting a site that isconvenient to affordable public transportation.

30 Elders leading the way to resilience

Conclusions

The Ibasho Café has become a place where locals meet.
Elders living alone come for conversation, children come toread books and play, students come to study, mothers bring
their children, and community members of all ages come to learn
local traditions from the elders. In its first year of operation thecafé served more than 5,000 people and hosted over 50 events at
which elders shared their knowledge with younger generations,cooking traditional foods that young people no longer know how
to prepare, organizing traditional festivals and teaching how to use
old equipment without electricity, and more.

The research findings demonstrate that participation in Ibasho had at least threemeasurable effects on the population. First, individuals who were part of Ibasho believe
they have more control over their environment than those who were not. As a result ofthat heightened self-efficacy, they have initiated actions—establishing the organic farm andmarket, applying for grants, etc.—to ensure the sustainability of Ibasho as a community
resource. They have also become more active in communal governance and undertaken
activities to help fellow community members prepare for future hazard events.
Second, people regularly participating in Ibasho programs reported having morefriends than similar people who did not participate. The café offered people a tangible
place of their own, an ibasho where they could go whenever they wanted and do whatever
they wanted, whether learning from each other, getting to know one another, or just sitting
quietly in “their place,” surrounded by familiar faces. These features allowed them to

Elders leading the way to resilience 31

develop broader social networks, which indicate that they may be better situated to receive
information, assistance, and support, in emergencies as well as in everyday life.
Finally, individuals who regularly attended Ibasho events had a deeper sense of
belonging to their neighborhood than similar individuals who did not participate in Ibasho.
Many mentioned that Ibasho Café created a place for them to do something meaningful
for their community. Some also said they formed new friendships by being involved in thecafé. Perhaps most importantly, they learned that community is something that they haveto negotiate and create with others, not something they can passively receive.
In developing the Ibasho Café, important lessons emerged on community engagement
and empowerment. While the Ofunato community benefited from facilitation and technicalsupport from outside individuals and organizations, the project team had to learn to trust
community members when it came to leading and managing the project. The team also
learned that pre-existing issues and longstanding conflicts are inherent in any community,
and that community-driven projects must develop on their own timetable, giving theirleaders time to learn, grow and adjust. The role of a third party is to empower community
members to make their own decisions and create a project that they are proud of, patiently
listening to their needs and facilitating the process so they can realize their goals. Without
this distance, the project will not last long. A comment from one elder leader articulates
this issue well: “Please fully trust us to operate this place, if you would like us [elders] to
be in charge. We will not do this, if you organize the half of the work for us to complete therest.”In addition to supporting community recovery, elders of the Ibasho Café have also helped
to change the perception of the role of older people among members of the community(including themselves). By demonstrating the knowledge, skills and experiences they haveto offer, they have proven that they are not just a vulnerable population who need to belooked after and protected. Rethinking their roles in the community made many elders
realize that they still want to be active participants in the community life.
Of course, community-driven projects like the Ibasho Café cannot solve all the issues
related to global aging or the vulnerability of elders during and after natural disasters. But
they bring power and self-determination to elders who have much to give and foster greater
engagement among all members of the community. By creating a place where elders cangive to their neighbors, the Ibasho Café has helped its community become stronger and more
integrated. The Ibasho approach provides a long-term, sustainable model of incorporatingelders more fully into their communities to enhance and enrich their lives. In addition, it
presents a nuanced way to create more resilient communities, by connecting people of allages and building social capital.

32 Elders leading the way to resilienceReferences
Arnold, Margaret; Mearns, Robin; Oshima, Kaori; Prasad, Vivek. (2014). Climate and disaster resilience: the role for Community-Driven Development (CDD). Washington, DC: World Bank Group.
Aldrich, Daniel P. and Sawada, Yasuyuki. (2015). The physical and social determinants of mortality
in the 3.11 tsunami. Social Science and Medicine 124: 66-75.
Aldrich, Daniel P. (2012). Building resilience: Social capital in post-disaster recovery. Chicago, IL:
University of Chicago Press
Bamba, Sachiko and Haight, Wendy. (2007). Helping maltreated children to find their Ibasho:
Japanese perspectives on supporting the well-being of children in state care. Children and Youth
Services Review 29(4): 405–427
Chamlee-Wright, E., and Storr, V. H. (2009). Club goods and post-disaster community return. Rationality and Society 21: 429-458
Dasgupta, P. (2000). Economic progress and the idea of social capital. Social capital: A
multifaceted perspective, 325-424.
Fu, Q. (2004). Trust, social capital and organizational effectiveness (Doctoral dissertation, Virginia
Tech).
Fukuyama, F. (1995). Trust: The social virtues and the creation of prosperity (No. D10 301 c. 1/c. 2).
New York: Free press.
Hawkins, R. L., and Maurer, K. (2010). Bonding, bridging and linking: How social capital operated
in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. British Journal of Social Work, 40(6), 1777-1793.
Horwich, G. (2000). Economic lessons of the Kobe earthquake. Economic Development and Cultural
Change 48: 521-542
Kage, Rieko. (2011). Civic engagement in postwar japan: The revival of a defeated society. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press
National Police Agency Japan (2011). https://www.npa.go.jp/archive/keibi/syouten/syouten281/
pdf/ALL.pdf
Oldenburg, R. (1989). The Great Good Place: Café, Coffee Shops, Community Centers, Beauty
Parlors, General Stores, Bars, Hangouts, and How They Get You through the Day. Paragon House
Publishers.
Pritchett, L., and Woolcock, M. (2004). Solutions when the Solution is the Problem: Arraying theDisarray in Development. World development, 32(2), 191-212.
Putnam, Robert. (1995). Bowling alone. Journal of Democracy 6(1): 65-78.
Rogers, J. (1995). Associations and democracy (Vol. 15). E. O. Wright (Ed.). London: Verso.
Shaw, Rajib, and Goda, K. (2004). From disaster to sustainable civil society, the Kobe experience.
Disasters 28: 16-40.

Elders leading the way to resilience 33

34 Elders leading the way to resilience

Elders heat the Ibasho Café with firewood rather than relying on electric heat.

Annex 1

Methodology
Research Questions
Projects such as Ibasho that create or enhance existing social ties, bringing people together
in informal settings for communal gatherings, have a variety of potential effects on thepeople involved. To better understand the effects of the Ibasho Café, this study examined
three points:
1. Did Ibasho Café have an impact on the level of social capital among the community
members?
■■

Did Ibasho Café affect their sense of belonging to the community?

■■

Did Ibasho Café affect their level of efficacy in the community?

■■■■

Did Ibasho Café affect the frequency and depth of everyday social interactions
between elders and others?
Did Ibasho Café affect the level of trust to their neighbors?

2. Did the level of social capital impact on the perception of individual andneighborhood level of recovery and reconstruction?
3. How did the Ibasho Café influence the well-being of community members of allages, including elders?
■■

How did elders feel about operating the Ibasho Café?

■■

How did elders feel about visiting Ibasho Café?

■■

What were the experiences of both older and younger people in Ibasho Café?

Elders leading the way to resilience 35

Research methodologies
To answer our research questions, we employed a mixed-method research design, using both
qualitative and quantitative measures to evaluate the effect of the Ibasho Café in a holisticmanner. Quantitative data was gathered through a semi-structured survey developed toanswer the research questions listed above. Meanwhile, participant observation conductedwith ethnographical methods over the course of a year captured the qualitative data,
recording the experiences of Ibasho Café users and staff members.
Because Ibasho conducted two rounds of surveys, one in the summer of 2013 and theother in the fall of 2014, the Ibasho team has been able to observe changes in the community.
This is not a longitudinal panel survey, as the same people were not necessarily interviewed
both times. Instead, the study captured responses from respondents in the same locations
over a year period. Because of the large size of the sampling, however, Ibasho is confident
that the data capture important changes over time in the same population.

Quantitative Data: Survey
The survey instrument (Annex 4) was tested with 25 individuals and then modified tofacilitate respondents’ understanding. Enumerators in the city of Ofunato distributed
more than a thousand survey forms through a number of institutions, temporary housing
communities, and other locations. For the first round of data, which took place in 2013
before the Ibasho program was up and running, 599 respondents took the survey. For thesecond round of data, which took place in the fall of 2014 after a year of operation of Ibasho
Café, 1,142 people responded. A relatively small number of the people who responded in2014 had regularly participated in Ibasho Café. Tables A1 and A2 in the appendix provide
descriptive statistics on the variables for which we collected data.

Qualitative Data: Participant Observation
Participant observation began immediately after the opening of the Ibasho Café, and data
was accumulated more than a year. The researcher visited the Ibasho Café from 10 a.m. to
4:30 p.m. almost every day. He observed activities and talked to the staff and visitors. He
was also an active participant in the café operation. He recorded observational data in thesetting as field notes, noting everyday events, number of users, activities, and occasionalreflections. In addition, he recorded his reflections in a daily journal, which he typed into aword document every night. His conversations were not tape-recorded.

Analytical Method
In a classic “double blind” scientific investigation, a researcher would randomly assign
some Ofunato residents to attend Ibasho Café while directing others not to participate.
Then, after a period of a year or longer had passed, both groups would answer the same
set of questions. Because of the pressing need to establish the café (rather than study its
36 Elders leading the way to resiliencecreation) and because we did not want to discourage anyone from joining the program,
we did not use the double blind method. Instead, we collected information randomly fromparticipants and non-participants after less than a full year of programming. This type of
information is called observational data.
There are two ways to evaluate the impact of a program or intervention using
observational data. The standard way is through a regression analysis, which allows
the researchers to take into account multiple factors in linking outcomes to predictors.
This technique would allow us to control for the age, income, education, and gender ofa respondent when analyzing how Ibasho Café may have changed his or her behavior
or cognition. The other way is through a more specialized method known as propensity
score matching (PSM), in which the full observational data set is pared down into pairs.
In the same way that many medical experiments use twins to try to parse out the impactof things such as medicine and exercise on health, this method generates similar pairs ofobservations for analysis. Our analysis uses both regression analysis and PSM.
Qualitative data collected with the participant observation was analyzed through two
approaches, ethnographic and quantitative content analysis. The ethnographic approachanalyzes the meaning of communications and actions based on detailed descriptions aswell as to verify theoretical relationship. Quantitative content analysis combines analysisof the frequency and variety of messages about certain events and themes with comments
based on observation and contents of the discourse in the field.

Elders leading the way to resilience 37

Preparing for Hina Matsuri (Girls festival) and sharing the stories of elders from their childhood.

38 Elders leading the way to resilience

Ibasho farm: elders grow organic vegetables and sell them at the farmers’ market.

Annex 2

Data and analysis

Through the survey results and participants’ observation,certain factors, efficacy, network, and sense of belonging
appears to be strongly related to the frequency and depth ofIbasho participation. We have also explored these factors that mightalso influence on the level of volunteer participation and the senseof recovery process. This section discusses those findings from bothquantitative and qualitative data with the focus on the impact ofsocial capital on the Ibasho users and its surrounding community.
The findings section begins by presenting the survey data collection
matrix (Table A1) and descriptive statistics for 2013 (Table A2)
and 2014 (Table A3). What follows is analysis of Ibasho Café users
profile based on the survey results, and the factors of social capital:
efficacy, network, sense of belonging, followed by the perception ofdisaster recovery and reconstruction.

Elders leading the way to resilience 39

40 Elders leading the way to resilience

Residents 2014

Ibasho Café

1233 10/14/2014
610 10/14/2014

Ofunato-City

Residents 2014

City
Ofunato-City2014
employees(+Massaki-Cho)

Ofunato Municipal Office

10/8/2014

Temporary housing
communities in Ofunato-City

294

Ofunato-City(+Massaki-Cho)

10/1510/24

10/1210/25

10/1110/22

10/8/2014 10/7-10/19

Employees 2014

418

Massaki-Cho

514

221

233

69

24

10/1510/24

200 10/15/2014

340 10/10/2014

60

67

10/1010/25

11/4-12/20

191

60

106

175

21

11/27/2013

11/2512/13

8/1-9/5

6/28-7/5

6/4-6/27

No. ofDuration respondents

90 10/12/2014 10/9-10/27

98

Syokyu-Kai: hospital

Massaki-Cho–

6/27/2013–

200 11/20/2013

–

250

–

Disrtibution
date

Residents 2014

Parents 2014

Massaki Middle School

Massaki-Cho

Massaki-Cho

Ofunato-City(+Massaki-Cho)

Ofunato-City(+Massaki-Cho)

Ofunato-City

Massaki-Cho

Massaki-Cho

Area

Number of
distribution

Temporary housing
communities in Massaki-area

Parents 2014

Massaki Elementary School

2013

Employees

2013

2013

Tenjin-Kai: social welfareorganization

Local
residents

Temporary Housing
communities in Ofunato-City2013

Employees

Local
residents

Temporary housing
communities in Massaki-area

2013

Year

Syokyu-Kai: hospital

Local
residents

Type ofrespondents

Support center: community
center operated by local
government

Places where surveys were
distributed

Table A1. Survey data collection matrix

41

0

24

69

24

60

21

0

0

5

106

172

473

221

209

0

0

0

0

67

191

55

0

3

0.84

0.18

0.79

0.17

0.12

0.18

0.55

0.68

0.96

–

0.42

–

Respondents Respondents(Massaki(Ofunato- Returned
Cho)
City)
ratio

Table A2. Descriptive statistics for 2013 Ofunato survey data
No. ofobservations

2013 Survey

Standard
Mean deviation

Min Max

Demographic Characteristics  
Age Category [18-29; 30-44; 45-59; 60-74; 75+]

514

3.00

1.22

1

5

Gender [0 for women, 1 for men]

582

0.35

0.48

0

1

Education Level [1 = middle school; 5 = grad]

552

2.95

0.67

1

5

Income Category [1 = <99k yen, 6 = >6.5million]

324

3.19

1.45

1

6

599

0.47

0.50

0

1

Geography
Live in Massaki-Cho

Social Network Characteristics
Talk with how many people

578

2.79

0.99

0

4

How many friends

574

2.09

1.05

0

4

Sense of belonging to neighborhood

581

1.48

0.66

0

2

Level of trust in neighbor

578

1.52

0.65

0

2

Efficacy

560

2.44

1.02

0

4

Perceptions of Recovery
Family recovery level

551

2.10

1.36

0

4

Neighborhood recovery level

567

1.95

1.26

0

4

Elders leading the way to resilience 41

Table A3. Descriptive statistics for 2014 Ofunato survey data
No. ofobservations

2014 Survey

MeanStandard
deviation Min Max

Demographic Characteristics
Age Category [18-29; 30-44; 45-59; 60-74; 75+]

1107

2.73

1.09

1

5

Gender [0 for women, 1 for men]

1096

0.44

0.50

0

1

Education Level [1 = middle school; 5 = grad]

1064

4.02

1.38

1

8

Income Category [1 = <99k yen, 6 = >6.5million]

799

3.92

1.65

1

6

1146

0.21

0.41

0

1

Geography
Live in Massaki-Cho

Social Network Characteristics
Talk with how many people

1099

2.89

0.93

0

4

How many friends

1106

2.18

1.04

0

4

Sense of belonging to neighborhood

1095

1.52

0.63

0

2

Level of trust in neighbor

1047

1.56

0.62

0

2

Efficacy

1083

2.66

1.03

0

4

Perceptions of Recovery
Family recovery level

1027

2.59

1.21

0

4

Neighborhood recovery level

1084

2.50

1.13

0

4

1146 0.175393 0.686581

0

6Participation in Ibasho
Visits to Ibasho [0 = none, 3 if weekly, 6 if daily]

Profile of Ibasho users
Of 1,164 total survey respondents, 123 reported regular visits to Ibasho Café. The number
was small considering the total number of visitors during the 12 months after the Ibasho
Café opening (n=5,559) because of the two-week duration of the data collection period.
Based on the collected data, 90% of the regular Ibasho users are from Massaki area where
Ibasho Café is located. Most of the regular users are living in walking distance of the café.
This suggests that walkability is a critical point to determine whether or not users would
engage with this type of service—especially older users. Those who came from outside theneighborhood were younger (30-74 years old) than those from the Ibasho neighborhood. It
is assumed that this result reflects the availability of accessible transportation to the Ibasho
Café, People have to drive or use public transport to the Ibasho Café if they live outsideof Ibasho neighborhood. Few elders drive, and many find it too expensive to regularly use
public transportation.

42 Elders leading the way to resilienceFigure 8. How well Ibasho Café is known by local residents
Massaki area
Non-Massaki area
No answer
0

25

50

75

100

Percentage
n I have visited the Ibasho Cafén I have heard about the Ibasho Café,
but never been theren I have never heard about
the Ibasho Cafén No answer

Figure 9. Ibasho users: Age distribution
Massaki area
Non-Massaki area
0

25

50

75

100

Percentage
n 18–29 n 30–44 n 45–59 n 60–74 n 75 and above n No answer

Figure 10. Ibasho Users: Family structure
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
0

10

20

30

40

n = 123

Elders leading the way to resilience 43

Figure 11. Ibasho users: Housing situation
Own home
Temporary house
RentalRelatives’ home
No answer
00.2

n Regular visit

Percentage
n Non-regular visit

0.4

0.6

0.8

Perception of positive/negative impacts
In response to questions about whether anything changed since the Ibasho Café was
opened, the majority of responses were positive, though there were some negative concerns
as well.

Positive impacts■■

Social connections−− I am happier because I was able to meet new people−− I connected with new friends−− I was able to interact with people of all ages−− I can stop by whenever I feel like going−− I have more people to talk to−− I have more interaction with others−− I was able to connect with people from outside of the community■■

Improved everyday life experience−− I am happier because I have something meaningful to do−− I found something fun to do everyday

44 Elders leading the way to resilience−− My life is more meaningful−− I learned new things−− I became more active in my community−− I enjoy volunteering at the café−− I became busier−− I have easier access to fresh produce now−− I like shopping at the farmer’s market−− My children visit Ibasho Café with their friends−− It’s nice to have a place where children can play−− It’s nice to have a community gathering place

Negative impacts■■

Too many elders in this place■■

Created heavy traffic in the neighborhood■■

Not comfortable having out-of-town people walking around the neighborhood■■

It is noisier than before

Impact of Ibasho Cafe on self-efficacy
To understand the level of self-efficacy, the survey looked at how participating in Ibasho
may change how individuals view their ability to influence their environment. Table A4
provides the results of the regression analysis, which shows that several factors correlated
strongly with respondents’ sense of self-efficacy, including age, gender and income. Of the
Ibasho patrons who responded to the survey, men and wealthier individuals all felt more
personal efficacy, and regular Ibasho attendees have a higher level of belief in their ability
to control their environment. In contrast, women, lower-income, and younger people feltthat they had less control over their political and social environments. For example, weestimate that young women with a low income would have an average self-efficacy score of
2.3 on a scale of 0 to 4. In contrast, a typical older, wealthier man would have a score of
3. After controlling for these demographic factors, we found that individuals who attended
more Ibasho events felt that they can make impact on their community a better place.
To delve more deeply into the question of efficacy, we also used the propensity scorematching (PSM) method to study this outcome. Comparing very similar individuals whowent to Ibasho regularly with those who did not, we found reported levels of personal
efficacy higher for the Ibasho attendees. We narrowed our dataset from more than 1,000
respondents to 700 very similar individuals–individuals whom we believe would have been

Elders leading the way to resilience 45

likely to go to Ibasho. Then, we looked at the levels of self-efficacy for those who actuallywent to Ibasho regularly (daily or weekly) and those who did not go. From this smaller ofmore similar people, those who attended Ibasho had self-efficacy scores .25 higher thanthose who did not attend (on the 0 to 4 scale).
There are slight, measurable differences in those who participate regularly (daily or
weekly) in Ibasho between individuals who live in the Massaki area and those who donot. The average self-efficacy score (on the 0 to 4 scale) is 2.64 for all those living outside
Massaki and 2.9 for the small number of regular Ibasho attendees from Massaki.
Table A4. Estimated regression coefficients for efficacy
Coefficient

Age Category [18-29; 30-44; 45-59; 60-74; 75+]
Gender [0 for women, 1 for men]
Education Level [1 = middle school; 5 = grad]
Income Category [1 = <99k yen, 6 = >6.5million]
Live in Massaki-Cho
Visits to Ibasho [0 = none, 3 if weekly, 6 if daily]
Constant

0.099***
0.04
0.124*
0.08
0.02
0.03
0.051**
0.03
-0.08
0.10
0.091*
0.06
2.08
0.22

Note: *** indicates p value <.01, ** indicates a p value < .05, and * indicates a p value < .1

Quantitative Data on Impact of Ibasho Café onsocial networks
Table A5 provides the results of the regression analysis, which shows the variables that
influenced a respondent’s reported number of friends: age (older people reported morefriends), gender (males reported more friends), and income (poorer individuals reported
more friends). Controlling for these factors, our regression analysis shows that more regularattendance at Ibasho made it more likely that people would report having more friends.
Table A5.1 provides the results for how many people respondents reported talking to. Here,46 Elders leading the way to resilienceonly three variables had a strong correlation with this outcome: age, gender, and income,with older, wealthier men reporting that they spoke to more people. Ibasho visits had nomeasurable impact on this outcome.
Individuals who were at the café on a regular basis – daily or weekly – reported amoderately high number of friends (2.3 on a 0 - 4 scale), with an higher number (2.5)
reported by participants who lived in the Massaki neighborhood and a lower number (2.08)
by those living outside of Massaki. There were no measurable differences in the number offriends reported by respondents who lived in temporary housing versus long-term housing.
Controlling for these factors, more regular attendance at Ibasho made it more likelythat people would report having more friends. Researchers also considered how many
people respondents reported talking to (Table A5.1). Here, the same three variables had astrong correlation with this outcome: age, gender, and income, with older, wealthier men
reporting that they spoke to more people, but Ibasho visits had no measurable impact on
this outcome.
Table A5. Estimated coefficients for number of friends in neighborhood
Coefficient

0.25***Age Category [18-29; 30-44; 45-59; 60-74; 75+]0.04
0.21***

Gender [0 for women, 1 for men]

0.07
-0.01

Education Level [1 = middle school; 5 = grad]

0.03
0.070***

Income Category [1 = <99k yen, 6 = >6.5million]

0.02
0.098*

Visits to Ibasho [0 = none, 3 if weekly, 6 if daily]

0.05
1.14

Constant

0.22

Note: *** indicates p value <.01, ** indicates a p value < .05, and * indicates a p value < .1

Elders leading the way to resilience 47

Table A5.1. How many people do you talk withCoefficient

Age Category [18-29; 30-44; 45-59; 60-74; 75+]
Gender [0 for women, 1 for men]
Education Level [1 = middle school; 5 = grad]
Income Category [1 = <99k yen, 6 = >6.5million]
Visits to Ibasho [0 = none, 3 if weekly, 6 if daily]
Constant

0.205***
0.0353847
0.127*
0.0657347-0.0364575
0.025970.143***
0.0217861
0.0661942
0.0451279
1.854151
0.1900761

Note: *** indicates p value <.01, ** indicates a p value < .05, and * indicates a p value < .1

Impact of Ibasho Café on sense of belonging
To assess the impact of Ibasho Café on the sense of belonging, we asked two questions:“Does living in Ofunato city give you a sense of community or a feeling of belonging?” and“Does living in your neighborhood give you a sense of community or feeling of belonging?”
As shown in Table A6, demographic factors that appear to affect a person’s sense of
belonging to his or her neighborhood include age and income. Those with the highest
incomes had a higher sense of belonging to their neighborhoods than those with lessincome, and older people had a far deeper sense of belonging that younger ones. Ouroldest and wealthiest respondents had an average sense of belonging of 2 (on a scale of 0to 2), while for the youngest and poorest the sense of belonging was only a 1 (on a scaleof 0 to 2). Residents of Massaki had only a slightly higher, not statistically significant levelof belonging than those living outside the area. Controlling for these demographic factors
showed that regular attendance at Ibasho was significantly associated with a deeper senseof belonging. Our PSM analysis echoed that finding.
Similarly, only age and income had an impact on a person’s sense of belonging tothe overall city of Ofunato (as opposed to a particular neighborhood). For the oldest andwealthiest respondents, the average sense of belonging to the city was 1.9 on a scale of 0 to2, while for the youngest and poorest it was close to 1. The sense of belonging was also highboth among the most regular (daily/weekly) Ibasho users (1.6) and among Massaki dwellers(1.6). It was a bit lower among those from outside Massaki (1.5), but these slight differenceswere not statistically significant.
48 Elders leading the way to resilienceDemographic factors of age and income appear to affect a person’s sense ofneighborhood belonging. Individuals with the highest incomes had a greater sense of
belonging to their neighborhoods than individuals with less income, and older people had afar deeper sense of belonging than younger people. Residents of the Massaki neighborhood
had only a slightly higher, though statistically insignificant, level of belonging than thoseliving outside the area. Controlling for these demographic factors, regular attendance at
Ibasho was significantly associated with a deeper connection to their neighborhood.
At the city level, the oldest and wealthiest respondents similarly had a higher senseof belonging to Ofunato (as opposed to a particular neighborhood), though less sofor the youngest and poorest. Among regular Ibasho users and people who lived in the
Massaki neighborhood, their sense of belonging to the city was also high. People living
outside Massaki had a somewhat lower sense of belonging, but the slight differences were
statistically insignificant.
Table A6. Estimated coefficients for sense of belonging to neighborhood
Coefficient

Age Category [18-29; 30-44; 45-59; 60-74; 75+]
Gender [0 for women, 1 for men]
Education Level [1 = middle school; 5 = grad]
Income Category [1 = <99k yen, 6 = >6.5million]
Visits to Ibasho [0 = none, 3 if weekly, 6 if daily]
Constant

0.131***
0.02
0.00
0.04
0.00
0.02
0.083***
0.01
0.0774*
0.03
0.80
0.13

Note: *** indicates p value <.01, ** indicates a p value < .1

Impact of Ibasho Café on participation in volunteer
activities
To gauge whether the café inspired more people to participate in volunteer organizations,
we asked people if they were a member of any organization before and after the GEJE.
Several factors were found to have made participation in volunteer organizations before

Elders leading the way to resilience 49

the earthquake more likely: Older people, wealthier people, Massaki area dwellers, andthose with more friends were more likely to report participating in volunteer activities
before the earthquake. The great majority (90 percent) of our oldest, wealthiest, and mostsocial respondents reported that they participated before the earthquake. In contrast, only
10 percent of the youngest, poorest, and least social respondents said they did so.
After the earthquake, only income levels and how many people they report talking to(number of friends) correlated with greater levels of participation in volunteer organizations.
Holding all other factors constant, 80 percent of Ibasho members reported that they had
participated in activities before the earthquake, compared with 79 percent of those livingin Massaki and 70 percent of non-Massaki dwellers.
Massaki had a strong culture of community participation before the GEJE. We also
assumed that because the Ibasho project was initiated with leaders of local groups in
Massaki, those leaders and their members stayed to support Ibasho Café.
While the level of participation in local organizations remained almost the same, thetype of involvement has changed after the GEJE event, from participation in community
duties such as a neighborhood association, a women’s association, the local festival andother cultural events to more leisure-related volunteer activities. This suggests that thepeople who always participated in community activities may be the same ones likely to
get involved in a new initiative for their community, however, they have also started toparticipate more life enriching and fun activities, rather than only engaged in community
duties. We also learned that many elders retired from the festival and cultural event
committees after the disaster, presumably because they wanted to find a more meaningful
way to contribute to their community.

Impact of Ibasho Café on perception of recovery
Table A7 shows the estimated coefficients for how respondents perceived their family’s levelof recovery from the disaster. A number of factors correlated strongly with this perception,
including age (younger people were more positive about recovery), gender (women weremore positive than men), education, income, and self-efficacy (for each of these three
traits, people with more had more positive perceptions of their recovery). Younger, better
educated, wealthier women who believed that they had control over their environment weremore likely to see a good recovery at the family level. Ibasho visits were not statisticallyrelated to this outcome; nor was living in or outside Massaki.
Table A8 shows the estimated coefficients for perceptions of neighborhood recovery.
Age, income, sense of self-efficacy, how many people they spoke with, current participation
were correlated with neighborhood recovery perceptions, in that younger, wealthier, more
efficacious, and more involved people saw their neighborhood recoveries more positively.
Ibasho visits were not statistically significant in these data. Neither was living in or outside
Massaki.

50 Elders leading the way to resilience

The survey asked respondents for their suggestions as to how to make their community
a better place. Most were related to housing reconstruction, because many are still in
temporary housing. Some were related to neighborhood planning to enhance their lifestyle,while others mentioned improving communications among the local residents as well aswith local government.
Build public housing quickly■■ Not enough space for children■■ Create park and public space■■ Open up school play ground (school play grounds have been occupied for the
space for public housing community, and children do not have place to play orpractice their sports)■■ Education facilities for children—too much focus on elders■■ Convenient access to shopping■■ Enhance accessibilities for people of all ages■■ Traffic control (Too many trucks and cars in town for the constructions, which
creates traffic jams. Lack of plan for the traffic control to handle these construction
related vehicles)■■ More job opportunities■■ Mitigate the division between people who lost their house and who did not■■ Fill the gaps between the current recovery project and what local people want tohave■■ Enhance the transparency of the local politics related to the recovery process with
community members■■

When discussing the recovery with local residents, many start to talk about securing astable place to live, whether in the form of public housing or of a house for themselves. The
underlying theme of these comments is not a longing for the physical structure of a house
but the importance of reestablishing a sense of belonging, security, privacy, comfort, andfamiliarity, and of being surrounded by friends, family and one’s own possessions.
Before the GEJE, all residents in Massaki belonged to a neighborhood association, manyof which were discontinued after the disaster. Social workers organized support systems
and activities to encourage social interactions for people living in temporary housing.
With many residents now moving out to public housing, they need not lose relationships
formed in the temporary housing communities. Ibasho provides a place for new residents
to socialize with old friends and to meet and befriend long-time local residents.

Elders leading the way to resilience 51

Table A7. Estimated coefficients for family recovery
Coefficient

Age Category [18-29; 30-44; 45-59; 60-74; 75+]
Gender [0 for women, 1 for men]
Education Level [1 = middle school; 5 = grad]
Income Category [1 = <99k yen, 6 = >6.5million]
Sense of efficacy
To how many people do you speak
How many friends do you have
Current participation in organizations [yes/no]
Visits to Ibasho [0 = none, 3 if weekly, 6 if daily]
Live in Massaki-Cho
Constant
Note: *** indicates p value <.01, ** indicates a p value < .05, and * indicates a p value < .1

52 Elders leading the way to resilience-0.188***0.0472-0.154*0.08530.087**
0.033
0.123***
0.02950.325***
0.041
0.060
0.064
0.005
0.0546
0.157
0.099
0.026
0.062
0.107
0.116
1.17
0.27

Table A8. Estimated coefficients for neighborhood recovery
Coefficient-0.108***Age Category [18-29; 30-44; 45-59; 60-74; 75+]

0.046
-0.125

Gender [0 for women, 1 for men]

0.082
0.025

Education Level [1 = middle school; 5 = grad]

0.032
0.086***

Income Category [1 = <99k yen, 6 = >6.5million]

0.028
0.327***

Sense of efficacy

0.040-0.116*

To how many people do you speak

0.061
0.031

How many friends do you have

0.052
0.174*

Current participation in organizations [yes/no]

0.095
0.034

Visits to Ibasho [0 = none, 3 if weekly, 6 if daily]

0.059-0.062

Live in Massaki-Cho

0.112
1.763

Constant

0.262

Note: *** indicates p value <.01, ** indicates a p value < .05, and * indicates a p value < .1

Elders leading the way to resilience 53

Table A9. Trust in neighbors
Coefficient

Age Category [18-29; 30-44; 45-59; 60-74; 75+]
Gender [0 for women, 1 for men]
Education Level [1 = middle school; 5 = grad]
Income Category [1 = <99k yen, 6 = >6.5million]
Sense of efficacy
To how many people do you speak
How many friends do you have
Current participation in organizations [yes/no]
Visits to Ibasho [0 = none, 3 if weekly, 6 if daily]
Live in Massaki-Cho
Constant
Note: *** indicates p value <.01, ** indicates a p value < .05, and * indicates a p value < .1

54 Elders leading the way to resilience

0.052**
0.024-0.009
0.043
0.010
0.017
0.001
0.015
0.194***
0.021
0.030
0.032
0.120***
0.028
0.207***
0.050
0.002
0.031
0.003
0.059
0.356
0.138

Annex 3

Survey questionnaire
1. Name ___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Age __________, Number to contact _________________________________________________________________
Gender: Male

Female2. Please select the region (area) where you currently live.
Sakari area
Ofunato area
Massaki area
Akasaki area
Ikawa area
Takkon area
Hikoroichi area
Sanriku-Yoshihama area
Sanriku okirai area
Sanriku-Yoshihama area
3. Did you live in the same area before the GEJE?
How long have you been living in this area? ______________________ years
4. Reasons why you have moved here:a) I was born hereb) others ________________________________________________________________(e.g. marriage, work, family and so on)

5. How many people live in your household? (family structure_________)
6. Please select the type of your current housing.
owned property
temporary housing unit

rentalothersElders leading the way to resilience 55

7.

Please select your projection for the housing situation.
continue to live in the current housebuilding a new house at the higher groundbuilding a new house at my owned property
purchase a propriety and building a new housemove to relatives housemove to public housing
rent or purchase privately developed housingsno plan

8. Do you currently work?
What kind of work do you do? ____________________________________________________________________
What kind of work did you do? ___________________________________________________________________
9. Were you a member of any organization before GEJE? Yes

No(e.g. union, cooperative, volunteer group, senior club, wives club, or some similar group)

If so, please select the organizations where you are a member. ________________________
10. Are you a member of any organization after GEJE? Yes

No(e.g. union, cooperative, volunteer group, senior club, wives club, or some similar group)

If so, please select the organizations where you are a member. ________________________
11. Do you participate in community hearing, township meetings, and othercommunity meetings for post-disaster construction? Yes
No
12. Does living in Ofunato city give you a sense of community or a feeling of
belonging? Yes
No
13. Does living in your neighborhood give you a sense of community or feeling of
belonging? Yes
No
14. Generally speaking, would you say that you can trust the following people a lot,some, only a little, or not at all?
o The people in your neighborhoodo The people in Ofunato cityo The people in Iwate prefectureo The Ofunato local governmento The Iwate prefecture governmento The central government

Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

No
No
No
No
No
No

15. Would you say that the recovery/reconstruction efforts for your personal live havemade progress?
Great progress

56 Elders leading the way to resilience

Moderate

Small progress

No progress16. Would you say that the recovery/reconstruction efforts for your neighborhood
have made progress?
Great progress

Moderate

Small progress

No progress

17. What level of impact can people like you have in making your community a better
place?
No impact

Small impact

Moderate

Big impact

18. Do you expect to be living in your community three years from now?		
YesNo
19. How many people in your neighborhood do you regularly talk in a daily basis?
None
1 personseveral people
10 people
50 people or more
20. How many friends do you have in your neighborhood?
None
1 personseveral people
10 people

50 people or more

21. Do you have friends or neighbors besides your family whom you can ask for help？
YesNo
who?________________________________________________________
22. Do you have a “Ibasho,” a place where you feel being at home outside of yourhouse?
YesNo
If so, please tell me where your Ibasho is? ___________________________________________________
23. What age do you consider being in the “elderly” population? ___________________
24. What is your income source?
a) Salaryb) Pensionc) Self-employmentd) none25. Which income level are you belong? (Optional)a) Less than 10,000 USDb) Between 10,000 – 25,000 USDc) 25,000 – 35,000 USDd) 35,000 – 50,000 USDe) 50,000 – 65,000 USDf) 65,000 USD and above

26. Last academic degree:

Elementary school
Middle school
Bachelor
Graduate school

High school

Elders leading the way to resilience 57

27. Please share your thoughts and suggestion regarding the reconstruction efforts inyour neighbord.
28. Have you been to Ibasho House in Massaki Area?
Yes, I have heard about it but never visited

I never heard

29. How often do you visit Ibasho house?
everydayonce/month

3-4/weekother

1-2/week

several times/month

30. How did you find out about Ibasho?
Having tea with friends
Recommended by family
recommended by friends
accidentally found it
Live close to the Ibasho Caféparticipating in events
volunteer opportunity
participated in the pre-opening workshops
newspaper flyers
31. How many people you newly formed friendship in the Ibasho Café?
None

1 personseveral people

10 people

50 people or more

32. Please select all the events you have participated in at Ibasho Café.
Cafemeetings
community gatheringmusic even
Health education
hobby
seasonal events
cultural education classes
33. Have you participate in volunteer activities in Ibasho Café?
Yes

No

what type of volunteer?______________________________________________________

34. Did Ibasho house have impact on your daily life?
Yes

No

How?_____________________________________________________________________________

35. Please describe your suggestions for Ibasho Café.
58 Elders leading the way to resilienceABOUT GFDRR The Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR)
helps high-risk, low-income developing countries better understand and reduce theirvulnerabilities to natural hazards, and adapt to climate change. Working with over 300
partners—mostly local government agencies, civil society, and technical organizations—GFDRR provides grant financing, on-the-ground technical assistance to mainstream
disaster mitigation policies into country-level strategies, and a range of training andknowledge sharing activities. GFDRR is managed by the World Bank and funded by
25 donor partners.
GFDRR’s Inclusive Community Resilience program facilitates and fosters communityled disaster and climate risk management for more resilient societies and reduced
losses. The program aims to strengthen community level resilience at a large scaleby leveraging country investment programs that put resources directly in the hands ofpoor households and communities; supports civil society and citizen engagement indisaster and climate risk management efforts for greater accountability and impact;
and supports innovations, knowledge and learning to promote the voice of vulnerable
communities in national and global policy dialogue and disaster risk management.

WWW.GFDRR.ORG