Paper short abstract:

This research is about collaborative homes for the elderly as an alternative to living the old age. As first results we have that homes together with community life are the scene of care situations, not only in dependency, but in the daily extension, from an individual (self-care) and community view

Paper long abstract:

The aging process is a central topic of debate today and presents great challenges to face as a society. In a specific context of profound social changes: family roles, care provision, life expectancy, aging of society, weakened welfare state, alternatives to the current model of aging arise. In Spain, the collaborative homes for the elderly are gaining popularity under the premise of focusing on the community.

There are several projects in coexistence and new groups in formation proliferate. These groups want to make the collaborative home their way of life and living, but the difficulties in the formation process and the consequent dilation in time are some of the conditioning factors that lead to the disappearance of many of these groups.

In the current scenario, numerous questions emerge: What is self-care? How is the apparent oxymoron of self-care (individual) and community care linked? How does gender and class affect? Is the collaborative home a care promotion mechanism?

Food, sports, emotional well-being, hygiene or activist aging are some recurring elements of self-care in the discourses of older people who live in collaborative homes. In turn, the will to live in harmony with the group, without being a burden to others and being able to enjoy the benefits of the community, is another discourse that is intertwined with the previous one.

To carry out this research, a qualitative methodology has been used, applying virtual ethnography during lockdown and combining it with face-to-face fieldwork in the times that have been allowed.