부산대학교 도서관

Kurara is a “Ibasyo (the comfortable place)” for older adults. We conducted participants observation, face-to-face interviews, and questionnaires to reveal why this place could survive the period of COVID-19 pandemic. Kurara has been run as a worker’s collective and the land and the building belong to older adults who work there. Thus, they need not care about the rental fee and the labor cost during the closing duration. Moreover, the leaders of Kurara have been endeavoring to engage in 3 things 1) to establish an easily understandable goal for all related persons, 2) to conduct some personalized approaches to care for everyone, 3) to prepare for the future by using existing resources, which makes Kurara a “Ibasyo” for the participants psychologically. The system of worker’s collective and the leader’s appropriate care for all workers are essential to maintain the “Ibasyo” for older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.