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Small is BeautifulIAHSA /ACSA Global Conference Perth 2015
David Coe
My Background
4 years as International Director, Abbeyfield, IAHSA
Board Member
Previously CEO of International Psychoanalytical
Association and ORBIS, the Blindness Prevention
organisation
Chief Executive of the Soil Association, the UK organic
food body founded by E.F Schumacher author of ‘Small
is Beautiful’
Today we will look briefly at two examples of small is
beautiful
Abbeyfield in the beginning…..
A young Major returns from the war crossing war-
torn Italy………
He chances upon Cottolengo, a village in Italy
Eight thousand people of all ages lived there.
There were old people and orphans; people with
mental illness and people with physical disabilities.
All were cared for “by an order of sisters in a
Christian atmosphere”, in small communities of
around 8-12 people
3
In the beginning……..
He resigns his army commission and begins work as
a cleaner in a poor part of London
Out of this came the belief that loneliness among
older people was one of the key problems
So he invested his decommissioning payoff in the
first Abbeyfield house
Support from the press via his ex army chums
helped give the project international exposure and
coverage
4
The Abbeyfield Concept
8-12 people living communally
2 meals per day provided
Volunteer support-pastoral and practical
Good food, socialisation, physical, mental activity
5
Abbeyfield Today
Internationally present in 12 territories across 5
continents with 100 houses and 1,100 residents
In the UK, now 500 houses remain
Abbeyfield centrally is running down its support for and
involvement in small scale community housing,
preferring to focus on larger housing developments
Abbeyfield Development
Internationally
Was all self funding
Based on a simple statement of principles
A 2011 quality audit showed that quality and ethos were
more or less identical around the world in territories as
distinct as New Zealand, Australia, Belgium, Ireland,
Canada, Italy, and Mexico
Mexico being all the more remarkable as the founders
had only ever had internet contact with the centre
Abbeyfield International merged
with Abbeyfield UK
Management Style
Carr Gomm the Founder sacked by Board in sixties
Organisation now led in traditional ‘command and
control’ style with unresolved conflict between central
control and the grassroots local Society developments
Recent example being the imposition of a new logo
Abbeyfield South Africa
South Africa Townships
65% unemployment, pension mugging rife
Abbeyfield had never been able to provide meals within
pension constraints
Partnership with Habitat for Humanity provided needs
assessment and community links
Partnership with community meals service and kids after
school project provided ability to provide one meal per
day
‘Beacon project’
Beacon Hill Village
In concept a kind of ‘Abbeyfield without walls’
A charity that provides support (but never personal care services) for the older person: one stop for social, cultural, wellness, home assistance etc)
Services provided by volunteers or at low cost by those on a roster
Purpose is to enable people to continue living in their own homes
Median age of beneficiaries is 78
Started in Boston USA
Beacon Hill Village
Now over 70 such projects in US, Canada, Australia
Characterised by being member-driven, grass roots,
member-governed, self funding, do not receive Govt
money
Delight in differences of new villages, with feedback to
existing villages through conferences, informal links etc
Growth started when an article appeared in the New
York Times
Examples of Small is Beautiful
Abbeyfield (originally) www.abbeyfield.com
Beacon Hill Villages www.beaconhillvillage.org
The Greenhouse Project www.thegreenhouseproject.org
Eden Alternative www.edenalt.org
Characteristics
Grass roots
Based on principle rather than procedure
Stakeholder /beneficiary involvement
Local control /governance
Devolved management systems
Often local initiatives
And in the corporate world……
Summary
Small is beautiful works
Consistency as seen in Abbeyfield, Beacon Hill Villages,
Eden Alternative, for key criteria like quality and ethos
is incredibly high (and anyway key issues like health and
safety subject to local legislation)
Local ownership /stakeholders are hugely motivated to
succeed and ensure beneficiary satisfaction
These projects have proved so attractive and exciting
they attract large amounts of free publicity
Summary Small is beautiful is cool
Put human relationships at the heart of all we do and
we can design structures that reduce depression,
anxiety, panic attacks, stress among beneficiaries-some
of the main elements affecting mortality in the age
groups we serve
Recommended