“This place is (now) my own home. It is my home till my death”: Older adults (re)creating home through daily rhythms and kinning in formal care settings

Abstract

This paper, based on a qualitative study, explores the home-making activities of older adults living in a non-profit, welfare-based institutional care home in Kerala, India. We employed in-depth interviews and observation to obtain rich data on various home-making practices of older adults. Contrary to the stigmatization in India of care homes as places of abandonment and desertion, this study illustrates: (1) the important role of non-profit care homes in protecting neglected older adults especially in non-western contexts; and (2) the performative roles of older adults who utilize, modify, and recreate home in formal care spaces. Our empirical results show that daily rhythmic activities, gender roles, kinning, and cultural practices in a formal care setting contribute to establishing new familial ties and continuity in life as well as a sense of insideness in a formal care home. This paper contributes to the emerging dialogue on the role of rhythm, kinning, and culture in home-making practices in formal care spaces in a non-western context.