Treat Your Elders Like Mud… for a Mosque
If I were a native of Mali* and asked to address the issues of the aging population in the U.S., I might offer this strategy: treat your elders as we treat our beloved mud mosques, with great respect, continuous care and upkeep by the entire community. Consider how we care for our cultural heritage as a metaphor for how to approach your population challenges.
The Great Mosque in Djenné
Every spring we have a big festival to re-plaster the mud walls of our Great Mosque of Djenné, the largest mudbrick structure in the world, re-built in 1907 and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We must spread new banco (mud mixed with rice husks) on the outer walls to repair cracks and replace what was washed away during the rainy season. Our annual maintenance festival has music, food and much activity that involves the whole community, including elderly people who are given a place of honor to sit and watch the proceedings.
Annual mud plastering of the Great Mosque of Djenné
These annual re-plastering events take place all over our country, for both mosques and domestic architecture. Our adobe structures can last for centuries if properly maintained. Similarly, the U.S. could sustain an increasing elderly population by maintaining a proper support system. I admit this may be easy for me to suggest because only 3% of the Malian population is over age 64, whereas in the U.S. almost 13% of your population is older than 64, and that percentage will increase sharply as your Baby Boomers age.
Dogon elders in Mali
The U.S. will need to invest more in healthcare and learn to better integrate the elderly population the way we do in Mali. Because your caretaking costs will increase over the coming years, you can save resources by living together in multi-generational households. We do this in Mali and believe it benefits everyone to involve our elders in the community, instead of putting them in secluded retirement homes like you do in the U.S. In Mali, we still have councils of elders who help make decisions for the communities where they reside; we respect their wisdom, and suggest you listen to your own elders.
Malian elders attending a ceremony for new construction
The U.S. also should try to provide your aging population with some kind of meaningful work. Keep them involved and active to help them stay physically and mentally healthy. If they’re living with you, involve them in childcare and housekeeping; give them creative outlets and ways to contribute to society. Consider your elders your cultural heritage and give them a seat of honor at the renovation of your society.
*I am not qualified in any way to represent a native of Mali and I apologize for this poor attempt.
Category: Design Ethnography | Tags: Aging, Earthen Building, Elderly, Mali One comment »
November 6th, 2010 at 19:19
What you said about “Consider your elders your cultural heritage and give them a seat of honor at the renovation of your society.” is a good point. I agree that in the United States we see the elderly as helpless and a burden sometimes. Granted not all families feel that way and we still love and care about our grandparents but it’s easier to send them to a retirement home especially if they’re sick or can’t take care of themselves like they used to. If we as communities designed houses for 4-5 elders to live in a shared environment we could keep the feeling of home closer. There are both good and bad retirement communities. What makes the difference are the people that would be happy in those communities. Just as everyone has a different personality, not everyone likes living in a community of others like them. If we make a conscience effort to accomodate our grandparent’s needs as much as their own feelings we can make their new living arrangements better. Think about the loved one’s in our lives that are impaired, mentally challenged etc, and how we do our best to make their lives comfortable. I believe that the elderly should be taken with the same respect. Yes, they’re getting older and possibly forgetting things, but they deserve the same level of appreciation and respect.