JINHA

NEWS CENTER – The communal home Babayaga House provides feminist, communal and affordable living for elderly women in the heart of Paris' Montreuil district. Founder Thérèse Clerc says the aging women of '68 have the potential to change French society with projects like Babayaga.

French women who want a self-organized communal life now have an alternative to nursing homes in the five-story Babayaga House, named after the elderly witch of Russian legend. The house, which opened its doors in February 2013, provides independent apartments for 21 elderly women and four women students in the heart of Montreuil. The ground floor of the building will host a university for seniors and a range of activities.

“To live long is a good thing but to age well is better,” said 85-year-old founder Thérèse Clerc, summarizing the Babayaga mentality to RFI.

Thérèse, speaking with French newspaper Libération, said the inspiration for the home came from the five difficult years of caring for her bedridden mother as well as her four children and grandchildren. In 1995, in the wake of this experience, she conceived of the idea of an ecological, feminist, inclusive home for elder women. The project has faced difficulty obtaining funding due to its ideological commitment and its refusal to conform to the individual-oriented approach dominant in the provision of social housing in France.

The house charter at Babayaga commits every woman to 10 hours of community service. The house is all-women, according to Thérèse, to serve a population that retires with much less wealth and are much less likely to have had steady waged work than men. For women who are mostly living on around €1,000 a month, the €420 rent at Babayaga ensures they can stay on their feet and stay active.

"I wanted to avoid ending up in a retirement home at all costs. When you don’t have much money, a retirement home becomes a prison," said Janine Popot, a recent Babayaga resident. Thérèse Clerc has now become involved in a "network of Babayaga houses" to promote the plans for similar houses now underway in at least three other parts of Paris.

Thérèse Clerc said that the aging generation of 1968 has the potential to change France by organizing. "We are a political force, the largest electorate in France," she said.

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