Taiwanese community revitalizes old houses into senior center and gathering space

In Chiayi County's Shuishang Township, the Nanzhing Community Development Association has breathed new life into three long-vacant houses, transforming them into the township's fifth senior center and dining facility. Dubbed "Eating Together Has a Home Taste," the initiative officially opened, offering not only a communal dining space for the elderly but also a vibrant hub for community interaction. The project has drawn interest from numerous other communities seeking to replicate its success.

The three houses, whose owners had moved away, were provided to the community association for a 10-year usage period. Beginning in 2024, the association secured funding from the Rural Rejuvenation Plan, receiving 500,000 New Taiwan Dollars per house. With the help of community volunteers and students from National Chiayi University, the spaces were renovated, imbuing the old structures with a new purpose.

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The revitalized old houses not only serve as a senior dining hall and a community care point but also as a promotion site for the community's anti-violence program. Every morning at 9, it opens as a tea space for residents to chat and connect.

Beyond serving as a senior center and a focal point for the community's anti-violence program, the revitalized houses now host a variety of activities. They open daily at 9 a.m. as a tea space for residents to chat and connect. In collaboration with the Shuishang Township Public Library, a reading area has been established. The center also organizes baking classes and youth entrepreneurship workshops, creating a multi-functional space for dining, learning, relaxation, reading, and intergenerational exchange.

Chiayi County Magistrate Weng Chang-liang lauded the community's success in integrating central and local resources to rebuild and revitalize dilapidated old houses. He expressed hope that the Nanzhing community's model would inspire other communities in Chiayi County, many of which have underutilized old houses with development potential. The goal is to transform more such spaces into vital centers that strengthen community bonds and promote intergenerational harmony.

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The community integrated central and local resources to rebuild and revitalize old houses that were dilapidated, almost half-ruined, and abandoned, turning them into important hubs for resident interaction, senior communal dining, and community activities.