The Dementia Village: Between Community and Society

Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Germany’s first Dementia Village, this paper shows how the creation of a Dementia Village—created as a communal space for its residents that is governed by societal standards of care—ties into long-standing traditions in social thought and speaks to the tension of combining sociality with rationalised bureaucratic efficiency. The paper begins with an introduction to Germany’s first dementia village Tönbeön am See, its setting and environment, the village’s foundation, as well as the home’s care philosophy. Throughout, the author connects ethnographic observations with the broader events and developments. What follows is a discussion about the care village concept.