The Eden Alternative 10 Principles

The three plagues of loneliness, helplessness and boredom account for the bulk of suffering among our Elders.

• An Elder-centered community commits to creating a Human Habitat where life revolves around close and continuous contact with plants, animals and children. It is these relationships that provide the young and old alike with a pathway towards a life worth living.

• Loving companionship is the antidote to loneliness. Elders deserve easy access to human and animal companionship.

• An Elder-centered community creates opportunity to give as well as receive care. This is the antidote to helplessness.

• An Elder-centered community imbues daily life with variety and spontaneity by creating an environment in which unexpected and unpredictable happenings and interactions can take place. This is the antidote to boredom.

• Meaningless activity corrodes the human spirit. The opportunity to do things that we find meaningful is essential to human health.

• Medical treatment should be the servant of genuine human caring, never its master.

• An Elder-centered community honors its Elders by de-emphasizing top-down bureaucratic authority, seeking instead to place the maximum decision making authority into the hands of the Elders or those closest to them.

• Creating an Elder-centered community is a never ending process. Human growth should never be separated from human life.

• Wise leadership is the lifeblood of any struggle against the three plagues. For it, there can be no substitute.