Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the meaning of growing traditional vegetables and the health of elderly people living in rural areas. Data obtained from semi-structured interviews were qualitatively analyzed considering the local social and cultural contexts. The results suggest that cultivating traditional vegetables was related to the following categories: [A means to connect with people], [Facing old age], [A means to maintain physical functions], and [Protecting the community]. Cultivation of traditional vegetables is an activity that uses the five senses and utilizes intellectual functions. Furthermore, it is thought that significance and value will be found in life by building active relationships with people. Therefore, the cultivation of traditional vegetables was considered to be linked to recognizing the existential self and accepting the decline and loss of physical and mental functions to live as oneself.
