Abstract
This study used a modified grounded theory approach to analyze a case of agriculturewelfare collaboration involving the Anan-cho Council of Social Welfare in order to reveal the process by which the agriculture-welfare collaboration shifted from practical action to intermediate support. A diagram of 14 concepts and 4 categories was developed based on the analysis results. Further, the results were presented in the form of a narrative using the following concepts and categories. In the agriculture-welfare collaboration implemented by the Anan-cho Council of Social Welfare in an aging, depopulated village, [assessment of the village community] was conducted first through activities such as <making visits to the village> and then starting to provide [agricultural support to help residents continue to live at home]. At the same time as <completion of the agricultural support project>, there was a shift in activities [from the support for elderly residents who live at home to the support for individuals with disabilities to find employment] through <practical agricultural activities at the facility run by the Anan-cho Council of Social Welfare>. Then, <matching of activities at a welfare facility for individuals with disabilities with activities to cultivate traditional vegetables> was conducted for the [achievement of a community-based inclusive society] through <coordination of social resources with individuals with disabilities and local residents>. Our results suggest that the agriculturewelfare collaboration implemented by the Anan-cho Council of Social Welfare offered support for independent living in the aging, depopulated village, by which “welfare capability in the community” was enhanced by utilizing “the community's capabilities in welfare”, and that the “driving force of welfare in the community” was generated by combining those capabilities, leading to the achievement of a community-based inclusive society, albeit in a small scale, in a depopulated village.
