Life inside the village where everyone has dementia

Village Landais in France is home to 120 people battling Alzheimer's (Image credit: VillageLandaisAlzheimer/Facebook)

The village of Landais in France is unlike any other place in the country. Here, every resident suffers from dementia – nobody carries a wallet, there are no set hours for appointments and life moves at a much gentler pace.

Landais was set up as an experimental community for people battling Alzheimer’s in 2020. It is the brainchild of researchers from Bordeaux University and aims to improve the quality of life of patients and their caregivers.

At Village Landais, nobody has to remember to carry their wallets. The shops in the main square do not accept money. While villagers pay an annual fee of €28,000 to live in the village, the majority of the running costs are taken care of by the regional French government.

The village features single-storey chalets, each of which houses eight residents. The residents of each chalet share a communal kitchen, sitting and dining rooms.

When a team from BBC recently visited the French village, home to around 120 people, it found there are “no set hours for appointments, shopping and cleaning - just a gentle rhythm coaxing and cajoling villagers, to give them as much freedom as possible.”

One 65-year-old resident, named Patricia, told BBC that Landais has given her her life back.

"I had a lady to cook for me. I was tired. I was not feeling well. I knew that Alzheimer's wasn't easy and I was scared. "I wanted to be somewhere where I could help too.

“Because in other care homes, it's like this, like that - but they don't do anything.

“Whereas here, it's real life. When I say real, I mean real.”

According to the village website, its management is undertaken by a staff that comprises doctors, nurses, gerontological assistants, psychologist, occupational therapist, psychomotor therapist, animators, as well as caterers, administrative staff etc.