Business Ideas in Romania

Caminul de Batrani Orhideea - ideas for “taking off”

• Posted by Anca on March 6th, 2007 filed in Homes and housing

I think they should start promoting it here, because the “clients” that they adress are Romanian, right? Opening this type of business in the most developed regions ( Timisoara, Bucharest) has it’s advantages and disadvantages. It has an advantage because the incomes are higher here than in other region of the country, but this fact is applicable only for those people who are still working (the retirees have the same low incomes like anywhere). So the segment that they should address is the children of the old people. However, 400 euros/month is a high costs for the older people, considering their monthly income is much lower.

At the same time, the idea of taking your grandma and grandpa to a nursing home is still disregarded in Romania, especially by the older people (they don’t like the idea of going there and if so, they consider themselves abandoned)…and I must admit that they are true, in most of the cases. When I lived in Cluj Napoca, I used to stay nearby a nursing home for old people. I had been watching them many times from my balcony and I even went to visit them once. It was the saddest place I ever visited. I had the same feeling as if I were in a nursing home for abandoned children, except that the kids were very old, still helpless and also very sad.

They had very good conditions and they were well taken care there (the people who administered the place were saying that the children of the old people were queuing to bring their parents there) and they were encouraged to participate in a lot of programs, games etc. Only 30% of the people living there were participating…the rest of them were too sad and unwilling to communicate.

Sad, sad…I know…but there are always alternatives. I also visited a day center for old people in that same day. The atmosphere was completely different. People were singing, playing games, arguing about politics, flirting …..having a lot, lot of fun and I really enjoyed being there. They were meeting every second day for 3 or four hours at least.

One suggestion for Orhideea would be to combine the two types of centers for old people. They could organize short “holidays” for old people – one or two weeks long (considering that they are not located in Bucharest) where they could meet, spend some time together and get to know the nursing home, the personnel and the other people who are there. Some of them may consider staying there for a longer period of time, some may only want to take the “short version” …but the place would definitely have more than two potential “clients”.