| eco-caskets & green burials Formerly Colorful Coffins |
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| About Natural Burial | |
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| JANE HILLHOUSE, FOUNDER 650.726.5255 FAX: 650.897.9841 jane@finalfootprint.com ©2009 Final Footprint |
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| Natural Burial Is Not Something New | |
| The respectful burial of the dead has been a part of our culture for tens of thousands of years. In fact, many paleontologists believe that some of our early human ancestors began the process. For most of our history, burial was handled by the family or a close community like the church or village. In the U.S., for example, until the late 19th century, the deceased lay in-state in the living room or parlor where family and neighbors came to pay their respects. The deceased was placed in a simple pine box or cloth shroud and buried in a shallow grave.
During the time of the Civil War the modern funeral industry was created and the end-of-life passage was passed to strangers; experts in the art of body preservation. Embalming fluids, used to preserve mortally wounded soldiers as they made their way home on a burgeoning railway system, gave way to ever more sophisticated processes to delay decomposition of the body. In the face of increased demand the industry grew, it found new ways to profit. Caskets constructed from exotic hardwoods and other precious materials, impenetrable vaults of metal and concrete became common-place. The current burial process, besides being expensive, wastes great quantities of natural resources. It separates us biologically and psychologically from our host planet. And, perhaps more importantly, it strives to keep us separate from our loved ones at an important time in both lives. People are now beginning to eschew the many ways we have distanced ourselves from our environment. In England there are now 250 green burial sites. Green burial sites are un-landscaped, natural woodland and meadow areas where deceased are buried in random order with some natural vegetation or stone marker to designate the grave. In the United States, however, there are fewer than half a dozen of these sites. Final Footprint is working within the environmental community to integrate natural burial into existing open space. These open spaces are economical, environmentally-friendly places that are soon to become a mainstream alternative to traditional cemeteries. |