Greening the Afterlife Part II Richard Winter builds coffins, but he isn’t a morbid man. In his mind, death is just the part that comes before decomposition. That’s why everything he builds is completely biodegradable. It’s “back to land” brought to a new level - a philosophy his customers appreciate. Winter runs Vermont Coffins from his wood shop in Calais, Vermont.
Greening the Afterlife Part I Elinor Randall isn’t planning on dying any time soon. But that hasn’t stopped her from establishing a private cemetery up the hill from her house in Plainfield, Vermont.
There was a time in this country when natural home births were standard practice. Then came the rise of institutional medicine, and even though being pregnant is not always the same as being sick, hospitals became the site for all things reproductive. Today, less than 1% of all births in the U.S. take place in the home.
Interestingly, the same fate that befell those entering this life also affected those leaving it. Death care has been equally institutionalized, with strange interlocutors bowing in and out at every step. It’s also been commodified. The average funeral costs about $6,000, according to the Funeral Consumers Alliance, and often takes place at that other home - the funeral home.
And yet, just as midwifery recaptured a small portion of the expecting demographic, simpler burial and funereal methods are making their way back into the outskirts of the funeral industry. Green burial grounds prohibit toxic embalming fluids; conservation burial grounds nestle inconspicuous burial sites into the landscape of a nature preserve. There is an emphasis on decomposition like never before, wherein the biodegradable casket is second only to the fibrous shroud, or nothing at all.
These alternative methods are often cheaper than their mainstream cousins, although not by much. A 20’ by 20’ plot at the White Eagle Memorial Preserve in Washington costs $2200. Meanwhile, home burial – literally burying a body in the back yard – can cost just a few hundred dollars. But it’s not legal in all fifty states.
So what’s the best way to return to the earth, to green the afterlife? And who is partaking?
