In Germany it´s a tradition to plant a tree for new born babies, now imagine planting your baby´s tree in the soil of your grandparents. The past generations would nourish the once just entering the world and look after them
It's the little suprises in life that can really show just how horrible of a person you are. I'm 26 minutes into this documentary, but still. When you said "plant your baby tree in the soil of your grandparents". My mind went to a completely different subject. If you'll excuse me, I need to go pray.
You're awesome Caitlin! The movement of free choice and being focused on normalizing the way "the end" is viewed and conceptualized is beautiful! Bless all of this community and yourself for all the progress forward (though it has such a long way to go, but honestly, something has to be done with the ever increasing human population, which at one point or another, will be an ever increasing corpse "population").
This is the first burial varient that actually appeals to me. Before I was pretty "whatever" about what happens to my corpse, because I'll be dead and won't care. But the thought of just naturally become food for plants feels so pure and comforting. I'll have to look into if there is anything like this where I'm from
I live in Seattle and this is where our mom was laid to rest. I'll be here when it's my trurn. They were wonderful people that made it easy to do.They even picked up our mom's body and helped with all the paperwork, at an affordable price. Thank you Caitlin, for briging this information to the people.
If you don't mind sharing. Do you remember how much you paid for the composting? I'm planning for when it's my time and when it's legal in my state(if I'm still in the US when I do)
Hahaha that's so caitlin. I'm cracking up. Omg. I'm going down a rabbit hole in my head! New restaurant ( NOR ) presents salmon sponsered by the order of good death....food protected by the dead!
My mom, who was an avid gardener, died last year, she chose cremation but I think had it been available she would have chosen composting, it would have been so perfect for her. I hope this becomes much more available soon!
This would be my choice for myself. I would love to try to get my state to permit this as an option because I think many many people would choose this option. I am not understanding why this would meet any opposition either as it is beneficial to all involved and for the environment. I am also not understanding why the Catholic church opposed this also. I am Catholic and feel this would be closest to caring for God's creations. Makes zero sense why this would not be an option for anyone.
@@MissaPality dont Catholics have to pay the church for a funeral service? It’s all a scam lol idk I’m Native American and Unitarian Universalist so i don’t know.
So, I recently moved to Germany and I'm in a German language course. I watched this video yesterday, and today in class we came to the topic of Compostable clothing. And my teacher asked, "What else can be composted?" and without thinking, I said, "Humans!" I now have to give a presentation on this topic tomorrow.
It feels wrong to leave a like on such a comment but I am glad that you have access to this channel, information, and the death positive support here at this time. I hope you are supported also beyond here and have what you need to remove extra stressors as they come.
I planted my late bearded dragon in a planter urn. A week later I saw a small mulberry tree pop up, they were her favorite snack, and watching all the plants grow really helped me with her passing. She's making beautiful things and snaccs for the little bugs she would have eaten. It's beautiful.
@@williamnordeste1169 Composting is a bit different from just burying a body and letting it decay naturally in the soil. Composting is the process of turning dead organic matter (such as wood, hay, food scraps etc.) INTO soil in an aerobic (oxygen-filled) environment. The outcome is very similar, though.
I agree heavily. I want to return to the Earth. Once I'm gone I should be gone ya know? Preserving my dead body once I'm not in it anymore feels wrong. Also from TN :)
I saw the Burial Service for the 1rst time as of just now. I am 💯 % in agreement with being a choice. We came from the earth for life , so we shall become the earth in death. This is Superb technology at its best. I'm in.
I’m in California. I always thought it was illegal to bury my pets but I did it anyways. Then last year the vet gave me the option to bring home my fur baby and bury him in my yard. Not only did it save me money I’ll always have his place marked in the yard he loved so much. ❤❤❤
First I was not happy about the idea of being composted, but her showing the ritual was so beautiful and calming and tbh I'd absolutely LOVE to chill in a pile of wood chips inside a capsules to then have my compost spread in a forest. That would be my ideal way to go. Now that I've thought more about it, if my grandpa had died at a time where this would've been possible I would have made a garden with his compost and planted nothing but his favourite flowers in it. He was a very passionate gardener and would probably have loved the idea of this kind of burial.
What a more beautiful way to almost continue living on if you are a Gardner. My grandma also loved to garden. She use to have a huge garden every year even when she moved to the city. If this was around when she passed I know she would have loved to be in her garden feeding her peach tree she absolutely loved.
This is what I've wanted my entire life understanding what death meant for my body. Seeing a loved one pumped full of preserving chemicals and made up at a viewing made me ill; it didn't look like her, it looked like a doll. I knew I wanted my body untouched and naturally decomposed. When this option of fast decomposition that would allow me to be a part of my garden showed up, I was ecstatic.
I'm wondering if that's how people got the idea of a ghost being a spirit under a white sheet/shroud... Being that people buried their dead that way for so long.
This was just 🤌 chefs kiss. "We should all be cartwheeling through the compost" ABSOLUTELY!! And that man was such a joy i caught myself grabbing my chest with a soft aww and wiping a tear away the entire time. Such a delight this entire video was. How beautiful 🤧❤❤❤
@@luckystar9279 you would actually be savagely torn apart by aerobic bacteria going through the nitrogen cycle. Insects can’t break down something alone as big as human body in only 30 days unless you had thousands and thousands of em
Not to sound like a total hippie, but imagine if we held every piece of dirt and soil as sacred as if it was once someone we loved and composted. Because everything natural was once something or someone else. And there’s something wild and beautiful about that.
I've been listening to this book, Braiding Sweetgrass, that discusses the ideas of plants being non-human peoples and soil being a sacred, living being. The author, Robin Wall Kimmerer is a botanist and Native American, and it's really opened my eyes to how spiritual interactions with nature can be
Not a hippie either, and I'd love to know that people understand that we're not special as humans - we're just a lifeform around here, and we won't take anything with us. Not an expensive coffin nor a silken burial gown. Being respected and cherished as earth would make us even more special than a spot where a tombstone or tree gets to stand - not to speak of the pro's in comparison to the traditional methods.
I'm beginning to practise paganism, and through an appreciation of nature it is so easy to feel that everything organic has life flowing through it, from the grass and soil, the trees and stones, and everything is this beautiful balanced cycle with every little thing having a knock on importance in the ecosystem.
“One of the times, a woman leapt out of the car, screaming her loved one’s name, joyously leaping over… to touch the pile [of soil].” I was not ready for that image. I had to leave the breakfast table. 🥺. Absolutely beautiful.
This video convinced me. And my mom. The laying in ceremony looks so wholesome and pragmatic. Lay me down in a bed of flowers, let me grow into a forest.
I love that part "If you're still alive, you can just knock." This is for those of us that want every possible chance, even once the odds no longer exist. See, I know that when I'm dead, I'm dead. My body stops working, my brain stops working, the electricity that was me stops existing. Hopefully my soul moves on. I get that. But here's the thing. There's this odd sort of comfort knowing that I'm not being forced into a postion, ever. I'm being given a nice, soft, air filled space that isn't holdming me in place at all. If my body can get up, it's free to do that. If not, then I decompose under lack of my own power. This is what I NEED done with my body. Thank you so much for letting me know it's even a thing.
this is EXACTLY how i’ve always felt, i’m extremely grateful to Caitlin for sharing this info with us bc i have never been able to figure out what to put down as my preferred funeral method. this is probably what i’ll be going with if i can
@@lazyhomebody1356 Same here, bog kept the man intact for us to find him when he would have probably completely decomposed in ANY other situation other than tundra ice.
Samesies as the other commenters! Except there wasnt just one person ever found in a bog!! Windover in Florida was a bog that dried up before dozens of preserved bodies were found dating back THOUSANDS of years!
For a science fiction story where this practice is prominent read Becky Chambers "Records Of A Space Born Few". It is the third book in a series of four, but can be read as a stand alone novel.
As a Californian and an avid gardener, I'm disappointed. I wrote a letter of support because I want this option for myself when my time comes! Thank you for all of your work on this frontier.
Just the thought of participating in the "laying in ceremony" for someone that I love was enough to get me tearing up. The real thing would be an EXTREMELY emotional experience for me, but I think it would probably be a healthy kind of emotional. Overall, I think this whole process is just the most beautiful thing.
She sold me when she said, “I don’t know how many of you are worried about being buried alive…” . I’m not scared of dying, but I am 100% scared of being buried alive!
I used to be terrified of cremation, and burial. I didn't want to be put in the ground with the worms, but I was also terrified of the idea of being cremated because what if I was still alive. Which I know is silly, there no way that would happen but it still scared me. After learning about ancient cultures and thier funeral rights, I've become much more comfortable with the idea of cremation because there's a spiritual aspect to it. Of course I still don't really want to be cremated in a crematorium, id rather have an open air pyre cremation, but unfortunately its not legal in my country. This human composting and remembrance garden concept is definitely an excellent alternative though, and if I cant have my open air cremation I'd love to have a natural burial in a beautiful garden.
This is so beautiful. As a historian I find it comforting that this is the same method that humans have been using for thousands of years, just with a modern twist to make it more sustainable.
Where do you get your information from used as history ASO with composting you must go to some liberal brainwashing college or schooling being taught by some crazy ass insane teacher give me a break, 😏
Gotta love the corporate greed of the big funeral industrial complex & their lobbying. #Sarcasm You only have to look at what that hack politician Dick Ham did to aquamation in Tennessee. All because his coffin business would have. Been threatened by its introduction as a death option. To see how they will use any & all avenues available. To them to protect their profit margins the environment be damed.
To be a little fair, composting, even regular back yard composting of kitchen scraps, isn't as "natural" as you think as far as how decomposition works. It's a technology. Actually our modern understanding of it is about the same age as chemical fertilizer. People have always tossed organic stuff on the ground to improve soil nutrition without really knowing why. But the idea that you can do a good mix of organics and control the air and moisture to speed it all up and control the decomposition process isn't strictly "natural." Natural burial is legal all over, but I do think this is better in many cases, and I'm excited for all the new legislation that's coming up.
We have farmed for generations. Deceased livestock has always been composted as far back as I can remember. It's a good method and actually, in the case of animals to whom I have had a close personal attachment, the nice little tree protected spot that we use makes me feel they are resting peacefully in a beautiful place. I did right by them.
@@Lunishta There was a slaughterhouse on the outskirts of the town I lived in. One day Mike, our hound/spaniel mix went out there and came home with a cow leg bigger than he was. He must have dragged that thing five miles. It was nothing but bone, hoof and cartilage. Mike was so proud of his accomplishment, but my grandmother and sisters were horrified.
@@photoboyjet I always thought it was interesting when Sirius my border collie/golden retriever came home with a cows leg because there aren't any cattle farms in his known stomping grounds (our property and the neighbours field to chase coyotes), he must've gone up the road to find them.
I've NEVER understood how folks see filling a deceased body with chemicals, placing it in a steel box and then into a concrete box (as is often required) as NATURAL?? When I learned that soil transitioning was legal in WA and that there are at least 3 companies here that provide that service, I was overjoyed! The thought of returning myself, naturally, to the earth and having trees planted in my soil is so very comforting. I really can't imagine that this won't become the default at some point. Where are we going to BURY 8 billion people? Hello. Thanks, Cailtin for another great video!
Yes thats true but any cemetery after a time reuses graves and personally I dont see it as a cemetery vs nature argument. Its more Walmart vs cemetery situation. Walmart and other development isn't real keen on redevelopment if virgin land is available. You cant stop landowners from selling land. What you can do is put your corpse there for a while. That doesn't solve the problem permanently but it does set aside land for park space instead of parking spaces.
I found it really endearing how the guy you interviewed would say "thank you" to express gratitude about you engaging in a topic he is so passionate about in a thoughtful and insightful manner. This video overall was a joy to watch and I sincerely hope human composting takes off throughout the world.
The thought of my preserved body laying underground waiting while everyone who ever knew me eventually forgets or passes on leaving me alone in a cemetery makes me feel incredibly lonely. I'm not against a memorial but I have always just wanted to decay so i can still serve a purpose.
Well you’d have no brain neurology so you wouldn’t be thinking anything. You’d just have the blackest of blackest and a silence no living person can imagine,scary but true! Peace and happiness from Dublin
I mean, I understand the sentiment, but it's a very human thing to feel. Once you're dead, you won't have any activity happening in the brain-- that's what makes you dead, so you're not going to _feel_ or _experience_ anything when you're dead.
This is the ultimate “my body my choice” I cannot understand why there’s so few states, I was considering cremation, then I saw the option of being plainly buried and a tree planted. This would be a fantastic option, I think my family would probably think it’s weird, but in the same thought they would say, “well, it is Tommy, so…”. Those roses are so beautiful, oh thanks, it’s all because of Tommy, he must have a green thumb, no his decomposed body is feeding them……crickets…
Money, morality, and traditon, those are the roots. As a student in the industry, that is the answer to this particular question. - The politicians often set in their ways fear that these new methods may scare people from the methods that net the government an income. Plus they like to be in control too so there is that. - The funeral homes see these startups as competition, and being the funeral industry has an almost exclusive control over what happens when you die, there is a bit of sway that the role carries. - The public sees this as different, a break from tradition and what they were brought up to see as moral and ethical. "Farmers compost dead livestock, what now are we just cows?" (not saying that's the exact argument but you get the gist). This means their less inclined to look at these options unless someone they know has undergone these processes. - The public also may have an underlying fear as to what could be transferred into the soil, fearing public safety and such. - Having these facilities in a community may ruing the value of property thus it may not be favorable to municipalities and developers. Ther is a whole load more that can factor in, this is a very short sentence of what is arguably a novel the size of J.R.R Tolken's "Silmarillion".
I see so many people wanting to have their ashes in tree pods- where their ashes aren’t really doing much to nourish that tree- this is such a more direct and intimate way to become part of nature
I just had that very conversation with someone on FB. So, of course, I posted one of Caitlin's old videos on burial options. Then this one showed up in my TH-cam feed, so I posted that one, too. Very appropriate to today's discourse!
You can get ur whole body put in a pod that biodegrades and a tree is planted above it but I'm not sure which countries it is legal in yet but it sound very similar to a natural burial just with a pod,
I hope I get to be composted. there's something comforting about being turned into life-giving soil for more life to spring. almost as if I'm never truly dead, just passing on my life to other life.
"music the person loved" Ah. For my grandmother that was children singing Bible songs... badly. My aunt found a mixtape that Grandma had made. I struggled not to laugh at the funeral.
One of my work friends had a similar story which made me chuckle. Her dad was a primary school teacher. The school children had recorded a song played on their recorders for him and my friends mum had asked the crematorium to play it as the coffin was brought in but they didn't, the played a hymn instead. After the funeral, my friends mum called the crematorium to complain they had played a hymn they didn't want. The crematorium responded, "you think that's bad? The funeral after your husbands came in to Little Donkey played on recorders!" 😂😂
No one is going to bring it to Michigan, but with a state house controlled by Democrats and a Democratic governor, it might be a lot easier to find support for the needed legislation to pass. Citizens need to organize and find members of the legislature to introduce such a bill and get it through the process.
Fantastic idea, would prefer visiting a "Garden of remembrance" filled with flowers and plants supported with nutrient rich compost than some grim cemetery. Adding this to my death plan now.
Some grim cemetery where it's socially frowned upon to even walk on the graves. I know this is going to sound wrong, but *please step on me*. All ground should be used!
“Your not a tree, your a forest” I got goosebumps and started to well up.. and I agree, the least I can do when I’m gone is to give my physical body back to nature .. beautiful concept and I hope this gets more traction
This feels so much more comforting than being scorched into dust or placed in a tiny box 6 ft in the cold ground. I can live again as the actual earth. It also in a way feels more respectful.
I totally agree. The ideas of being cremated or in a casket fill me with a kind of dread, and I know I won't know the difference at that point, but still. The idea of being composted is uplifting.
This takes a lot of depression out of the deposing of human remains. Must find out if this is available in the UK. Make trees, make forests! That's so appealing
As a native of California, it’s tiring to be a national laughingstock, even when it’s unjustified. I grew up learning that we were the armpit of America.
@@SamAronow : I'm a horrible New Yorker who's an unhealthy blend of hopefulness and cynicism, but I'm sorry you feel that way. Looking back at my visits, I feel like I've been too negative to ever really fit in on the West Coast. Most of you belong to bastions of forward thinking, even if you have the normal human tendency to under-appreciate your hometowns.
Agreed.. as another (southern) Californian, there was a time that this would be welcomed with open arms. Even the green/shroud in the ground burials. I only know a handful of cemeteries here that allow that, Joshua tree being one ( which was meantioned in one of Caitlin's books). I am facinated with shroud burial, composting and aquamation, but many places won't try new death alternatives.. I mean look at Riverside national cemetery, they don't allow anything but the cement crypt casket thing other then columbariums.. cause it makes the grass easier to mow.
I love this. To be handled by people who are so compassionate and caring for the environment is amazing! Giving back our bodies to mother nature from which we came is such a comforting thought.
If i lost when hiking, please, don't search for me or my corpse, dont ship me into this facility, there will be a lot of carbon footprint by doing so, especially if you use 4wheel to retrive me up.
Thank you for sharing this information. I’ve been researching options other than cremation and burial, and THIS is def at the top of my list!! Now for making it a reality….sigh.
@@666nAck I make my life count every single day!! And I don’t want to put the burden on my loved ones of making the decision of how to dispose of my corpse…having a plan is part of being a responsible human.
This so reflects the Buddhist teaching that “form is emptiness and emptiness is form”. Our form transforms back to the constituents it was made of, and it then nourishes other forms. I’ve already made arrangements for a green burial in a conservation area which I’m totally jazzed about.
Here in Isan inThailand we just put you on 2 sacks of charcoal,pour cooking oil over you,light you and roll you into the oven at the wat (temple) or you can be put on a pile of wood (with fresh banana palms placed over you to stop you sitting up in the fire and freaking out the kids), come back the next day to pick up what's left in a coffee jar (Chiang Mai just sweep you into the piles with everyone else's burned bone fragments) but this sounds great because you could end up back in the family farm that feeds the family.
As a Californian, it makes me sad to think that we were so close, and yet failed. I've been telling my children since they were small that I wanted to be "scattered under a tree". This option would make me not only a tree, but a forest!
Right! We could have had psychedelics to expand the mind and consciousness and sacred forests of human composting where we could probably go to them and be completely present! I started tearing up when they talked about the little girl dancing because that level of recognition of the cycles of life and consciousness so young was so profound
Congratulations on having it legalized in the state of New York! What made me even happier was that there was an article (though short and not detailed) on our public broadcast company's website and there were a lot of positive comments.
Imagine having a loved one's soil giving life to a plant or mushroom that you have sitting beside you in a little pot. Although they will have no memory of you, a part of your loved one is still alive, sitting next to you, only in a different form. There is so much meaning and beauty in that thought.
As a catholic we talk about ‘from dust to dust’ meaning actually ‘from soil to soil’ as it’s taken from the creation of man from mud + god’s breath - and life ending with decomposition. Because of this I always found the concept of chemical preservation post death very strange, it took away from the beauty of the sentiment of our bodies being an earthly vessel that would return to its state once the spirit has gone. I wanted a natural burial before I had heard of the term, or the fact that it’s an option. Doctrine teaches us to give all we have in love, and I’d like to give the last thing I can give - my body - to nature. I’m saddened to hear that people sharing my faith have caused issues with the law, although sadly not surprised, and I hope more people start to see it as I do.
I am also Catholic & feel mostly as you have written. I wondered about how The Catholic Church (TCC) views this method for the first 14 minutes of the video until she mentioned that. There was a time when TCC did not allow us to be cremated, but that has changed & I expect TCC will eventually allow us to utilize this method. I don't think it is so much a matter of TCC creating issues, as the fact that respect for life & respect for the body which God created in His own image perhaps require some further consideration before the stance on this would change. For instance, I could see where TCC would not have a problem with our being allowed to decay naturally (as would happen if we were to pass away in the woods somewhere, unbeknownst to others), but would have concerns about the respectful disposition of our remains AFTER the natural decay of our bodies occurs. I'm just guessing, but I think they might take issue with our remains being tossed in a heap "just anywhere" rather than hallowed ground. Maybe Catholics will eventually end up feeding beautiful forests at some of our National Shrines. What a lovely thought! 10.22.2021
Also its incredibly rude to try to dictate what people not in your religion do. Telling everyone in your congregation that composting will mean you come back as a dirt being post resurrection (that sounds cool though) and that they're not allowed to do that. Okay whatever. Trying to stop other people from having that option, even if it went against their religion they shouldn't.
I'm trully crying right now. I'm from Argentina and I believed my only option was traditional burial. You are giving me the hope that some day this will be available for me and my loved ones.
Make contact with the people that were able to enact this and present your idea to your representatives for a profitable business that will contribute tax dollars to community.
One main thing that terrifies me is the thought of dying and death. I dont like the idea of getting sent to a morgue and be embalmed with a lethal chemical. The thought of being possibly still alive when declared dared when I'm still alive. This is the way of composting gives me comfort. I actually have wanted to be planted with a beautiful Japanese cherry blossom tree with a plague on a gorgeous headstone with my picture and the person that i was in life bringing joy to others and always helped others. To helping nature recycle me in such a dignied and most richest manner versus being placed in a coffin taking up space and it would take years for me to be in decomposition or become mummfied. The terror of being stuck in a coffee 6 feet under is so inhumane and would prefer to be returned to earth in the most natural way and continue to grow with my favorite tree and we become one with nature forever. Imagine with a beautiful flower garden and a pretty pond of water with goldfish, swans and ducks swimming along with each other with benches so comfortable to relax in a beautiful sunrise or sunset and little quaint tables to place snacks and drinks and a foot rest to rest on. A nice playground for children to play and just remember me on those beautiful picturesque days with me. Remember me always for who i was that lived a good humble life caring for others. Remember me.❤😮
If that’s your fear like this lady on the video told us if you choose this kind service if you happen to be alive and wake up just knock on the vessel door they’ll gladly let you out.
Side note: I absolutely love that the scientist said the soil was "Nothing special "! We are all organic matter and we go back to that. It's full circle in its best form!
Nothing special today but back in the day the bodies of war were sacred in fertilizing the crops for their people back home . They also used their teeth.
As a funeral director with 40 years service behind me, I wholeheartedly support this new way of disposal of human remains, keep up the good work and never give up your fight to get this through.
Disposal like they where garbage ya hope people see u are about the money just like the fools i jist had to deal with they all got caught trying to take me fir a extra 5000
So this way they will rent you a high dollar coffin for your service like the funeral homes try to take you for thousands on shipping a body when it only cost 1200 do your research people
@@pouponcrazycat5987 No it's not. Italians bury their dead whole, they spend lots of money on tombstones and monuments and private chapels; this bs would never fly there.
The reaction of Caitlyn and others to the land overlaid with human compost reminds me of how indigenous people react to the spaces their people have occupied - and have had their bodies return to over centuries. Is this our modern equivalent, along with Green Burials? Will we in coming years begin to re-establish that bond with the land that post-industrial societies basically have lost? When you know that everything living in an ecosystem contains part of your ancestors, how does that change your relationship with it?
I knew I wanted to be composted and be a tree. So when "your not a tree, you are a forest" was like nailing it. I love your videos. Thanks for sharing such content.
Here in Germany we have a thing called "Ruheforst" which translates to quiet forest. Its where a section of a forest is dedicated to be a graveyard. You can get a tree and have up to 12 graves around it (like a clock). My family got a tree when my grandma died and my great uncle has also been buried there. The spots are already reserved for my parents, my siblings, my husband and other relatives who wanted to be part of it. You get buried in a compostable urn after you are cremated and there is no gravestones or anything else that is not perishable.
I've worked with a group that had its bill shelved in California. We got it brought back from the grave (otherwise known as the Rules Committee) twice and passed it. It is possible. It is difficult. You have to push more forcefully than you'd expect. I am an independent contractor for this kind of stuff. I'd be happy to work with you guys on building your grass roots volunteer lobbying organization in an effective way.
Being composted sounds a lot more appealing than becoming gross bio-soup in a sealed casket buried in a forever-dedicated plot of earth. Great video. Good stuff to know.
Where do you think the matter of that body in a casket is going to be in 500 million years or more? We tend to think of things on a pathetically short human timescale. Even the Earth itself Will one day be reduced to dust and recycled in a few billion years, back into the universe, it doesn't matter where your body sits. Nothing in the universe goes to waste, other than some humans that may waste their lives while borrowing said matter.
the body is going to do the same thing in the casket, the only thing that survives longer is your skeleton. But even that will break down soon after awhile.
I agree. The gross things done for embalming and being cremated with fuel poisoning the air. Luke Perry celebrity was buried in a mushroom suit and that’s amazing. Green burials are the best
i really appreciate that you mention how relaxing it is. im sure for a lot of people, hearing that in life this process feels meditative and feels calming is a comfort.
“Yes, Simba, but let me explain. When we die, our bodies become the grass, and the antelope eat the grass. And so we are all connnected in the great Circle of Life” Mufasa…
being a burn victim myself, the thought of cremation freaks me out. Traditional burial has always been what I "wanted"... not so much for myself, but for my family members. THIS Is such a beautiful option.
Natural burial has always appealed the most to me out of everything. Let me go back to the land as nature intended. Thank you for showing us this process. It is beautiful and I desperately hope that this can be a normalized option for "burial."
I wonder if the ppl that are massively against it doesn't get the fact that this is supposed to be an OPTION. They themselves don't have to choose this, but for the rest of us it would be great to have this alternative for those of us who CHOOSE it.
Yasss! My best friend was composted in WA when she passed away this year and her dirt was spread amongst friends and family. I'm honored to have a piece of her to become a beautiful plant. I've been waiting for this video thank you!
I keep coming back to watch this video because it’s just such an incredible beautiful idea. Genuinely I’d be honored to give my dead body back to nature like this.
Unfortunately, we’re becoming full of micro-plastics and other chemicals, at some point humans decaying in the ground will have the opposite effect. It’ll be like radioactive materials.
The funeral industry is going to fight this tooth and nail because this will cut into their bottom line. The casket, embalming, dressing of the body, wake, and cemetery plot/mausoleum is a boon for them. If this option becomes mainstream as cremation has (the average cremation is $6k), the cost is going to skyrocket. Right now composting is $2,500 to $5,500 depending on site and process.
Honestly I can see them going down a different route to extort money out of grieving family members if this becomes mainstream, like charging shitloads for ultra-fancy memorial pots with the dead person's face on them to put the compost in
@The Funeral Apprentice But at the end of the day, money is money. I would have never thought a cremation would get as expensive as it has, but it has. The same will probably happen with composting.
@@lazyperfectionist3978 If that's what the person wants done, then let them. The natural composition and it's intended purpose will be sought by the right people who demand alternatives to the high price of the funeral industry. But I can see where a funeral corporation would monopolize the business, and prevent a competitor from opening shop with the green alternatives....
Has the cost of cremation gone up? Not quite 4 years ago, I paid $785 for my husband's cremation. And that included several copies of his death certificate, for closing accounts. etc.
@@sophierobinson2738 yes, cremations have gone up. The average cremation now is 5-6 thousand dollars. But the funeral home talks the family into having a viewing or wake before the body is cremated so that adds on to the cost.
When I was looking for a house and checked one it was dark in the evening. I saw a beautiful mum in the garden, so I stared at the flowers. That was the moment when the seller told me briefly: The parents will be moved when we leave the property... then I could see the little rock with "in loving memory of" ...
Omg. Picking up a truckload of whomever sounds crazy. Lol But, that could let gma take care of her garden indefinitely. I love it. We need this to pass everywhere. Amazing way to help the earth's soil and in that, helping possibly feed our future. Thank you Caitlin. ❤
That is such a beautiful thought. I already love and revere compost as the most wonderful and amazing thing, it would be so exciting to know I was going to be composted. I think it would make dying a lot more peaceful if I could guarantee that. Plants and fungi and compost and gardening forever!
I had no idea this was happening right here in the PNW, but I love the idea. Previously I had thought about donating my remains to the body farm. Thank you for doing this work.
Caitlin thank you for sharing this information, it is extremely informative, I own a funeral home in Western Colorado and am currently working towards operating a human composting facility, I love the concept.
it is more respectful for the departed to be brought back as a nutrient for living matters ..than be embalmed in chemicals ..more sacred ..as it written ..from the dust you came ..to dust you return
I understand the dems thought on the bill. When your opponents come at you with everything they've got and even people that support you generally are less then happy, all the work you do is questioned. I really think some Republicans are against animal protection, efficiency standards, carbon credits etc because the Dems are for it. Successful and effective politicians ruin the narrative that the other party wants to destroy everything that is good. Dems try to torpedo republican bills too, but going after military spending and laissez faire policy is not much of a rallying point. "They are trying to take away our cemeteries " is much easier to scream into a megaphone.
@@jamiep9694 Not all of California is rich or the small rich areas you see on TV. We could definitely use this here because of how many dry areas there are & if I would've known about this sooner I definitely would've written in. What a beautiful way to spend eternity.
@@nise5281 If your Google auto-corrected like mine did, it likely got "polluted" with "populated." To which, actually...yes to both. A lot of the states with high populations also have high pollution (poor air quality was one study I found). Rather surprising and humbling.
I'm a Catholic, and I LOVE this idea, (it makes me mad that some of us are so uptight about the wrong things) My cousin loved nature, and would have probably been a full blown hippy type given different chances in life, and I can't help thinking this, especially something like the river rewilding project, would have been perfect for him than being stuck in a box. This video has explained it better than anything I've read, you even answered my worry about what happened to the bones, which I couldn't find anywhere. Though I'd feel happier if you could collect them already bagged up (oof, that sounded horrible 😳), and I just don't think I could plant anything edible in people compost. The first I heard about it was when my father heard about it being legalised (somewhere, I know I could google it) recently, and mum asked me to look it up because she thought he'd imagined it 😆 While initially freaked out by the thought of it (I imagined people being treated disrespectfully, being flung on something like a communal compost heap, or the places forensics study decomp rates) I had to read up about it, and thought it was lovely!
I don’t know why, but this got me so emotional, there’s just something so peaceful about it. I started picturing that maybe in the future instead of gloomy cemeteries that we rarely ever have a reason to visit, maybe we’ll have beautiful parks built on top of human compost that get used every day… That’d be so cute.
I really loved to see how Katrina was inspired to tackle this issue while pursuing architecture. You really never know what direction life will take you and where your calling may find you. Really inspirational!
Agreed! The intersection between these two disciplines reminds me a lot of what happened with the Cimetière des Innocents in the 18th century (back when the burial pits became a public health risk and major public works were needed to relocate remains.) We don't often think of burial as a city planning issue but it totally makes sense when you consider population growth.
@John 3:16 Believe on Jesus Christ and Be Saved - Your comment is myopic, lacks substance, intelligence and foresight! 👎🏼 God has no specific religion, religion is man made and you are a follower of fables. Just pointing out the obvious !
I think this is absolutely beautiful!! I just lost my husband to cancer a year ago and this kind of process was all he talked about! He loved trees and nature. We both thought it was the ultimate way to go!! If only I could have given him this!!😕
I remember reading about the work experimenting to find the right ratio to make this compost in From Here to Eternity. I was really attached to the idea and I’m so glad it’s now available! I hope a facility opens in California before I die. ❤
I really love the idea of this. It seems so much more complete than other processes. With cremation, you're left with ashes which still feel like a very non-natural thing, in some ways. With burial, the last you see is the casket going into the ground. With this, the end product is soil. This is the very epitomy of returning to the earth in the most complete way possible. And it seems so sustainable. Not just environmentally. It seems like it's time and space efficient enough to work for todays densely packed cities.
At LEAST modern cemeteries are starting to look more like public parks than actual cemeteries but, I completely agree with you Heather. Here in Canada we have NO SHORTAGE of land space but, what a waste of money. Granted, our newer cemeteries are parklike ... with ponds, trees, flowerbeds etc ... so people can actually use them as they would a park. That being said, I STILL agree 100% with your comment.
Aussie and agree also. Though... new options are becoming more accessible here where you can be given a natural burial on private land, usually adjoining a national park or similar, which is being 're-forested' ( humans planting trees etc to re-establish the natural ecology). Having people IN the ground in these areas, where you can plant a local ecology-appropriate, memorial tree or shrub above the burial, means that the forest can NEVER be logged or cleared. It had the extra protection of being a cemetery as well! Hopefully forever!
Everyone is different on what they want after death. I would rather be composted and to give back to the earth than have chemicals put into my body or be cremated. Hopefully PA would make this legal. You have your own way on what you want to be done to you when pass away. But having more options is great
@@mkgbeauty1016 You'll be composted just lije a piece of garbage left out in a field under some leaves and branches. Isn't a human being befitting of something better....
Caitlin, you always put life into perspective for me. Whenever I'm sad or depressed over nothing, I watch your videos and feel reinvigorated and JAZZED to be alive. What a gift it is to be here. Especially knowing that beautiful burial options like this are out there, death doesn't seem so horrible after all. Thank you endlessly. Signed, Perpetually Having an Existential Crisis
Seeing the 28 people in the old forest made me cry... The pure beauty of seeing others so profoundly dedicated to life cycles and the planet is world less (beyond love) thank you for all that you do
My dad worked in conservation for 33 years, if this could have been a option for him I think it would have been comforting for my brother and I to know he was going to continue help with conservation.
This is also a great way to protect forests from being cut down, seeing how they've turned them into a sort of cemetary where every step should be taken with respect to the dead. This is what the literal meaning of sacred land is - we're bringing back traditions from millions of years long past. I would love to be a part of this.
Same! I think places fertilized with human compost would be respected as the resting places they are. I think it's beautiful to be able to support the ecosystem we were a part of.
@@TheDrepirela if caring about the planet more than outdated and pointless traditions makes you a hipster, then being a hipster must be a pretty cool thing to be ngl
@@TheDrepirela Think of all the trees that fall naturally in the forest. In that case, the wood decays and returns nutrients to the soil. It's the same thing here: the wood chips used in the burial return those nutrients to the soil, and other plant life. Additionally, it's a rather negligible amount of wood chips compared to say, mulching your yard, or even using a few cardboard boxes. Still I don't entirely disagree with your point. Perhaps if already fallen trees, or waste wood that would otherwise be in a burn pile were used instead, it would be better. Anyway, sorry for the spiel:)
In Germany it´s a tradition to plant a tree for new born babies, now imagine planting your baby´s tree in the soil of your grandparents. The past generations would nourish the once just entering the world and look after them
Very moving sentiment.
Wow that sounds beautiful!
That's beautiful❣
*drops the mic* ❤️
It's the little suprises in life that can really show just how horrible of a person you are. I'm 26 minutes into this documentary, but still. When you said "plant your baby tree in the soil of your grandparents". My mind went to a completely different subject. If you'll excuse me, I need to go pray.
"You're probably wondering how I got here"
It's Caitlin, so no.
Yeah, not really. We all just kinda assumed this was in the cards.
Every opening in movie😁
I'd be wondering if she wasn't there! LoL
You're awesome Caitlin! The movement of free choice and being focused on normalizing the way "the end" is viewed and conceptualized is beautiful! Bless all of this community and yourself for all the progress forward (though it has such a long way to go, but honestly, something has to be done with the ever increasing human population, which at one point or another, will be an ever increasing corpse "population").
If this was available here (Alberta, Canada), I would be signing up today as part of my afterlife planning.
This is the first burial varient that actually appeals to me. Before I was pretty "whatever" about what happens to my corpse, because I'll be dead and won't care. But the thought of just naturally become food for plants feels so pure and comforting. I'll have to look into if there is anything like this where I'm from
Completing the carbon cycle woooo
I agree why are burying coffins and caskets all that's needed is a shroud.
Check out Diogenes the Cynic and how he wished to be buried.
@@eldorados_lost_searcher 😂
It feels right. I don't know how else to put it.
I live in Seattle and this is where our mom was laid to rest. I'll be here when it's my trurn. They were wonderful people that made it easy to do.They even picked up our mom's body and helped with all the paperwork, at an affordable price.
Thank you Caitlin, for briging this information to the people.
If you don't mind sharing. Do you remember how much you paid for the composting?
I'm planning for when it's my time and when it's legal in my state(if I'm still in the US when I do)
I’d like to know the cost too.
❤
🤔 $7000-$8000 isn't exactly "affordable". Those are funral home prices. Cremation is a few hundred.
I heard once it was 5k .
Well kid, these are granny’s apples. No, really, they are.
Gives Granny Smith apples a whole new spin
🤣😅😂🥰
😂
Hahaha that's so caitlin. I'm cracking up. Omg. I'm going down a rabbit hole in my head!
New restaurant ( NOR ) presents salmon
sponsered by the order of good death....food protected by the dead!
@@suecasper4243 Let the Dead, nourish Your life!
My mom, who was an avid gardener, died last year, she chose cremation but I think had it been available she would have chosen composting, it would have been so
perfect for her. I hope this becomes much more available soon!
My grandmother would have liked to have been buried under her strawberry beds. 😆
My husbands grandma would have for sure have chosen composting
This would be my choice for myself. I would love to try to get my state to permit this as an option because I think many many people would choose this option. I am not understanding why this would meet any opposition either as it is beneficial to all involved and for the environment. I am also not understanding why the Catholic church opposed this also. I am Catholic and feel this would be closest to caring for God's creations. Makes zero sense why this would not be an option for anyone.
@@MissaPality dont Catholics have to pay the church for a funeral service? It’s all a scam lol idk I’m Native American and Unitarian Universalist so i don’t know.
So, I recently moved to Germany and I'm in a German language course. I watched this video yesterday, and today in class we came to the topic of Compostable clothing. And my teacher asked, "What else can be composted?" and without thinking, I said, "Humans!"
I now have to give a presentation on this topic tomorrow.
Thats amazing u got this !!!!
Give us an update on how it went.
You got this! Best of luck!
There’s some good material on this, I think you’ll do great!! Update please ☺️
Oh, I hope you did well! 😍
They need to make this legal in all 50 states. Donate my organs and compost the rest.
illegal
I would do the same ! What a great idea
who need your sick organs!
@@antoniofauxuci174 That's why I'm moving to Tennessee, Alabama men are jealous of Tennessee.
@@antoniofauxuci174 Why are you Alabama men jealous of Tennessee men? Tennessee men are hotter than Alabama men, Alabama men are terrible in bed.
As someone whose nearing her death. This gives me a lot to think about. Brings tears to my eyes, Caitlyn.
good luck on this journey, whatever the path may be
Best of luck to you, Thespian. Safe journeys
sending love
It feels wrong to leave a like on such a comment but I am glad that you have access to this channel, information, and the death positive support here at this time. I hope you are supported also beyond here and have what you need to remove extra stressors as they come.
Wishing you a peaceful transition
I planted my late bearded dragon in a planter urn. A week later I saw a small mulberry tree pop up, they were her favorite snack, and watching all the plants grow really helped me with her passing. She's making beautiful things and snaccs for the little bugs she would have eaten. It's beautiful.
This is so sweet. I want to feed trees and make snacks for bunnies, snakes and dragonflies.
Isn't nature great
I'd love to grow the smoke for my friends memorial party
compost humans??? Hasn't that been done for thousands of years?
@@williamnordeste1169 Composting is a bit different from just burying a body and letting it decay naturally in the soil. Composting is the process of turning dead organic matter (such as wood, hay, food scraps etc.) INTO soil in an aerobic (oxygen-filled) environment. The outcome is very similar, though.
This is the ONLY funeral option I have ever felt okay with happening to me. I am glad I saw this. I hope it becomes legal in TN.
I agree heavily. I want to return to the Earth. Once I'm gone I should be gone ya know? Preserving my dead body once I'm not in it anymore feels wrong. Also from TN :)
I saw the Burial Service for the 1rst time as of just now.
I am 💯 % in agreement with being a choice. We came from the earth for life , so we shall become the earth in death. This is Superb technology at its best. I'm in.
You can be transported to any state FYI
Me too
@@tThisNThat oh yeah, good point. Thanks😊
This would be great for pets too ! We could literally have them apart of our garden .
I know some people do, and have done for generations.
Ours are buried in the yard.
You can. Just put them in your compost pile.
"Oh these tomatoes are delicious"
"Thanks, we grew them with rover 😚"
I’m in California. I always thought it was illegal to bury my pets but I did it anyways. Then last year the vet gave me the option to bring home my fur baby and bury him in my yard. Not only did it save me money I’ll always have his place marked in the yard he loved so much. ❤❤❤
First I was not happy about the idea of being composted, but her showing the ritual was so beautiful and calming and tbh I'd absolutely LOVE to chill in a pile of wood chips inside a capsules to then have my compost spread in a forest. That would be my ideal way to go.
Now that I've thought more about it, if my grandpa had died at a time where this would've been possible I would have made a garden with his compost and planted nothing but his favourite flowers in it. He was a very passionate gardener and would probably have loved the idea of this kind of burial.
What a more beautiful way to almost continue living on if you are a Gardner. My grandma also loved to garden. She use to have a huge garden every year even when she moved to the city. If this was around when she passed I know she would have loved to be in her garden feeding her peach tree she absolutely loved.
Well said! My dad would have loved this too. He died way too soon.
This is what I've wanted my entire life understanding what death meant for my body. Seeing a loved one pumped full of preserving chemicals and made up at a viewing made me ill; it didn't look like her, it looked like a doll. I knew I wanted my body untouched and naturally decomposed. When this option of fast decomposition that would allow me to be a part of my garden showed up, I was ecstatic.
Or you could plant a rose on his grave...
@@thamieklybodonmi not the same at all
I'm wondering if that's how people got the idea of a ghost being a spirit under a white sheet/shroud... Being that people buried their dead that way for so long.
That... makes a whole lot of sense
It actually is. That's totally where the concept came from 😉
Ghosts frequently have a white aura outlining them too. The spirit leaving the body is usually drawn as a Casper the Friendly Ghost blob
Oh dang
I was going to say cartoons, but then the cartoonists had to get that idea from somewhere too.
“You’re not a tree, you’re a forest.” 👏🏻🙌🏻🌲🌳 Yes to improved carbon sequestration!!!
Whhyyy did I think those hand emojis were feet!?
Its the closest hug you can give a tree :)
I think I owe the 🌍 at the very least my body. The 🌍 feed and nourished me.
Self love is becoming a forest and helping the environment.
*forest
This was just 🤌 chefs kiss. "We should all be cartwheeling through the compost" ABSOLUTELY!! And that man was such a joy i caught myself grabbing my chest with a soft aww and wiping a tear away the entire time. Such a delight this entire video was. How beautiful 🤧❤❤❤
I actually teared up. Just beautiful
The idea of being buried or especially cremated doesn't feel like how I want to go out. This whole peaceful and natural process is what I want.
Being savagely torn apart and eaten by insects. So peaceful.
@@luckystar9279 At least I'd still be a snack when I'm dead
@@luckystar9279 and I assume you‘ve been eating all kinds of animals savagely but somehow becoming one with earth is weird and creepy?
Wood Chippers be installed to speed up the process {eg}
@@luckystar9279 you would actually be savagely torn apart by aerobic bacteria going through the nitrogen cycle. Insects can’t break down something alone as big as human body in only 30 days unless you had thousands and thousands of em
Not to sound like a total hippie, but imagine if we held every piece of dirt and soil as sacred as if it was once someone we loved and composted. Because everything natural was once something or someone else. And there’s something wild and beautiful about that.
I've been listening to this book, Braiding Sweetgrass, that discusses the ideas of plants being non-human peoples and soil being a sacred, living being. The author, Robin Wall Kimmerer is a botanist and Native American, and it's really opened my eyes to how spiritual interactions with nature can be
I’m not a hippie, and I love what you just said. Beautiful.
Not a hippie either, and I'd love to know that people understand that we're not special as humans - we're just a lifeform around here, and we won't take anything with us. Not an expensive coffin nor a silken burial gown. Being respected and cherished as earth would make us even more special than a spot where a tombstone or tree gets to stand - not to speak of the pro's in comparison to the traditional methods.
we can have profound nature loving thoughts and still not be hippies lol im all for this type of thinking.
I'm beginning to practise paganism, and through an appreciation of nature it is so easy to feel that everything organic has life flowing through it, from the grass and soil, the trees and stones, and everything is this beautiful balanced cycle with every little thing having a knock on importance in the ecosystem.
“One of the times, a woman leapt out of the car, screaming her loved one’s name, joyously leaping over… to touch the pile [of soil].” I was not ready for that image. I had to leave the breakfast table. 🥺. Absolutely beautiful.
This video convinced me. And my mom. The laying in ceremony looks so wholesome and pragmatic.
Lay me down in a bed of flowers, let me grow into a forest.
I feel like the conservationist was finally a worthy audience for caitlins jokes I loved their whole interaction
same, especially after year of pandemic and decreases human interactions it was so nice to see such authentic interactions!
I love that part "If you're still alive, you can just knock."
This is for those of us that want every possible chance, even once the odds no longer exist. See, I know that when I'm dead, I'm dead. My body stops working, my brain stops working, the electricity that was me stops existing. Hopefully my soul moves on.
I get that. But here's the thing. There's this odd sort of comfort knowing that I'm not being forced into a postion, ever. I'm being given a nice, soft, air filled space that isn't holdming me in place at all. If my body can get up, it's free to do that. If not, then I decompose under lack of my own power.
This is what I NEED done with my body. Thank you so much for letting me know it's even a thing.
This is exactly how I feel.
as someone with anxiety and claustrophobia I 100% feel you on this lol
Oh my god you put it into words... This is exactly how I feel too
I felt the same. I don't like the idea of getting my body manipulated with embalming fluids or being torched up in the chamber.
this is EXACTLY how i’ve always felt, i’m extremely grateful to Caitlin for sharing this info with us bc i have never been able to figure out what to put down as my preferred funeral method. this is probably what i’ll be going with if i can
Excuse me but I love that their Soil Scientist is called “Dr Bogs”. Like that’s the person to talk to about decay.
I love this but my brain piped up, The bog man was actually preserved by the bog
@@lazyhomebody1356 Same here, bog kept the man intact for us to find him when he would have probably completely decomposed in ANY other situation other than tundra ice.
Also - Katrina’s last name is Spade! 😂
Samesies as the other commenters! Except there wasnt just one person ever found in a bog!! Windover in Florida was a bog that dried up before dozens of preserved bodies were found dating back THOUSANDS of years!
Ok this comment absolutely sent me 😂
I was deeply moved by this video. I now want to be composted when I die. It's the best way to give back to the planet that supported me.
Or you could just poop outside aka manure🙄 Stupidest comment ever!
Agreed! If we wait a little to die it should become more common place!
For a science fiction story where this practice is prominent read Becky Chambers "Records Of A Space Born Few".
It is the third book in a series of four, but can be read as a stand alone novel.
i'd rather be buried butt naked and just have a tree planted on top. Seems much more simple and peaceful tbh.
I agree, too! And the best thing is even if you do wake up, you have air, and they'll take you out straight away.
As a Californian and an avid gardener, I'm disappointed. I wrote a letter of support because I want this option for myself when my time comes! Thank you for all of your work on this frontier.
YES HARD SAME except i'm swedish and sweden will not do this until more states in the US have legalised it :I
@Steph LePew
Lol
Hopefully it will be an option long before that time!
I want this as an option for myself too. 2050 is too long to wait. Life is short and unpredictable.
We'll get there. Email your assemblyperson. We'll keep the ball rolling till next year.
as a farmer with A DEAD PILE, I've always wondered why this wasn't a thing for people. I love the dead pile! All hail the dead pile.
Gotta put em somewhere
@Susie Lytal Near where YOU live? You wouldn't mind. Would you?
It has so many benefits! I'm right there with you.
@@johnsherman6718 heck yeah I would! my azaelias and camillia bushes would love it
@@johnsherman6718 why would you mind?
"You're not a tree, you're a forest."
I love that, seems so soothing to me mentally.
Love this!!!
I could see these people starring on Finding Bigfoot
Just the thought of participating in the "laying in ceremony" for someone that I love was enough to get me tearing up.
The real thing would be an EXTREMELY emotional experience for me, but I think it would probably be a healthy kind of emotional.
Overall, I think this whole process is just the most beautiful thing.
She sold me when she said, “I don’t know how many of you are worried about being buried alive…” . I’m not scared of dying, but I am 100% scared of being buried alive!
Dont worry, you'll wake up in the furnace
I used to be terrified of cremation, and burial. I didn't want to be put in the ground with the worms, but I was also terrified of the idea of being cremated because what if I was still alive. Which I know is silly, there no way that would happen but it still scared me. After learning about ancient cultures and thier funeral rights, I've become much more comfortable with the idea of cremation because there's a spiritual aspect to it.
Of course I still don't really want to be cremated in a crematorium, id rather have an open air pyre cremation, but unfortunately its not legal in my country.
This human composting and remembrance garden concept is definitely an excellent alternative though, and if I cant have my open air cremation I'd love to have a natural burial in a beautiful garden.
That got me too. I love the fact that i'd be even better off in the vessel than even in a mortuary drawer, since the vessel's warm.
Same
I get it. You think about it slot when you have a terminal illness. I don't get why anyone would have a problem with this.
This is so beautiful. As a historian I find it comforting that this is the same method that humans have been using for thousands of years, just with a modern twist to make it more sustainable.
Where do you get your information from used as history ASO with composting you must go to some liberal brainwashing college or schooling being taught by some crazy ass insane teacher give me a break, 😏
@@davidmulcahey4073 Did you even watch the first 10 seconds of the video????
@@davidmulcahey4073
Watch the video.
@@davidmulcahey4073 you’re…you’re joking, right?
“We should all be cartwheeling through the compost.” So touching and emotional.
It’s insane that it’s actually illegal to decompose naturally
Gotta love the corporate greed of the big funeral industrial complex & their lobbying. #Sarcasm You only have to look at what that hack politician Dick Ham did to aquamation in Tennessee. All because his coffin business would have. Been threatened by its introduction as a death option. To see how they will use any & all avenues available. To them to protect their profit margins the environment be damed.
It’s not actually illegal. You can have a natural burial in a lot of places. They are just trying to legalize this specific process.
To be a little fair, composting, even regular back yard composting of kitchen scraps, isn't as "natural" as you think as far as how decomposition works. It's a technology. Actually our modern understanding of it is about the same age as chemical fertilizer. People have always tossed organic stuff on the ground to improve soil nutrition without really knowing why. But the idea that you can do a good mix of organics and control the air and moisture to speed it all up and control the decomposition process isn't strictly "natural." Natural burial is legal all over, but I do think this is better in many cases, and I'm excited for all the new legislation that's coming up.
@@LauraEilers yea because bodies never decomposed into compost naturally at all for all of time lol composting is just a controlled natural process
Not anymore. The bill finally passed at the end of 2022.
We have farmed for generations. Deceased livestock has always been composted as far back as I can remember. It's a good method and actually, in the case of animals to whom I have had a close personal attachment, the nice little tree protected spot that we use makes me feel they are resting peacefully in a beautiful place. I did right by them.
That seems far more peaceful than calling in livestock removal for rendering, eh?
That is so beautiful 😥
If i had nickle for the amount of times my last dog came home with a leg from a neighbours livestock pit
@@Lunishta There was a slaughterhouse on the outskirts of the town I lived in. One day Mike, our hound/spaniel mix went out there and came home with a cow leg bigger than he was. He must have dragged that thing five miles. It was nothing but bone, hoof and cartilage. Mike was so proud of his accomplishment, but my grandmother and sisters were horrified.
@@photoboyjet I always thought it was interesting when Sirius my border collie/golden retriever came home with a cows leg because there aren't any cattle farms in his known stomping grounds (our property and the neighbours field to chase coyotes), he must've gone up the road to find them.
The little girl cartwheeling through the compost made me cry. That has to be the most beautiful thing I've heard dancing in your loved ones compost.
I've NEVER understood how folks see filling a deceased body with chemicals, placing it in a steel box and then into a concrete box (as is often required) as NATURAL?? When I learned that soil transitioning was legal in WA and that there are at least 3 companies here that provide that service, I was overjoyed! The thought of returning myself, naturally, to the earth and having trees planted in my soil is so very comforting. I really can't imagine that this won't become the default at some point. Where are we going to BURY 8 billion people? Hello. Thanks, Cailtin for another great video!
Yes thats true but any cemetery after a time reuses graves and personally I dont see it as a cemetery vs nature argument. Its more Walmart vs cemetery situation. Walmart and other development isn't real keen on redevelopment if virgin land is available. You cant stop landowners from selling land. What you can do is put your corpse there for a while. That doesn't solve the problem permanently but it does set aside land for park space instead of parking spaces.
Money!!!
My mom and I have said this as well. It makes no sense.
You haven't said how much it cost as compared to a regular cremation,or personal funeral.?!! Thank you.
It about $7000 right now.
I found it really endearing how the guy you interviewed would say "thank you" to express gratitude about you engaging in a topic he is so passionate about in a thoughtful and insightful manner. This video overall was a joy to watch and I sincerely hope human composting takes off throughout the world.
The thought of my preserved body laying underground waiting while everyone who ever knew me eventually forgets or passes on leaving me alone in a cemetery makes me feel incredibly lonely. I'm not against a memorial but I have always just wanted to decay so i can still serve a purpose.
yeah and if i wanted to be rememebered i could have like a memorial tree, more useful than a grave or an urn
Well you’d have no brain neurology so you wouldn’t be thinking anything. You’d just have the blackest of blackest and a silence no living person can imagine,scary but true!
Peace and happiness from Dublin
I mean, I understand the sentiment, but it's a very human thing to feel. Once you're dead, you won't have any activity happening in the brain-- that's what makes you dead, so you're not going to _feel_ or _experience_ anything when you're dead.
This is the ultimate “my body my choice” I cannot understand why there’s so few states, I was considering cremation, then I saw the option of being plainly buried and a tree planted. This would be a fantastic option, I think my family would probably think it’s weird, but in the same thought they would say, “well, it is Tommy, so…”. Those roses are so beautiful, oh thanks, it’s all because of Tommy, he must have a green thumb, no his decomposed body is feeding them……crickets…
Money, morality, and traditon, those are the roots.
As a student in the industry, that is the answer to this particular question.
- The politicians often set in their ways fear that these new methods may scare people from the methods that net the government an income. Plus they like to be in control too so there is that.
- The funeral homes see these startups as competition, and being the funeral industry has an almost exclusive control over what happens when you die, there is a bit of sway that the role carries.
- The public sees this as different, a break from tradition and what they were brought up to see as moral and ethical. "Farmers compost dead livestock, what now are we just cows?" (not saying that's the exact argument but you get the gist). This means their less inclined to look at these options unless someone they know has undergone these processes.
- The public also may have an underlying fear as to what could be transferred into the soil, fearing public safety and such.
- Having these facilities in a community may ruing the value of property thus it may not be favorable to municipalities and developers.
Ther is a whole load more that can factor in, this is a very short sentence of what is arguably a novel the size of J.R.R Tolken's "Silmarillion".
Sounds lovely! But I want to fertilize a field of daffodils. They look like the sun is shining out of them. And bulbs love bone meal...
I see so many people wanting to have their ashes in tree pods- where their ashes aren’t really doing much to nourish that tree- this is such a more direct and intimate way to become part of nature
I just had that very conversation with someone on FB. So, of course, I posted one of Caitlin's old videos on burial options. Then this one showed up in my TH-cam feed, so I posted that one, too. Very appropriate to today's
discourse!
You can get ur whole body put in a pod that biodegrades and a tree is planted above it but I'm not sure which countries it is legal in yet but it sound very similar to a natural burial just with a pod,
@@teamholmez86 that is also very cool! I love that there’s so many options
I like this! I'm a geologist, and I can think of no better way to handle my body after death than being returned to Earth in this manner!
I hope I get to be composted. there's something comforting about being turned into life-giving soil for more life to spring.
almost as if I'm never truly dead, just passing on my life to other life.
So eloquently stated....love this🙏🏼💗🌹
i composted a cat once
Such a beautiful way you've expressed yourself here, Joseph. Thank you!
I would like to be composted also! Never forget there’s something greater than all of us, stay blessed!
"music the person loved" Ah. For my grandmother that was children singing Bible songs... badly. My aunt found a mixtape that Grandma had made. I struggled not to laugh at the funeral.
One of my work friends had a similar story which made me chuckle.
Her dad was a primary school teacher. The school children had recorded a song played on their recorders for him and my friends mum had asked the crematorium to play it as the coffin was brought in but they didn't, the played a hymn instead.
After the funeral, my friends mum called the crematorium to complain they had played a hymn they didn't want. The crematorium responded, "you think that's bad? The funeral after your husbands came in to Little Donkey played on recorders!" 😂😂
This was absolutely everything my mother would have wanted, RIP Christine Lenore S 12/1/22. Please bring to Michigan !
No one is going to bring it to Michigan, but with a state house controlled by Democrats and a Democratic governor, it might be a lot easier to find support for the needed legislation to pass. Citizens need to organize and find members of the legislature to introduce such a bill and get it through the process.
We cannot keep taking without putting something back. This is a marvelous idea 🙂
Fantastic idea, would prefer visiting a "Garden of remembrance" filled with flowers and plants supported with nutrient rich compost than some grim cemetery.
Adding this to my death plan now.
Some grim cemetery where it's socially frowned upon to even walk on the graves. I know this is going to sound wrong, but *please step on me*. All ground should be used!
@@aphyngodiva2551 🤭
Brilliant idea. Your GARDEN OF REMEMBRANCE would be beautiful, and very respectful to the dead. Wonderful idea.
"You are not a tree. You are a Forrest." That is the most beautiful sentiment. You are becoming one with the world, you are becoming the world.
Life is like a box of chocolates...
I found that really well said too!
Yes, this!
“Your not a tree, your a forest” I got goosebumps and started to well up.. and I agree, the least I can do when I’m gone is to give my physical body back to nature .. beautiful concept and I hope this gets more traction
This feels so much more comforting than being scorched into dust or placed in a tiny box 6 ft in the cold ground. I can live again as the actual earth.
It also in a way feels more respectful.
Agreed
I completely agree. It's madness that this is considered weird by lawmakers considering the existing options.
@@louiseevans3510 politicians like quick buck!
I totally agree. The ideas of being cremated or in a casket fill me with a kind of dread, and I know I won't know the difference at that point, but still. The idea of being composted is uplifting.
It really does! I think I would want this for myself.
This takes a lot of depression out of the deposing of human remains. Must find out if this is available in the UK. Make trees, make forests! That's so appealing
Since when did California worry about being or seeming weird? There was a time when California would definitely support this death care alternative.
As a native of California, it’s tiring to be a national laughingstock, even when it’s unjustified. I grew up learning that we were the armpit of America.
@@SamAronow : I'm a horrible New Yorker who's an unhealthy blend of hopefulness and cynicism, but I'm sorry you feel that way. Looking back at my visits, I feel like I've been too negative to ever really fit in on the West Coast. Most of you belong to bastions of forward thinking, even if you have the normal human tendency to under-appreciate your hometowns.
@@SamAronow well not everyone agrees. Sometimes California is visionary.
Agreed.. as another (southern) Californian, there was a time that this would be welcomed with open arms. Even the green/shroud in the ground burials. I only know a handful of cemeteries here that allow that, Joshua tree being one ( which was meantioned in one of Caitlin's books). I am facinated with shroud burial, composting and aquamation, but many places won't try new death alternatives.. I mean look at Riverside national cemetery, they don't allow anything but the cement crypt casket thing other then columbariums.. cause it makes the grass easier to mow.
@@KMStarner82 watch "That Chapter" about Joshua Tree, there are some weird sh#t going on as well! 😁
I cried a couple times while watching this. This is so... compassionate.
"Bones to berries. Veins to vine.
These tendons to trees. This blood to brine.
Too old she was. This woman does leave us,
recycled and enshrined..."
Was not expecting a Waterworld quote on these comments but I’m glad it’s here.
My daughter Lily was composted here this summer. Thank you all. I will be there too. Reservation set at 25$ a month! Deal me in.
@@frankiekennedy6947 I’m sorry for your loss but am comforted in that you found this disposition process for both her and your future self
I love this!
Didn't expect to cry when I clicked on this, but this was touching.
right? what a beautiful way to exit this existence.
I love this. To be handled by people who are so compassionate and caring for the environment is amazing! Giving back our bodies to mother nature from which we came is such a comforting thought.
@The mysterious Miss X rotting in a coffin just takes up more space xD
@The mysterious Miss X Not necessarily, especially if embalming has been done, which is usually the case.
@The mysterious Miss X go to 2:29 in this video th-cam.com/video/pWo2-LHwGMM/w-d-xo.html
It’s not the same thing.
If i lost when hiking, please, don't search for me or my corpse, dont ship me into this facility, there will be a lot of carbon footprint by doing so, especially if you use 4wheel to retrive me up.
@The mysterious Miss X turning into human soup in a metal box in a vault is not like "returning to the earth".
Thank you for sharing this information. I’ve been researching options other than cremation and burial, and THIS is def at the top of my list!! Now for making it a reality….sigh.
yeah! Honestly I would want my soil to be put on an island I visited several times when I was a kid.
You people are literally insane, why don't you focus on making your life count instead of worrying about your corpse
@@666nAck I make my life count every single day!! And I don’t want to put the burden on my loved ones of making the decision of how to dispose of my corpse…having a plan is part of being a responsible human.
@@Sentimentalist0923 true, that's why the ancient Egyptians would sort out their tombs before they even built their house
Hell I can toss you into the boss pasture and let the volutes feed off you since you have no respect for yourself!
This so reflects the Buddhist teaching that “form is emptiness and emptiness is form”. Our form transforms back to the constituents it was made of, and it then nourishes other forms. I’ve already made arrangements for a green burial in a conservation area which I’m totally jazzed about.
They also practice excarnation
om
Here in Isan inThailand we just put you on 2 sacks of charcoal,pour cooking oil over you,light you and roll you into the oven at the wat (temple) or you can be put on a pile of wood (with fresh banana palms placed over you to stop you sitting up in the fire and freaking out the kids), come back the next day to pick up what's left in a coffee jar (Chiang Mai just sweep you into the piles with everyone else's burned bone fragments) but this sounds great because you could end up back in the family farm that feeds the family.
@@emptyemptiness8372 with composting there's no smoke
@@danarzechula3769 good, just fertilizer.
As a Californian, it makes me sad to think that we were so close, and yet failed. I've been telling my children since they were small that I wanted to be "scattered under a tree". This option would make me not only a tree, but a forest!
Cali girl here too. I say bury me under a fruit tree and say after you pick the fruit, “ Jana tastes good this year!”
@@Flowergurl2000 this comment DESERVES 👏🏾more👏🏾 Recognition
Right! We could have had psychedelics to expand the mind and consciousness and sacred forests of human composting where we could probably go to them and be completely present! I started tearing up when they talked about the little girl dancing because that level of recognition of the cycles of life and consciousness so young was so profound
Maybe it's the wildfires. They may think all your hard work will go to waste LOL
Cali girl here too. There is a place in Point Reyes i believe that puts you in an egg like casing and placed under trees in the redwoods.
This has solved my every fear around death and burial, this is incredible and I would love to see it become the new norm
Its still expensive as fuck; d'ya think its free?
right!!
Compared to the whole process of a normal funeral and burial, no, it is not insanely expensive.
If I'm going to spend money, I'd rather spend it on this.
This had exactly the same effect on me. Although in the UK we have woodland burials in shallow graves but does not feel the same as this process.
Congratulations on having it legalized in the state of New York! What made me even happier was that there was an article (though short and not detailed) on our public broadcast company's website and there were a lot of positive comments.
Imagine having a loved one's soil giving life to a plant or mushroom that you have sitting beside you in a little pot. Although they will have no memory of you, a part of your loved one is still alive, sitting next to you, only in a different form. There is so much meaning and beauty in that thought.
It's certainly more meaningful to me than being the recipient of some divided up ashes.
Or eating a tomato that as grown In it. 🤢
@@morningstar4506 Hey whatever works 😂
@@blizzard762 sounds like a form of perverted cannibalism to me
Awww this is beautiful!!!
As a catholic we talk about ‘from dust to dust’ meaning actually ‘from soil to soil’ as it’s taken from the creation of man from mud + god’s breath - and life ending with decomposition. Because of this I always found the concept of chemical preservation post death very strange, it took away from the beauty of the sentiment of our bodies being an earthly vessel that would return to its state once the spirit has gone. I wanted a natural burial before I had heard of the term, or the fact that it’s an option. Doctrine teaches us to give all we have in love, and I’d like to give the last thing I can give - my body - to nature.
I’m saddened to hear that people sharing my faith have caused issues with the law, although sadly not surprised, and I hope more people start to see it as I do.
i just wrote a similar comment! another catholic here who agrees!!
I am also Catholic & feel mostly as you have written. I wondered about how The Catholic Church (TCC) views this method for the first 14 minutes of the video until she mentioned that.
There was a time when TCC did not allow us to be cremated, but that has changed & I expect TCC will eventually allow us to utilize this method.
I don't think it is so much a matter of TCC creating issues, as the fact that respect for life & respect for the body which God created in His own image perhaps require some further consideration before the stance on this would change. For instance, I could see where TCC would not have a problem with our being allowed to decay naturally (as would happen if we were to pass away in the woods somewhere, unbeknownst to others), but would have concerns about the respectful disposition of our remains AFTER the natural decay of our bodies occurs.
I'm just guessing, but I think they might take issue with our remains being tossed in a heap "just anywhere" rather than hallowed ground. Maybe Catholics will eventually end up feeding beautiful forests at some of our National Shrines. What a lovely thought!
10.22.2021
If all the soil makes its way to a Catholic cemetery to be returned to consecrated ground this should be acceptable.
Many people believe in the resurrection of the body, thus comes that reverence and fear of mishandling a body.
Also its incredibly rude to try to dictate what people not in your religion do. Telling everyone in your congregation that composting will mean you come back as a dirt being post resurrection (that sounds cool though) and that they're not allowed to do that. Okay whatever. Trying to stop other people from having that option, even if it went against their religion they shouldn't.
I'm trully crying right now. I'm from Argentina and I believed my only option was traditional burial. You are giving me the hope that some day this will be available for me and my loved ones.
Make your way to Oregon or Washington or Colorado!
Make contact with the people that were able to enact this and present your idea to your representatives for a profitable business that will contribute tax dollars to community.
One main thing that terrifies me is the thought of dying and death. I dont like the idea of getting sent to a morgue and be embalmed with a lethal chemical. The thought of being possibly still alive when declared dared when I'm still alive. This is the way of composting gives me comfort. I actually have wanted to be planted with a beautiful Japanese cherry blossom tree with a plague on a gorgeous headstone with my picture and the person that i was in life bringing joy to others and always helped others. To helping nature recycle me in such a dignied and most richest manner versus being placed in a coffin taking up space and it would take years for me to be in decomposition or become mummfied. The terror of being stuck in a coffee 6 feet under is so inhumane and would prefer to be returned to earth in the most natural way and continue to grow with my favorite tree and we become one with nature forever. Imagine with a beautiful flower garden and a pretty pond of water with goldfish, swans and ducks swimming along with each other with benches so comfortable to relax in a beautiful sunrise or sunset and little quaint tables to place snacks and drinks and a foot rest to rest on. A nice playground for children to play and just remember me on those beautiful picturesque days with me. Remember me always for who i was that lived a good humble life caring for others. Remember me.❤😮
If that’s your fear like this lady on the video told us if you choose this kind service if you happen to be alive and wake up just knock on the vessel door they’ll gladly let you out.
Side note: I absolutely love that the scientist said the soil was "Nothing special "! We are all organic matter and we go back to that. It's full circle in its best form!
But soil is special! It nurtures and supports life.
Woo I get to be the one to say! It's both!
Nothing special today but back in the day the bodies of war were sacred in fertilizing the crops for their people back home . They also used their teeth.
*TRUST THE SCIENCE, AMIRITE?!*
Ummm nope pretty sure soil is everything in the tree and plant kingdom!
As a funeral director with 40 years service behind me, I wholeheartedly support this new way of disposal of human remains, keep up the good work and never give up your fight to get this through.
It's sad that people have to fight for it in the first place.
Disposal like they where garbage ya hope people see u are about the money just like the fools i jist had to deal with they all got caught trying to take me fir a extra 5000
So this way they will rent you a high dollar coffin for your service like the funeral homes try to take you for thousands on shipping a body when it only cost 1200 do your research people
Have u seen the egg like body and being buried and become a tree.its an Italian thing
@@pouponcrazycat5987
No it's not. Italians bury their dead whole, they spend lots of money on tombstones and monuments and private chapels; this bs would never fly there.
The reaction of Caitlyn and others to the land overlaid with human compost reminds me of how indigenous people react to the spaces their people have occupied - and have had their bodies return to over centuries. Is this our modern equivalent, along with Green Burials? Will we in coming years begin to re-establish that bond with the land that post-industrial societies basically have lost? When you know that everything living in an ecosystem contains part of your ancestors, how does that change your relationship with it?
I knew I wanted to be composted and be a tree. So when "your not a tree, you are a forest" was like nailing it. I love your videos. Thanks for sharing such content.
Here in Germany we have a thing called "Ruheforst" which translates to quiet forest. Its where a section of a forest is dedicated to be a graveyard.
You can get a tree and have up to 12 graves around it (like a clock). My family got a tree when my grandma died and my great uncle has also been buried there. The spots are already reserved for my parents, my siblings, my husband and other relatives who wanted to be part of it.
You get buried in a compostable urn after you are cremated and there is no gravestones or anything else that is not perishable.
I never heard of it😱
Fantastic idea
That’s a neat idea, but doesn’t feed the soil. Might add this to my wants of being composted. Directly below a tree.
This is so beautiful. I wish we had something like this in the U.S. It's such a simple idea that we just need to have more people embrace. 💗
Hier wird es Friedforst genannt glaub ich. Ich hab den Begriff jedenfalls so schon öfter gehört.
I've worked with a group that had its bill shelved in California. We got it brought back from the grave (otherwise known as the Rules Committee) twice and passed it. It is possible. It is difficult. You have to push more forcefully than you'd expect.
I am an independent contractor for this kind of stuff. I'd be happy to work with you guys on building your grass roots volunteer lobbying organization in an effective way.
Being composted sounds a lot more appealing than becoming gross bio-soup in a sealed casket buried in a forever-dedicated plot of earth. Great video. Good stuff to know.
Where do you think the matter of that body in a casket is going to be in 500 million years or more? We tend to think of things on a pathetically short human timescale. Even the Earth itself Will one day be reduced to dust and recycled in a few billion years, back into the universe, it doesn't matter where your body sits. Nothing in the universe goes to waste, other than some humans that may waste their lives while borrowing said matter.
@@aarongreenfield9038 5 years
plus could you leave your mother there
the body is going to do the same thing in the casket, the only thing that survives longer is your skeleton. But even that will break down soon after awhile.
@@aarongreenfield9038 bro your repeating yourself
I agree. The gross things done for embalming and being cremated with fuel poisoning the air. Luke Perry celebrity was buried in a mushroom suit and that’s amazing. Green burials are the best
i really appreciate that you mention how relaxing it is. im sure for a lot of people, hearing that in life this process feels meditative and feels calming is a comfort.
“Yes, Simba, but let me explain. When we die, our bodies become the grass, and the antelope eat the grass. And so we are all connnected in the great Circle of Life” Mufasa…
🧡
I wonder how the antelopes felt about that philosophy
That's what I thought as soon as I heard the topic
@@pissfrog Do it matter how anyone feels about it? Everyone dies homie, dont matter whether you eat grass or meat
@@pissfrog There was a segment of an episode of the "AHHH It's The Mr Hell Show" that parodied that quote in that very manner.
"Cartwheel Through the Compost": The much anticipated sequel to "Tiptoe Through the Tulips."
It's more of a prequel really.
@@illfayted ah yes. You're exactly right!
being a burn victim myself, the thought of cremation freaks me out. Traditional burial has always been what I "wanted"... not so much for myself, but for my family members. THIS Is such a beautiful option.
Oh I wanna be compost put back in the garden I love so much and worked years to accomplish! Thank you for the great Information as always! ♥
Natural burial has always appealed the most to me out of everything. Let me go back to the land as nature intended. Thank you for showing us this process. It is beautiful and I desperately hope that this can be a normalized option for "burial."
This needs to be legal everywhere.
100% agree
Makes no sense that it's not.
A compost pile in the backyard is much nicer than a hog pen.😬
@@jessicafain6630 It's all about the money... The elite/wealthy don't like the idea because it will affect their pockets
I wonder if the ppl that are massively against it doesn't get the fact that this is supposed to be an OPTION. They themselves don't have to choose this, but for the rest of us it would be great to have this alternative for those of us who CHOOSE it.
Yasss! My best friend was composted in WA when she passed away this year and her dirt was spread amongst friends and family. I'm honored to have a piece of her to become a beautiful plant. I've been waiting for this video thank you!
I like that
I keep coming back to watch this video because it’s just such an incredible beautiful idea. Genuinely I’d be honored to give my dead body back to nature like this.
Unfortunately, we’re becoming full of micro-plastics and other chemicals, at some point humans decaying in the ground will have the opposite effect. It’ll be like radioactive materials.
The funeral industry is going to fight this tooth and nail because this will cut into their bottom line. The casket, embalming, dressing of the body, wake, and cemetery plot/mausoleum is a boon for them. If this option becomes mainstream as cremation has (the average cremation is $6k), the cost is going to skyrocket. Right now composting is $2,500 to $5,500 depending on site and process.
Honestly I can see them going down a different route to extort money out of grieving family members if this becomes mainstream, like charging shitloads for ultra-fancy memorial pots with the dead person's face on them to put the compost in
@The Funeral Apprentice But at the end of the day, money is money. I would have never thought a cremation would get as expensive as it has, but it has. The same will probably happen with composting.
@@lazyperfectionist3978 If that's what the person wants done, then let them. The natural composition and it's intended purpose will be sought by the right people who demand alternatives to the high price of the funeral industry. But I can see where a funeral corporation would monopolize the business, and prevent a competitor from opening shop with the green alternatives....
Has the cost of cremation gone up? Not quite 4 years ago, I paid $785 for my husband's cremation. And that included several copies of his death certificate, for closing accounts. etc.
@@sophierobinson2738 yes, cremations have gone up. The average cremation now is 5-6 thousand
dollars. But the funeral home talks the family into having a viewing or wake before the body is cremated so that adds on to the cost.
This is a nice way to explain the human remains in the backyard
Bot.
When I was looking for a house and checked one it was dark in the evening. I saw a beautiful mum in the garden, so I stared at the flowers. That was the moment when the seller told me briefly: The parents will be moved when we leave the property... then I could see the little rock with "in loving memory of" ...
@@MsMarplekedvencei 😧
Lol
c'mon, let's test it on you! it'll be fun xD
Omg. Picking up a truckload of whomever sounds crazy. Lol But, that could let gma take care of her garden indefinitely. I love it. We need this to pass everywhere. Amazing way to help the earth's soil and in that, helping possibly feed our future. Thank you Caitlin. ❤
That is such a beautiful thought. I already love and revere compost as the most wonderful and amazing thing, it would be so exciting to know I was going to be composted. I think it would make dying a lot more peaceful if I could guarantee that. Plants and fungi and compost and gardening forever!
I had no idea this was happening right here in the PNW, but I love the idea. Previously I had thought about donating my remains to the body farm. Thank you for doing this work.
Caitlin thank you for sharing this information, it is extremely informative, I own a funeral home in Western Colorado and am currently working towards operating a human composting facility, I love the concept.
Good for you! I hope all funeral home owners/directors view it as you do, rather than keep us in the dark ages of the funeral industry. Thank you!
I’d love to see where that goes!
it is more respectful for the departed to be brought back as a nutrient for living matters ..than be embalmed in chemicals ..more sacred ..as it written ..from the dust you came ..to dust you return
Considering California is so “green” it’s shocking they don’t want to commit to this
Not to be funny though, there’s probably a lot of silicone and other non-earth friendly things that will come out of dead bodies there.
I understand the dems thought on the bill. When your opponents come at you with everything they've got and even people that support you generally are less then happy, all the work you do is questioned. I really think some Republicans are against animal protection, efficiency standards, carbon credits etc because the Dems are for it. Successful and effective politicians ruin the narrative that the other party wants to destroy everything that is good. Dems try to torpedo republican bills too, but going after military spending and laissez faire policy is not much of a rallying point. "They are trying to take away our cemeteries " is much easier to scream into a megaphone.
@@jamiep9694 Not all of California is rich or the small rich areas you see on TV. We could definitely use this here because of how many dry areas there are & if I would've known about this sooner I definitely would've written in. What a beautiful way to spend eternity.
One of the most polluted states, ya, real green!
@@nise5281 If your Google auto-corrected like mine did, it likely got "polluted" with "populated." To which, actually...yes to both. A lot of the states with high populations also have high pollution (poor air quality was one study I found). Rather surprising and humbling.
Katrina's spaceship kind of looks like the inside walls of the TARDIS. Also, I love her variation on the mortician haircut.
That's what I thought!
This is how they can take care of people that die on our way to colonize Mars. :D
This combines my biggest wishes: Being laid to rest in the Tardis AND become part of a forrest later on! 😍
Oh yes lots of round things! Whovian deathlings 😍😍😍😍😍 awesome
@@chelseyaustin6015 Quick, tell Elon, since he's the only one with the money to do that
I'm a Catholic, and I LOVE this idea, (it makes me mad that some of us are so uptight about the wrong things)
My cousin loved nature, and would have probably been a full blown hippy type given different chances in life, and I can't help thinking this, especially something like the river rewilding project, would have been perfect for him than being stuck in a box.
This video has explained it better than anything I've read, you even answered my worry about what happened to the bones, which I couldn't find anywhere. Though I'd feel happier if you could collect them already bagged up (oof, that sounded horrible 😳), and I just don't think I could plant anything edible in people compost.
The first I heard about it was when my father heard about it being legalised (somewhere, I know I could google it) recently, and mum asked me to look it up because she thought he'd imagined it 😆 While initially freaked out by the thought of it (I imagined people being treated disrespectfully, being flung on something like a communal compost heap, or the places forensics study decomp rates) I had to read up about it, and thought it was lovely!
I don’t know why, but this got me so emotional, there’s just something so peaceful about it. I started picturing that maybe in the future instead of gloomy cemeteries that we rarely ever have a reason to visit, maybe we’ll have beautiful parks built on top of human compost that get used every day… That’d be so cute.
I really loved to see how Katrina was inspired to tackle this issue while pursuing architecture. You really never know what direction life will take you and where your calling may find you. Really inspirational!
No
Agreed! The intersection between these two disciplines reminds me a lot of what happened with the Cimetière des Innocents in the 18th century (back when the burial pits became a public health risk and major public works were needed to relocate remains.) We don't often think of burial as a city planning issue but it totally makes sense when you consider population growth.
@@bellewether4534 excellent point! You’re absolutely right.
@John 3:16 Believe on Jesus Christ and Be Saved
- Your comment is myopic, lacks substance, intelligence and foresight! 👎🏼 God has no specific religion, religion is man made and you are a follower of fables. Just pointing out the obvious !
@John 3:16 Believe on Jesus Christ and Be Saved
- Wow now that’s an intelligent response… NOT‼️ Once again you’ve proven my point. 😂🤣
I think this is absolutely beautiful!! I just lost my husband to cancer a year ago and this kind of process was all he talked about! He loved trees and nature. We both thought it was the ultimate way to go!! If only I could have given him this!!😕
*hugs* I'm sorry for you loss. I lost my dad to bone cancer 3 years ago and yeah, cancer just sucks.
I remember reading about the work experimenting to find the right ratio to make this compost in From Here to Eternity. I was really attached to the idea and I’m so glad it’s now available! I hope a facility opens in California before I die. ❤
I really love the idea of this. It seems so much more complete than other processes. With cremation, you're left with ashes which still feel like a very non-natural thing, in some ways. With burial, the last you see is the casket going into the ground. With this, the end product is soil. This is the very epitomy of returning to the earth in the most complete way possible. And it seems so sustainable. Not just environmentally. It seems like it's time and space efficient enough to work for todays densely packed cities.
I’m in Australia and would love this alternative, it just makes sense to put back into the earth than have huge cemeteries taking up land.
Aussie here too!! I hope to see it in Australia one day as well 🇦🇺
The quicker we get it here in Aus the better.
At LEAST modern cemeteries are starting to look more like public parks than actual cemeteries but, I completely agree with you Heather. Here in Canada we have NO SHORTAGE of land space but, what a waste of money. Granted, our newer cemeteries are parklike ... with ponds, trees, flowerbeds etc ... so people can actually use them as they would a park.
That being said, I STILL agree 100% with your comment.
Another Aussie I totally agree:)
Aussie and agree also.
Though... new options are becoming more accessible here where you can be given a natural burial on private land, usually adjoining a national park or similar, which is being 're-forested' ( humans planting trees etc to re-establish the natural ecology).
Having people IN the ground in these areas, where you can plant a local ecology-appropriate, memorial tree or shrub above the burial, means that the forest can NEVER be logged or cleared. It had the extra protection of being a cemetery as well! Hopefully forever!
I really hope this option becomes more widely used and legalized.
Why. I want to be embalmed, as do many people.
Everyone is different on what they want after death. I would rather be composted and to give back to the earth than have chemicals put into my body or be cremated. Hopefully PA would make this legal. You have your own way on what you want to be done to you when pass away. But having more options is great
@@mkgbeauty1016 You'll be composted just lije a piece of garbage left out in a field under some leaves and branches. Isn't a human being befitting of something better....
Same! I'm hoping the East coast catches up to legalizing n.o.r.
That's what I want. In Canada it's
Caitlin, you always put life into perspective for me. Whenever I'm sad or depressed over nothing, I watch your videos and feel reinvigorated and JAZZED to be alive. What a gift it is to be here. Especially knowing that beautiful burial options like this are out there, death doesn't seem so horrible after all. Thank you endlessly. Signed, Perpetually Having an Existential Crisis
Seeing the 28 people in the old forest made me cry... The pure beauty of seeing others so profoundly dedicated to life cycles and the planet is world less (beyond love) thank you for all that you do
My dad worked in conservation for 33 years, if this could have been a option for him I think it would have been comforting for my brother and I to know he was going to continue help with conservation.
Decided to study horticulture as a career, how fitting for me to want something that gives back to the plants I love so much.
YES!! 🌱✨
"From my rotting body,flowers shall and I am in them and that is an eternity."- Edvard Munch
This is also a great way to protect forests from being cut down, seeing how they've turned them into a sort of cemetary where every step should be taken with respect to the dead. This is what the literal meaning of sacred land is - we're bringing back traditions from millions of years long past. I would love to be a part of this.
really? What about the shit ton of wood chips placed on top of every single dead body. This is some next level hypster bullshit.
Same! I think places fertilized with human compost would be respected as the resting places they are. I think it's beautiful to be able to support the ecosystem we were a part of.
@@TheDrepirela if caring about the planet more than outdated and pointless traditions makes you a hipster, then being a hipster must be a pretty cool thing to be ngl
@@TheDrepirela Think of all the trees that fall naturally in the forest. In that case, the wood decays and returns nutrients to the soil. It's the same thing here: the wood chips used in the burial return those nutrients to the soil, and other plant life. Additionally, it's a rather negligible amount of wood chips compared to say, mulching your yard, or even using a few cardboard boxes. Still I don't entirely disagree with your point. Perhaps if already fallen trees, or waste wood that would otherwise be in a burn pile were used instead, it would be better. Anyway, sorry for the spiel:)
@@TheDrepirela You need wood chips to compost things in a healthy safe way, you want nitrogen and wood in a big pile.