I’m writing this as a way of journaling some of the pain I’m feeling right now for a dear friend – one of the kindest, gentlest people I’ve ever met – who does not deserve to be faced with one more horrendous tragedy in her life… yet she is.
Briefly, she has the terrible job of suddenly planning a funeral for a young person she loves more than her own life.
This young person had expressed his desire for a green burial, preferably in a mushroom suit or coffin.
She asked what I know about them, and because she is so overwhelmed right now, I said I’d do what I could to research and get her the information.
A mushroom burial suit is a biodegradable burial suit or shroud that’s made from mushroom spores. The spores help decompose the body, while filtering toxins so that the surrounding plant life isn’t contaminated when the person’s body is buried.
There is also such a thing as a biodegradable mushroom burial coffin, made from mushrooms and hemp, which achieves a similar result.
The two designs are manufactured by different companies, with the latter based in The Netherlands (as near as I can tell, the coffin isn’t yet available in the US.) The burial suit is – or was – manufactured in the US.
Unfortunately, it seems the US business may no longer exist, despite extensive references found on-line. I couldn’t find a website, their Facebook page hasn’t been updated in years, there’s no phone number, and an email came back as undeliverable. I just now emailed a funeral home that has a blog on this, which was updated five days ago… let’s hope they checked their original contact information (not provided in the blog) for current accuracy.
As an end-of-life doula, I would love to have any solid information my friends and readers might have. It will likely be too late for my friend, but could help someone else. Including myself.
Categories: Death & Dying, End Of Life Doula
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