Arkansas Green

For all those Funeral Directors who say that their families are too 'traditional' to be interested in Green options, Here's a video advertisement from Humphrey Funeral Service in Russelville, Arkansas.  

The video certainly doesn't tell the whole story on Green options.  Service and cemetery choices are much more varied.  However, this video gives consumers a nice introduction.   This is a lot more than I see many other funeral firms doing.  Way to go, Humphrey!  Visit their site here.

Earth Friendly Coffin for Pets

French designer, Arthur Tricheliu has created a sustainable and user friendly coffin concept for pets.  Designed with the intent of helping children deal with their loss, the coffin has incorporated a planter on the lid.  After the coffin is 'planted' , a tree can grow in memory of the pet.   

While similar products have been proposed for the burial of cremated remains, this is the first I've seen designed for the intact burial of pets.  The round design will be appreciated by anyone who has experienced burying a pet on their own; a curled up position is sensible for pets and comforting for their human survivors.  

This kind of coffin would be more appropriate for burying on one's one land than at a formal pet cemetery.  Certainly not everyone wants to bury their own pet, but for those who do, Mr. Tricheliu's design would allow for real participation, and the comfort of an enclosed container, in an earth and pocketbook friendly product.

The coffins are still just a concept, but I can easily see the addition of a smaller model for use with cremated remains, and opportunities to market to both pet stores, veterinarians and pet funeral providers. 

If you'd like to see more of Mr. Trichelieu's work, or are interested in helping to bring this product into production, visit his site.

Designer Arthur Tricheliu

Kinkaraco awarded Eileen Fisher Grant

Kinkaraco Burial Shroud (l), Eileen Fisher Scarf (r)

Women's Clothing Designer Eileen Fisher, a long time advocate of supporting businesses that create a positive impact in the world, has awarded a grant to Green Burial Products company, Kinkaraco. "Through my own company, I've seen how the way we do business has had a positive effect on people's lives," says Fisher. "I see this grant money as encouragement to women business owners who are trying to do the same."  The program recognized 100% women-owned businesses that are innovative and produce products that foster environmental and economic heath in their communities.  Kinkaraco Green Burial Products, founded in 2005, created the first structured secular burial shroud for environmental purpose to be used without a casket.  The shroud debuted on the HBO series 'Six Feet Under' in 2005 on the green burial episode.  Founder and designer, Esmerelda Kent has been a green burial pioneer since 2004, working in California's first green cemetery.  Kinkaraco has recently launched "Mort Couture', a new line of elegant biodegradable shrouds.

Designer Eileen Fisher

The Eileen Fisher Business Grant Program for Woman Entrepreneurs was launched in 2004 with a single grant of $20,000 to commemorate the company’s 20th
anniversary. Since then, up to five grants have been awarded each year to 100%
women women-owned businesses that combine the
principles of social consciousness, sustainability, and innovation to create
new businesses or invigorate existing ones. Applications for the 2011 Women-Owned
Business Program will be accepted from March 15-May15, 2011, 11:59 P.M.
EST.  For more information about the
program or to submit an application, please visit www.eileenfisher/grants

Esmerelda Kent, Designer and Founder of Kinkaraco

Kinkaraco-Green Burial Products is headquartered in San Francisco California’s Mission District. Please visit: www.greenburialproducts.com 

To read the July 2010 Daily undertaker interview with Esmerelda Kent, visit: 

The Shrouds of Kinkaraco: A Conversation with Esmerelda Kent

And for more on the relationship between fashion and death, visit:

Fashion and Funerals

The Shrouds of Kinkaraco: A Conversation with Esmerelda Kent

Named after Tibetan Buddhist Deities, Kinkara, special protectors of the Charnal Grounds, KINKARACOä Green Burial Products produces biodegradable burial shrouds, cremation shrouds, and other ceremonial funeral products. Founded in 2005 by Esmerelda Kent, the company is 'devoted to the sacred in preserving our Earth's natural resources'. Ms. Kent has graciously agreed to share a conversation with The Daily Undertaker.

Esmerelda Kent

Business Week 2008 photo by Eric Millette

Pat McNally: You advocate for survivors to take a greater role in participating in the physical and symbolic tasks of bringing their loved ones to their places of rest. Obviously a shroud is different from a casket in many ways, but what is the difference experientially between placing, carrying and burying a person in a shroud rather than a casket or coffin?

Esmerelda Kent: A shroud is soft and shows the actual outline of the human form unlike a casket. You are never unaware of what is taking place and that the shroud contains a human body. This “awareness” keeps the experience more authentic, spiritually conscious and real which some people want.
Our shrouds are sometimes used by the family to prepare a body and then to remove the body from the home. In some cases the families participate in the actual washing (with our KINKARACO Green BurialWashä and shrouding the loved one there at home and have the funeral director pick the body up after a home service.
However in most cases the funeral home washes and shrouds the body . Most actual green burials do not have viewings. The ceremony takes place graveside often with the family participating in the lowering and covering of the grave. The shrouds have handles for carrying and straps for lowering when used alone without a casket that are unfurled slowly to place the shroud in the grave.

Pat McNally: There is long history of shrouds in many traditions, as you point out on your website. These shrouds were generally long strips of cloth, wound around the deceased.
The design of your shrouds is more complex. Would you explain the ideas behind the features incorporated into your designs?

Esmerelda Kent: With shrouds not being a traditional part of burial practice in America the latter half of the 20^th Century, wrapping a shroud is unfamiliar to most funeral homes outside of the Muslim or Jewish Faith. When I began working in a green cemetery in 2004 we first used blankets, quilts and cloths given to us by the family to act as “shrouds” or long yardage of biodegradable natural fabric. They looked unattractive and were very difficult to lower into a grave on casket straps so we often had to hand the body down into the grave with the help of grounds crew. Our shroud design actually came to me “in the field” so to speak from this experience that incorporated all I knew was needed –the lowering straps attached to the shroud with a wooden “spine” sewn into the back for more stability as well as handles for lifting and carrying. This is what we call the Endfinity älowering device or Back #1 for green burial without a casket. Back #2 has no straps or wood, just natural woven handles for cremation or placement inside of a casket . The shrouds replace clothing and are so much easier than dressing corpses in street clothes.

Other features include Herbal linings of Lavender, Rose petals or White Sage.

The shroud of Jesus Christ contained the herbal substances of Myrrh resin and Aloes wood .

We also offer the Heart Pocketäwhich is a pocket on the face cloth piece that rests on the heart and holds prayers, photos, poems, etc. for both burial and cremation.

The VERSAILLES silk shroud from the MORT COUTURE tm collection

Pat McNally: There are a lot of products in the marketplace these days for people interested in more natural funeral services, but many consumers may not be aware of all their options. What can funeral directors, craftspeople and other providers do to make families aware of their options without overwhelming them with the sheer volume of possibilities.

Esmerelda Kent: The first thing a funeral home can do is eliminate unpractical unnecessary gimmicky products that are conceived by people who have never done funeral service and that would never work in a funeral home setting. I saw a “coffin” recently shaped like an egg for people to be buried in the fetal position. When I explained that the person would have to be practically hog tied at the moment of death to fit in it they understood that good industrial design has to serve function.
At the same time one of the biggest mistakes in my opinion that funeral homes have been making after the initial recession in 2009 is gathering information about new products and waiting until a family comes in asking for it without investing in new products.

Our products are new. People are not going to ask for them. They need to see, feel and smell them! A picture and vague description will not sell new products. There is a complacency to change, fear of spending money and an arrogance, that as we all know many funeral homes now regret having initially ignored the cremation demand and the slow industry response to that phenomena. Offering green options is the same thing. Funeral homes need to be pro-active. They need to support PRACTICAL sustainable products. Many feel importing caskets from China and Europe is hardly “green” coming across oceans, across the country on trucks, and find nice woodworkers locally to build fine simple caskets. Others don’t care.

Funeral homes who want to promote green options need to commit to new “green” products and carry them in stock. Our solution is providing a simple Intro Pac containing 1 burial shroud, 1 cremation shroud, 2 bottles of Green Burial Wash and a LOOK BOOK. Funeral homes that purchase this package do much better than those who keep information about our products “on file”.

A Kinkaraco Shroud used on HBO's Six Feet Under, 2005

Pat McNally: What kind of relationships do you have with funeral service providers, and how do you think these relationships can improve to better serve families?

Esmerelda Kent: I have to say I love our funeral homes. I take a lot of time responding to every inquiry we receive on the internet from the funeral homes and make sure they understand the value of our products. Often there is a young (often female) “internal champion” in the funeral home who convinces the owner to provide these new products. It is one of the joys of my life that I am able to be “in touch” with so many states across the country selling these products.

There are so many smart, funny, kind and wonderful funeral directors out there. I vouch for my funeral homes. It is part of our business model to stimulate local American business so when individual customers get in touch with us online we inform them of the nearest funeral home reseller of our products and send them to our friends there. That way we keep an ongoing relationship with the funeral home and the customer can go see and feel the products in person and meet our friend the funeral director.

The 'PURELIGHT' Shroud

Pat McNally: Your web site provides a list of green cemeteries throughout the country. Many parts of the country are not currently served by a green cemetery, and those interested in a green burial may be understandably reluctant to bury out of their area. Do you have any advice for people in this situation?

Esmerelda Kent: First off let me explain that all of our products are green but they can be used for any type of funeral service- not just green burial but burial within a casket, cremation and removal from home and hospital. Believe it or not people have purchased herbal shrouds and put their embalmed relatives in them inside metal caskets in traditional cemeteries!

What people do with our products is none of my business.

That said, many new green areas are opening up in traditional cemeteries around the country everyday. I can’t keep up with it and there are at least twice as many green cemeteries now than are reflected on our website.

Many small cemeteries do not require vaults. Many traditional cemeteries will let you place a cement vault upside down over the shrouded body touching the earth or just a liner with no top or bottom. Many people are turning acreage into green cemeteries and people call me about how to do this regularly. This is a state by state issue of course and the Green Burial Council and Memorial Ecosystems are the most experienced in how to do this.

This is consumer driven. Where there is a will there is a way.

Ask for what you want and don’t take “NO” for an answer!

Pat McNally: Some in the funeral industry claim that green options are something that generates a lot of press and interest, but are seldom actually selected by families. How would you respond to this thought?

Esmerelda Kent: I think the funeral industry’s expectations are too high. I think some funeral homes are looking for a savior to get them back to the “good ol’ days” of huge profits.

Green burial is not going to save the funeral industry.
It’s going to bring the funeral industry into the sustainable 21^st century.

The press regarding Green Burial began back in 2000. The funeral industry didn’t take note ‘til 2008 and become interested in earnest for the most part until 2009.

This is new. It takes time.

I see green burial as secular people having the same options as Muslim families or Jewish families. People who have lived natural lives, eating organic food deserve to be “composted” if they so desire. This is just another option. It is not the big solution. It is a more common sense solution that more and more baby boomers will choose along with ever growing cremation.

Pat McNally: Your site encourages and gives advice on ceremonial washing of the deceased. This is another practice that has a long history in most if not all cultures. What do we have to gain from returning to this practice?

Esmerelda Kent: It is beautiful. It is ceremonial. It is spiritual. It is ablution. It is non-invasive and it smells nice! The family often gets involved with this process when loved ones pass away at home in hospice. It is a great ceremony of care and closure. It is intuitively female in nature.

The 'AFRICAN MUDCLOTH ' Shroud

Pat McNally: Many in funeral service, even those who advocate for increased family participation, dismiss home funeral ideas, saying that American families just cannot handle the realities of dealing hands on with the dead. We are told that viewing the body is an important step in accepting the reality of death, but that the reality of actually moving, or caring for our dead is too much for us. What are your thoughts on survivors addressing the physical realities of death?

Esmerelda Kent: I personally chose to have both my children at home in the bedroom.
In order to do this my husband and I studied and did extensive preparation and were completely aware of the reality of what we were in for.

Home childbirth is certainly not for everyone just as home funerals are not for everyone. Birth and Death are the most intense human experiences we have. It’s messy.

I have seen people get in way over their heads when a “Home Funeral” is more of an intellectual theory and political exercise and they do not have proper professionally trained help.

I have personally sold shrouds to people where they were not prepared and things did not go well. This is a great frustration to myself and funeral directors involved.

Home funerals are amazingly meaningful rich experiences when people are prepared and they are done right.

I am constantly advocating for funeral homes to offer a “Home Funeral Package” or “Ala Carte home funeral services” such as listing charges for just transportation, just filing paperwork, etc. Many people would like the help if they thought the funeral director would do just what they need help with. Not everyone wants to drive Mom to the cemetery in the back of the SUV!

The biggest thing right now is for funeral homes to be HUMBLE and do whatever people want that’s legal. Add more options, be flexible and most of all listen & learn from your customers.

The 'Varanasi' Shroud

Pat McNally: What effect would you hope that your work and products would have on the ways we think about and participate in caring for our dead?

Esmerelda Kent: Families have said to me:

” Your shrouds are like wedding gowns!”

“Your shroud turned the tragedy of my brother’s death into something sacred.”

“When my daughter died of breast cancer at 39 and I wrapped her in your shroud I felt she was protected.”

It is my personal desire to be of some small service to humankind while I am living.

I believe in ceremony and in honoring the life of a human being. Nothing is more tragic to me than a direct burial or cremation with no one in attendance.

KINKARACOägreen burial products exists to help offer 100% natural ,beautiful, caring, spiritually conceived ancient and sacred products to families to be able to participate in the death of loved ones. At the same time we are offering NEW, easy to use, simple (it is our goal to replace dressing corpses!) low cost , attractive funeral products for funeral homes that take up very little space.

So far it has been a positive meaningful experience for myself, the families , and the funeral homes and I am very grateful.

Pat McNally: Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with us!

For more information on Kinkaraco shrouds and other products, as well as some "how-to"s and information on the history of shrouds, please visit the Kinkaraco website, and the April 2008 American Cemetery article .

Forest Burial in Germany

http://math.hws.edu/eck/cs324/s04/lab4/

Yes, that tree is looking at you

Germans now have an option for burial in a forest that funtions like a cemetery.

This excerpt from an article by Christina Sticht follows a group as they shop for their trees.

A Final Resting Place in a Quiet Forest
Traditional Christian funeral rites are becoming less significant in Germany. More and more people are deciding in favour of alternative forms of funerals. Many are turning to forest burial grounds, where urns are buried at the roots of trees in the countryside.

Death is not for free, it is more costly than life. Forester Fritz Mewes knows that, and so do the 46 men and women whom he is taking on a guided tour of Reinhardswald, the woodland burial ground in Northern Hesse. They march along a muddy forest track, clad in bright cagoules and walking boots. Most are somewhere between 60 and 70 years of age, but some are younger. They are all here to see whether they would like to be buried in this place.
Mewes talks about money first. The starting price for a small beech is EUR 3,350. An old oak with a broad crown costs EUR 5000 or EUR 6000. You can choose between family trees, friendship trees and community trees, with the latter offering burial sites for EUR 770. Mewes says, "If you buy a tree, it belongs to you until the year 2099. You have to rebuy a tomb in the cemetery after just 20 years."
Seen like that, woodland burials are relatively inexpensive, especially since no money is needed for constant care of the grave, or for candles and flowers. Pictures and crucifixes are not allowed in the forest – the tree is marked only with a numbered label and a small sign which may bear the name of the deceased, a saying, a verse from the Bible or a Christian symbol.

No burden for the children

Lieselotte Hosung thinks a resting place in the woodland burial ground is definitely more dignified than an uncared-for grave in the local cemetery. She would like to select a tree with her husband, today if possible. "We are thinking of a young beech tree." Burial in urns is compulsory in the woodland burial ground. "I had to get used to the idea of cremation," said the pensioner. But she likes the idea of finding her last resting place in the forest. "We have known the Reinhardswald for a very long time and often come walking here." Her children have no objections. They do not live locally, and the Hosungs do not want them to have to ask a gardener to look after the grave.
Mewes turns off the wide forest track and takes the group into the forest. A small path wends its way past birches, larches and beeches. It has stopped raining. The sun is coming through the treetops and the wet leaves are glistening. You can breath more freely in the forest and it smells of earth, sap and herbs. You can hear a woodpecker somewhere in the distance.

http://thevoltagegate.blogspot.com/2007/01/festival-of-trees-7.html

Talking to trees

"Many people buy their tree when they are 50 or 60," says the forester. "They come to visit it regularly." Just a moment ago, he was like a businessman, juggling figures and using rational arguments about good value for money. At the beginning of the guided tour, one would never have thought him capable of the soft touch. But now Mewes says, "Before you choose a tree, you should put your arms around it and speak to it. I am entirely serious. It is important that you build up a relationship with your tree."
Each urn is buried beneath the tree’s roots so that the ashes are absorbed into the tree’s nutrient cycle. Lieselotte Hosung thinks that is a lovely idea. She will be back, like most of those who have visited the woodland burial ground today.
-an excerpt from an article by Christina Sticht for the Goethe Institute- for the full article, visit
http://www.goethe.de/ges/phi/dos/rkd/en128025.htm

Green Burials in British Columbia

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/business/story.html?id=e8749975-d395-4ded-a263-a0da338f0500

Stephen Olson of Royal Oak Burial Park

There is a growing interest in Green burials, but a lack of Green Cemeteries in many areas currently prevents people from choosing this option. Most cemeteries require outer burial containers to prevent the ground from settling after burial. Without these containers, deep furrows would develop on the grounds as caskets break down and the soil settles. These depressions prevent problems for groundskeeping at traditional cemeteries, but are not an issue for green cemeteries where a much less manicured look is desired.

For those who choose to be buried without embalming, casket, or vault, the expediture of fossil fuels to transport one's remains hundreds of miles to a green cemetery can be seen as an inadequate solution.

Residents of Victoria, BC will soon have a green burial option as Royal Oak Burial Park in Saanich opens a green section to the cemetery there. This area of BC is one of the most beautiful and scenic in the world, and so, it makes perfect sense that residents will appreciate the opportunity to be buried in ways that they feel are harmonious with nature. Here is an excerpt from the Victoria Times Colonist about the green option in Saanich.

http://elliotteskeyphotography.com/landscapes-west_coast_british_columbia_and_washington_state.htm

"As far as I know, we are the first in Canada in terms of being operational," said Stephen Olson, manager of the 55-hectare non-profit cemetery.
Royal Oak has set aside about one-eighth of a hectare on a pie-shaped site for green burial, a practice increasingly popular in Europe and offered at some U.S. cemeteries. Human remains are buried without embalming and decompose naturally. Biodegradable shrouds and caskets are used.
Spiritual beliefs, environmental concerns and lower costs all influence the choice for a green burial, Olson said. Green burial is not only considered an alternative to traditional burials but to cremations, because of concerns about climate change.
The idea of adding a green burial service at Royal Oak was sparked by two Nanaimo women, who approached cemetery officials in 1999, Olson said. When a new master plan was later drawn up, it incorporated green burial plans and provincial approval was obtained.

http://disc.gsfc.nasa.gov/oceancolor/scifocus/oceanColor/dead_zones.shtml

Phones ring steadily from citizens asking about the service and the funeral industry is watching, Olson said. "We are fully prepared to share our expertise with other operators."
The first green burial at Royal Oak took place Nov. 6, for a woman who was a dedicated environmentalist and who chose the green option, he said. A second interment took place yesterday afternoon.
By planting native trees, shrubs and wildflowers over the graves, the site will eventually return to its natural state. About 28 hectares remain to be developed at the burial park and more green burial sites are planned, Olson said.
No grave markers are allowed. Instead, space is allotted on several basalt boulders with flattened surfaces. "The memorials for people will be the tree or shrub that they plant on the grave, so the whole site will be a living memorial," Olson said.

-for the full article from the Victoria Times Colonist, visit
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/business/story.html?id=e8749975-d395-4ded-a263-a0da338f0500

Natural Burials in South Australia

http://www.cringel.com/taxonomy/term/38,33

South Australia has joined NSW, Victoria and Tasmania in offering a site for natural burials.
Urban Development Minister Paul Holloway said the state's first natural burial ground would be established at Enfield Memorial Park in Adelaide's northern suburbs later this year.
It allows for bodies to be prepared without chemical preservatives and then buried in a biodegradable casket or a shroud.
The grave is marked with a native tree or shrub rather than a headstone or monument.
"Over time the bushland created by the new burial ground will become a living and lasting natural memorial," Mr Holloway Natural burials were first introduced in the United Kingdom in the early 1990s.
-from The Age .Com http://news.theage.com.au/national/south-australia-to-offer-natural-burials-20081022-5663.html

Coming soon to a funeral home near you?

Promessa Organic of Sweden developed a new form of disposition called promation. This is most likely the greenest of green funeral options to come along, truly returning a body to the earth in an ecologically positive manner. Look for an interview with the woman behind this process, Susanne Wiigh-Mäsak, here in the coming weeks.

visit her site at http://www.promessa.se/ .

The Shrouds of Kinkaraco: A Conversation With Esmerelda Kent

Named after Tibetan Buddhist Deities, Kinkara, special protectors of the Charnal Grounds,KINKARACOä Green Burial Products produces biodegradable burial shrouds, cremation shrouds, and other ceremonial funeral products. Founded in 2005 by Esmerelda Kent, the company is 'devoted to the sacred in preserving our Earth's natural resources'. Ms. Kent has graciously agreed to share a conversation with The Daily Undertaker.

Esmerelda Kent

Business Week 2008 photo by Eric Millette

Pat McNally: You advocate for survivors to take a greater role in participating in the physical and symbolic tasks of bringing their loved ones to their places of rest. Obviously a shroud is different from a casket in many ways, but what is the difference experientially between placing, carrying and burying a person in a shroud rather than a casket or coffin?

Esmerelda Kent: A shroud is soft and shows the actual outline of the human form unlike a casket. You are never unaware of what is taking place and that the shroud contains a human body. This “awareness” keeps the experience more authentic, spiritually conscious and real which some people want.
Our shrouds are sometimes used by the family to prepare a body and then to remove the body from the home. In some cases the families participate in the actual washing (with our KINKARACO Green BurialWashä and shrouding the loved one there at home and have the funeral director pick the body up after a home service.
However in most cases the funeral home washes and shrouds the body . Most actual green burials do not have viewings. The ceremony takes place graveside often with the family participating in the lowering and covering of the grave. The shrouds have handles for carrying and straps for lowering when used alone without a casket that are unfurled slowly to place the shroud in the grave.

Pat McNally: There is long history of shrouds in many traditions, as you point out on your website. These shrouds were generally long strips of cloth, wound around the deceased.
The design of your shrouds is more complex. Would you explain the ideas behind the features incorporated into your designs?

Esmerelda Kent: With shrouds not being a traditional part of burial practice in America the latter half of the 20^th Century, wrapping a shroud is unfamiliar to most funeral homes outside of the Muslim or Jewish Faith. When I began working in a green cemetery in 2004 we first used blankets, quilts and cloths given to us by the family to act as “shrouds” or long yardage of biodegradable natural fabric. They looked unattractive and were very difficult to lower into a grave on casket straps so we often had to hand the body down into the grave with the help of grounds crew. Our shroud design actually came to me “in the field” so to speak from this experience that incorporated all I knew was needed –the lowering straps attached to the shroud with a wooden “spine” sewn into the back for more stability as well as handles for lifting and carrying. This is what we call the Endfinity älowering device or Back #1 for green burial without a casket. Back #2 has no straps or wood, just natural woven handles for cremation or placement inside of a casket . The shrouds replace clothing and are so much easier than dressing corpses in street clothes.

Other features include Herbal linings of Lavender, Rose petals or White Sage.

The shroud of Jesus Christ contained the herbal substances of Myrrh resin and Aloes wood .

We also offer the Heart Pocketäwhich is a pocket on the face cloth piece that rests on the heart and holds prayers, photos, poems, etc. for both burial and cremation.

The VERSAILLES silk shroud from the MORT COUTURE tm collection

Pat McNally: There are a lot of products in the marketplace these days for people interested in more natural funeral services, but many consumers may not be aware of all their options. What can funeral directors, craftspeople and other providers do to make families aware of their options without overwhelming them with the sheer volume of possibilities.

Esmerelda Kent: The first thing a funeral home can do is eliminate unpractical unnecessary gimmicky products that are conceived by people who have never done funeral service and that would never work in a funeral home setting. I saw a “coffin” recently shaped like an egg for people to be buried in the fetal position. When I explained that the person would have to be practically hog tied at the moment of death to fit in it they understood that good industrial design has to serve function.
At the same time one of the biggest mistakes in my opinion that funeral homes have been making after the initial recession in 2009 is gathering information about new products and waiting until a family comes in asking for it without investing in new products.

Our products are new. People are not going to ask for them. They need to see, feel and smell them! A picture and vague description will not sell new products. There is a complacency to change, fear of spending money and an arrogance, that as we all know many funeral homes now regret having initially ignored the cremation demand and the slow industry response to that phenomena. Offering green options is the same thing. Funeral homes need to be pro-active. They need to support PRACTICAL sustainable products. Many feel importing caskets fromChina and Europe is hardly “green” coming across oceans, across the country on trucks, and find nice woodworkers locally to build fine simple caskets. Others don’t care.

Funeral homes who want to promote green options need to commit to new “green” products and carry them in stock. Our solution is providing a simple Intro Pac containing 1 burial shroud, 1 cremation shroud, 2 bottles of Green Burial Wash and a LOOK BOOK. Funeral homes that purchase this package do much better than those who keep information about our products “on file”.

A Kinkaraco Shroud used on HBO's Six Feet Under, 2005

Pat McNally: What kind of relationships do you have with funeral service providers, and how do you think these relationships can improve to better serve families?

Esmerelda Kent: I have to say I love our funeral homes. I take a lot of time responding to every inquiry we receive on the internet from the funeral homes and make sure they understand the value of our products. Often there is a young (often female) “internal champion” in the funeral home who convinces the owner to provide these new products. It is one of the joys of my life that I am able to be “in touch” with so many states across the country selling these products.

There are so many smart, funny, kind and wonderful funeral directors out there. I vouch for my funeral homes. It is part of our business model to stimulate local American business so when individual customers get in touch with us online we inform them of the nearest funeral home reseller of our products and send them to our friends there. That way we keep an ongoing relationship with the funeral home and the customer can go see and feel the products in person and meet our friend the funeral director.

The 'PURELIGHT' Shroud

Pat McNally: Your web site provides a list of green cemeteries throughout the country. Many parts of the country are not currently served by a green cemetery, and those interested in a green burial may be understandably reluctant to bury out of their area. Do you have any advice for people in this situation?

Esmerelda Kent: First off let me explain that all of our products are green but they can be used for any type of funeral service- not just green burial but burial within a casket, cremation and removal from home and hospital. Believe it or not people have purchased herbal shrouds and put their embalmed relatives in them inside metal caskets in traditional cemeteries!

What people do with our products is none of my business.

That said, many new green areas are opening up in traditional cemeteries around the country everyday. I can’t keep up with it and there are at least twice as many green cemeteries now than are reflected on our website.

Many small cemeteries do not require vaults. Many traditional cemeteries will let you place a cement vault upside down over the shrouded body touching the earth or just a liner with no top or bottom. Many people are turning acreage into green cemeteries and people call me about how to do this regularly. This is a state by state issue of course and the Green Burial Council and Memorial Ecosystems are the most experienced in how to do this.

This is consumer driven. Where there is a will there is a way.

Ask for what you want and don’t take “NO” for an answer!

Pat McNally: Some in the funeral industry claim that green options are something that generates a lot of press and interest, but are seldom actually selected by families. How would you respond to this thought?

Esmerelda Kent: I think the funeral industry’s expectations are too high. I think some funeral homes are looking for a savior to get them back to the “good ol’ days” of huge profits.

Green burial is not going to save the funeral industry.
It’s going to bring the funeral industry into the sustainable 21^st century.

The press regarding Green Burial began back in 2000. The funeral industry didn’t take note ‘til 2008 and become interested in earnest for the most part until 2009.

This is new. It takes time.

I see green burial as secular people having the same options as Muslim families or Jewish families. People who have lived natural lives, eating organic food deserve to be “composted” if they so desire. This is just another option. It is not the big solution. It is a more common sense solution that more and more baby boomers will choose along with ever growing cremation.

Pat McNally: Your site encourages and gives advice on ceremonial washing of the deceased. This is another practice that has a long history in most if not all cultures. What do we have to gain from returning to this practice?

Esmerelda Kent: It is beautiful. It is ceremonial. It is spiritual. It is ablution. It is non-invasive and it smells nice! The family often gets involved with this process when loved ones pass away at home in hospice. It is a great ceremony of care and closure. It is intuitively female in nature.

The 'AFRICAN MUDCLOTH ' Shroud

Pat McNally: Many in funeral service, even those who advocate for increased family participation, dismiss home funeral ideas, saying that American families just cannot handle the realities of dealing hands on with the dead. We are told that viewing the body is an important step in accepting the reality of death, but that the reality of actually moving, or caring for our dead is too much for us. What are your thoughts on survivors addressing the physical realities of death?

Esmerelda Kent: I personally chose to have both my children at home in the bedroom.
In order to do this my husband and I studied and did extensive preparation and were completely aware of the reality of what we were in for.

Home childbirth is certainly not for everyone just as home funerals are not for everyone. Birth and Death are the most intense human experiences we have. It’s messy.

I have seen people get in way over their heads when a “Home Funeral” is more of an intellectual theory and political exercise and they do not have proper professionally trained help.

I have personally sold shrouds to people where they were not prepared and things did not go well. This is a great frustration to myself and funeral directors involved.

Home funerals are amazingly meaningful rich experiences when people are prepared and they are done right.

I am constantly advocating for funeral homes to offer a “Home Funeral Package” or “Ala Carte home funeral services” such as listing charges for just transportation, just filing paperwork, etc. Many people would like the help if they thought the funeral director would do just what they need help with. Not everyone wants to drive Mom to the cemetery in the back of the SUV!

The biggest thing right now is for funeral homes to be HUMBLE and do whatever people want that’s legal. Add more options, be flexible and most of all listen & learn from your customers.

The 'Varanasi' Shroud

Pat McNally: What effect would you hope that your work and products would have on the ways we think about and participate in caring for our dead?

Esmerelda Kent: Families have said to me:

” Your shrouds are like wedding gowns!”

“Your shroud turned the tragedy of my brother’s death into something sacred.”

“When my daughter died of breast cancer at 39 and I wrapped her in your shroud I felt she was protected.”

It is my personal desire to be of some small service to humankind while I am living.

I believe in ceremony and in honoring the life of a human being. Nothing is more tragic to me than a direct burial or cremation with no one in attendance.

KINKARACOägreen burial products exists to help offer 100% natural ,beautiful, caring, spiritually conceived ancient and sacred products to families to be able to participate in the death of loved ones. At the same time we are offering NEW, easy to use, simple (it is our goal to replace dressing corpses!) low cost , attractive funeral products for funeral homes that take up very little space.

So far it has been a positive meaningful experience for myself, the families , and the funeral homes and I am very grateful.

Pat McNally: Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with us!

For more information on Kinkaraco shrouds and other products, as well as some "how-to"s and information on the history of shrouds, please visit the Kinkaraco website, and the April 2008 American Cemetery article .