You're a biohazard when you die.

INSIGHT

Instead of immortalizing our lives in death we can celebrate the cyclical nature of life.

As life is precious, it’s understandable that our practices in death would be to commemorate the sacred time we had before moving on to the next plane (wherever and whatever that may be for your belief system). Spiritual preferences aside, our practices as humans tend to embrace a desire to preserve the living, even as it extinguishes; be it in burning paper money to wrapping bodies in gauze for cremation for an urn or outfitted with our Sunday best in a casket that cost more than the car you couldn’t afford when alive.

Excessive practices in funeral homes prepare bodies with formaldehyde for extended mourning periods and even cover skin with youthful layers of paint to mimic vital youthfulness. Only to be interred within 24 hours, taking with that departure into the earth, chemicals and materials from a life that means nothing in darkness.

Death is not an easy topic to broach without unearthing one’s spiritual beliefs, norms and attitudes; and an even more difficult one to make a case for innovation as with a reframe comes the overhaul of practices and rituals that have lasted centuries for some. That said, it’s ripe with opportunity to turn a new leaf. Especially when it comes to designing a way to go without leaving behind remnants of the many chemical, material, toxic, environmental, emotional, financial and social burdens that it does.

Being inspired by Nature’s decomposition process of breaking down and recycling finite matter that occupies physical space in the biosphere, death could be designed to be in flow with nature's efficient nutrient cycle. Apart from enhancing the role of decomposers (worms, bacteria, fungi, insects, maggots), we can also take into consideration extraneous factors (temperature, oxygenation, soil type, humidity, body size/weight, clothing, surfaces, health state) of the site and body to harness the decomposition process without the messes we are so concerned with avoiding with modern embalming. Beyond the technical, we can design the human experience— of course to celebrate the life and spirit of the deceased — WITH the process of returning back to Nature, as it intended.

INSPIRATION

The Mushroom Death Suit

Jae Rhim Lee’s Infinity Burial Suit, aka “Mushroom Death Suit” is a spore-infused jumpsuit for the deceased. Fungal spores begin to increase the decomposition process once you’ve been buried to slowly digest you (pesticides, heavy metals, preservatives and all). Showing the power of mycoremediation, this innovator has already tested the suit with patients who carry a heavy toxic burden and has a line of hundreds ready to pay $999 retail price for her awesome invention.

> Cleanses the body and soil of toxins that would otherwise seep into the environment

> Delivers nutrients from body to surrounding plant roots efficiently

> Restarts life around the body faster than normal

On top of leaving the environment better-off, Infinity Burial products:

> Are made of all natural, biodegradable material

> Use no harsh chemicals, preservatives, or processing

> Reunite the body with the earth and the ongoing cycle of life

www.coeio.com

INNOVATION

“End@Home”

An at-home death care, embalming and funeral kit delivered to your door to help prepare the body (and family) for a natural send off. Non denominational, this spiritually sensitive guide and goods take out the stresses (and financial burden) of dealing with death/corpse preparation for those who just want to focus on respecting the dead.

• A reinforced body bag equipped with a buildable stretcher for all body sizes under 2m height and 150kgs, an embalming kit with woven fabrics, instructions on how to bathe, care for and embalm the deceased with respect and ritual (and safety); all with illustrated examples for easy instruction.

• Also comes with a pre-kit guide on how to manage an at home passing; regarding food (fasting the deceased to empty the stomach and cleaning the blood), washing their body, dealing with disease and morphine solutions for them to ingest at the end to make the process easier.

• Priced at only $350, this at home funeral kit is a financial lifesaver for those who decide to courageously manage this natural process of life rather than outsource support, relieving much of the financial burden associated with death and afterlife care.