Alternative Death Care
Home funeral
Natural burial fits into what could be called the ecosystem of alternative death care. This is the network of events, people, and decisions that occur when someone dies, typically outside of what is considered to be conventional end-of-life institutions.
Two death care alternatives associated with natural burial are death doulas and home funerals. Like natural burial, these options mirror institutionalize practices like hospice and funeral homes, but forefront the family’s involvement in death care.
If you aren’t familiar with the concepts, here is a little background. Death doulas are individual caregivers that provide guidance and validation at the end of one’s life. Each death doula offers a unique type companionship to clients and their families during times of high stress such as helping to organize resources, creating a legacy plan or offering spiritual support. They share similarities to hospice workers, however they do not administer medication. While death doula training has not been standardized in the United States, certifying organizations like International End-of-Life Doula Association (INELDA) have a well-established set of standards and ethics along with certificates for those who want to work with the dying.
Home funerals are funeral services held in a private residence with the body present. Even if a death does not occur a home, families can still chose to bring the person back home for a service, the way you might typically bring the deceased to a church or synagogue. This may mean you transport the body yourself as well as keep the body cool using a form a dry ice while the service takes place. It is an incredibly unique and personal experience that takes some planning (like natural burial!) The National Home Funeral Alliance has resources to connect you to Home Funeral Guides as well as legal resources so that you can be informed of your rights in holding a home funeral in your state. Death doulas may also be helpful in arranging a home funeral.
The interesting thing about each of these services is that they are not mutually exclusive with institutionalized option. You can use a hospice facility with a death doula present, then have a home funeral and then be cremated. You can have a service in a funeral home and then be buried in a natural burial cemetery. You can have a home funeral and then be cremated. There is a tendency to think that if you don’t use one end-of-life institution, you can’t use any. However, we’ve worked with families who have used a mix of both alternatives and institutions with beautiful results. It really only depends on what you have the capacity to handle and what is the most meaningful to you.