Mission of The Body Appropriate's
Post Mortem Alternatives
page in early development


This project advocates generating awareness for, and promotes brainstorming and considering, taking care of the remains of people's bodies yourself. 

Some call that DIY death care. 

This project also realizes that sometimes, even if you are aware that you can take care of the body yourself, you still might prefer skilled people to help you or to prepare the body for you. 

In general, I am personally advocating for a growth in general awareness for death as an inevitable that happens to everyone, and that our anatomy is directly linked to our living, as well as our decay.  

This Post Mortem Alternative page is a developing list of resources to help you be creative about end of life care, as well as linking you to death care sites, generally amazing people, and genuine companies in the death care field. 

In the Western countries of the world, death is something we are fortunate to not be exposed to on a constant basis, but I feel that this means we have less awareness and appreciation for it. This is directly linked to death catching us by surprise and our unprepared means of handling the end of life process for those we love, and ourselves. My goal is to promote the legal means of handling the body yourself, but I also believe there are many ways to go about end of life care. 

Where are these "green" cemeteries that allow you to be buried straight in the ground? 

What funeral directors promise naturally minded death care? Where is cremation taking place? 

Green burial, sometimes called natural burial, is a method of interment which emphasizes ecologically friendly practices and a return to traditional burial customs. Specifically, green burial eschews the use of toxic embalming fluids and concrete or steel burial vaults. Proponents encourage the use of biodegradable coffins or shrouds, and sustainable land management techniques for cemeteries.

In a green burial, the funeral may be held at home, and the grave is typically dug by hand. The gravesite -- instead of a perfectly groomed plot -- is often a natural setting. And there is no vault -- a frequently used container for the coffin that can support the weight of heavy equipment and keeps the body from decaying and mixing into the soil.

As this page develops it will link you to people who are like minded, and doing work in sustainable, green and alternative death care. There will also be links to resources as to how to care for the body yourself, including where to purchase shrouds, natural caskets, and how to care and transport the body yourself. 


Take a look at these developing pages : 

View Natural End Network Map in a larger map
The Natural End Map 
is not a Body Appropriate project, but one of the first encompassing projects to house resources for natural DIY alternatives.   

This map connects you to natural funeral service providers, end-of-life assistants, cemeteries, and others that offer natural funeral and burial services. If they've signed the Natural End Pledge, you can be sure they offer the "natural basics" defined by the Pledge. (VIEW THE PLEDGE) Many Pledge Signers do much more than just the basics. A state-based list of Signers is on the right. You can also click on the map and search a particular area.

Natural End Cemeteries Link: WHERE TO GO  
Funeral Service Providers Link: WHO TO CALL