Life after death in a different way: At the Vienna Central Cemetery, Bestattung Wien and the Vienna Cemeteries on Friday presented a “world first” at a media event: A “living” coffin made of mushrooms now allows natural burials without prior cremation. Until now, this was only allowed for urns.
Burial can take place in any earthen grave or in the newly created, natural area of the cemetery – and this is where European hamsters live, which should not be driven out under any circumstances. The idea for the Sargnovum came from the 28-year-old architect and inventor Bob Hendrikx from the Netherlands. He was concerned about “returning to the cycle of life,” he explained in the APA interview. And that “without polluting the environment with toxins from the body and the chest”. For the architect and biodesigner, this is the “most natural way to be buried”.
The material feels light, soft and warm and looks like Styrofoam at first glance. The invention breaks down the body faster and turns it into valuable compost. No carbon dioxide (CO2) is produced during the growing process of the box material, toxins are neutralized during composting and the soil is regenerated.
Chest carries up to 200 kilos
This is due to the mycelium, the underground root system of fungi. This network of mushrooms sourced from Europe is produced directly into a suitable fit in seven days without the use of heat, electricity or light and then dried, effectively stopping growth. When the material comes into contact with soil or water, it is revived. The white-grey “Living Cocoon” (living cocoon) is itself as light as a feather, but can also bear a weight of 200 kilograms and dissolves together with its contents in a few months. It is lined with moss – or, if you prefer, with linen.
To Hendrikx, mushrooms are “nature’s biggest recyclers”. Several hundred of his coffins have already been used in his homeland and he sees his eternal resting place as the one that is now also possible here in Vienna-Simmering. In the Netherlands he still makes the copies that are used in the Danube metropolis, which cost 990 euros, but in the future they will be produced in the country of use.
No wood needed, no felled trees
“We are proud to be able to offer this new box exclusively,” says Jürgen Sild, General Manager of Bestattung Wien. For centuries, people were mainly buried in wooden coffins and this “ultimate natural burial” no longer required felling trees. Since a suitable cemetery is also needed, the director of the Viennese Cemeteries, Renate Niklas, presented the new natural burial group at the same time. Only organic coffins and urns without metal or synthetic components are used here. A funeral service in the open air is also possible here.
Bestattung Wien is the exclusive distributor of the coffin from the Dutch start-up manufacturer Loop Biotech and can be used not only in special natural burials, but also for conventional burials.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
