Learn · Common questions
Every question you have is welcome here.
Natural after-death care is new to most people, and there is no such thing as a question that is too basic, too practical, or too strange to ask. Here are the ones families ask us most, answered the way we would answer them across a kitchen table.
Find your question
About terramation
Terramation is the reason many families find us, and it is the option people have the most questions about. Ask us anything.
What is terramation?
Terramation, also called natural organic reduction or human composting, gently transforms a body into Regenerative Living Soil™. Your person rests in a warm vessel with wood chips, alfalfa, and straw, and naturally occurring microbes do the rest. It uses no fire, no chemicals, and no concrete. The full plain-language guide is here.
How long does terramation take?
The transformation itself takes several weeks, followed by about thirty days of curing and rest. Most families receive or place the soil within two to four months. Nothing about the timing is rushed, and we keep you company through all of it.
What is left at the end?
About half a cubic yard of rich, living soil, roughly sixteen five-gallon bags. Families take as much as they wish, and many take a portion for a memorial tree or a garden bed. Soil a family does not keep goes to land restoration.
Can the soil be used to grow food?
Not food for people. Colorado law is clear on that point, and we honor it completely, along with the rule that the soil is never sold. Memorial trees, flower beds, native plantings, and conservation land are all welcome uses.
Does terramation have an odor?
No. The vessel is sealed, and the air that moves through it passes through a charcoal filter before it leaves the building. Families who visit are often surprised by how ordinary and clean the room smells.
Is it sanitary?
Yes. The process generates its own steady warmth, and we monitor the temperature throughout. It is the same principle farmers have relied on safely for generations, carried out here with far more care and far more attention.
Is it dignified?
Deeply. Your person rests in a wooden Chrysalis™ vessel, often surrounded by flowers and letters from the people who loved them. Nothing about it is industrial. Families are welcome at the laying-in, and many find it the most peaceful part of the whole goodbye.
Is terramation legal in Colorado?
Yes. Colorado legalized natural organic reduction in 2021, a law The Natural Funeral helped champion, and we remain the only funeral home in the state that performs it. See how our terramation service works.
Water cremation
Also called alkaline hydrolysis or aquamation. It is the gentlest of the flameless options, and Colorado families were among the first anywhere to have it.
What is water cremation?
Warm water and a small amount of natural alkali do, over hours, what the earth would do slowly on its own. There is no flame and no smoke. What is left is the mineral part of the bone, pure white and soft, along with the essence, a nutrient-rich liquid that is wonderful for plants. Your family may receive either or both. More about water cremation.
Does the process use acid?
No. Alkali is the opposite of acid. It is the same family of compounds found in soap and in some everyday foods, and in water cremation it simply speeds up something nature already does.
What comes back to our family?
Pure white mineral ash, noticeably softer and lighter than what flame cremation returns, in a simple biodegradable container. You can keep it, scatter it, bury it, or have it made into Parting Stone your family can hold.
How does it compare with flame cremation?
It uses roughly a tenth of the energy of conventional cremation, with no fire and nothing released into the air. Many families choose it for exactly that reason. See all four options side by side.
Is water cremation legal in Colorado?
Yes, and it has been for years. The Natural Funeral was the first funeral home in Colorado to offer it. Laws elsewhere are changing quickly, so if your family is spread across states, ask us and we will help you find out where things stand.
Is it still respectful?
Respect is not in the method. It is in the way a person is cared for, the words used about them, and the time given to their family. That is true of every option on this page, and it is the part we will never rush.
Green burial
Sometimes called natural burial. The body goes into living ground with nothing between it and the earth that will not return to earth.
What makes a burial green?
Three things, mostly: no embalming chemicals, no concrete vault or grave liner, and a container that will return to the earth. The Green Burial Council, a nonprofit that certifies burial grounds, holds those same three standards. How our green burial service works.
Does green burial require a casket?
No. A simple shroud of cotton, linen, or wool is enough, and many families choose one. Do know that most burial grounds ask for a rigid board or carrier beneath a shroud so that the lowering is safe and steady. Biodegradable caskets of wood or woven willow are just as welcome.
Where along the Front Range can we have a green burial?
There are several, and they differ in what they allow and what they cost. We have gathered what we know about each of them here, and we are glad to work with any burial ground your family chooses.
What kind of marker is allowed?
It depends on the burial ground. Natural burial grounds usually ask for flat markers of local stone, or use a tree or GPS coordinates instead. Hybrid sections inside conventional cemeteries are often more flexible. We will find out the rules for the place you have in mind.
Can our family take part in the burial itself?
Very often, yes, and green burial invites it more than most. Families carry, lower, speak, sing, and place the first earth. What is permitted varies by burial ground, and we will ask on your behalf before the day comes.
Can someone be buried on private land in Colorado?
Sometimes, and it depends entirely on where the land is. County zoning is what governs it, and the answer differs from county to county. It is a real question with a real answer, and we are happy to help you find it for your particular piece of ground.
Can we bury greener at a conventional cemetery?
Often, yes, and this is one of the most useful things we do. We can care for your person naturally without embalming, provide a natural casket or shroud, and ask the cemetery whether the outer container can be inverted so that your person still meets the earth beneath.
What is the Green Burial Council?
A nonprofit that sets standards for green burial and certifies burial grounds against them, in three levels: hybrid sections inside conventional cemeteries, natural burial grounds, and conservation grounds held under a land trust. Colorado has three certified cemeteries, and we list them here.
Planning ahead
Planning ahead is a gift you give the people you love. It is also, for most people, far less heavy than they expect.
Why plan ahead at all?
Because the alternative is a family guessing, in the hardest week of their lives, at what you would have wanted. Families who arrive with a plan are visibly steadier. They get to grieve instead of decide.
What does planning actually involve?
A conversation, mostly. What matters to you, which path feels right, who should be called, and what you want the day to feel like. We write it down, keep it safe, and you can change any of it at any time. Here is how planning works with us.
Can I start on my own, online?
Yes. Start your plan online whenever you have a quiet half hour. Nothing is binding, nothing is final, and no one will call you unless you ask us to.
Do I have to pay when I make a plan?
No. Recording your wishes costs nothing. Funding a plan ahead of time is a separate choice, and there are real protections around how that money is held in Colorado. We answer the preneed questions in detail here.
How do I bring this up with my family?
Gently, and earlier than feels necessary. Most people find the conversation goes better than they feared. We have written down the words that tend to help, including for the relative who thinks all of this is strange.
Costs and paperwork
Two things families are often embarrassed to ask about, and neither one should ever be a mystery here.
How do I find out what things cost?
Ask, and we will tell you, on the phone or in person, without a meeting first. Our General Price List is also published in full. See how our pricing works.
Is green burial less expensive than conventional burial?
Sometimes, and sometimes not. There is no vault and no elaborate casket, which removes real cost. But burial ground fees vary a great deal, and a few charge a premium for green sections. We will show you the actual numbers for the places you are considering.
What might help pay for this?
Life insurance, a funded plan made in advance, a veteran’s benefit, or contributions from family are the usual sources. Every family’s situation is different. Tell us yours and we will tell you plainly what we see.
What paperwork is involved?
A death certificate, the permits Colorado requires before any care can happen, and any authorizations your family needs to sign. We prepare and file all of it. You will never be handed a stack of forms and left alone with them.
How many certified copies of the death certificate will we need?
More than most people expect. Banks, insurers, pensions, the county, and the title on a house each tend to want their own. We will walk through your person’s accounts with you and order the right number the first time.
What happens when someone dies
If you are reading this because someone has just died, start with the first answer. Then call us, at any hour.
Someone has died. What do we do first?
Breathe, and then call us. There is no clock running. We will tell you exactly what happens next, in order, and we will handle the parts that can be handled without you. Here is what the first day looks like.
Do we have to decide everything right away?
No. Almost nothing has to be decided today. Your person rests in our care while your family gathers itself, and choices can wait until you are ready to make them well.
Can our person stay at home for a while?
Yes, and more families choose this than you might think. Time at home, with candles and cool care and people coming and going, is often where the real goodbye happens. We will show you how to do it comfortably.
Do you embalm?
Never. We do not use embalming chemicals at all. Instead your person receives Reverent Body Care®: gentle bathing, anointing with essential oils, cool and careful keeping, and unhurried tenderness. More about how we care for your person.
Are we required to embalm?
It is very rarely necessary, and it is not something we do. If a cemetery or another provider tells your family it is required, you are entitled to ask them to point to the rule in writing. Call us if you would like help asking.
Can we see our person, or take part in their care?
Yes to both. Families sit with their person, bathe and anoint them, dress them, and place them into the vessel or the ground themselves. None of this is unusual here, and none of it is too much to ask.
What about a pacemaker or an implant?
Tell us if your person had either. A pacemaker has to be removed before flame cremation because of its battery, and we take care of that. Titanium joints and similar implants stay intact and are recycled afterward.
Still holding a question this page didn’t answer?
Ask a person instead. We like the hard questions, and we answer them plainly, with no pressure attached.