Pricing up a DIY eco-funeral

Hello, merry mortals,

KV here.

Before we get going, do you want to guess how much it costs to have a natural burial funeral in the UK?

* inserts time for thinking and mental maths *

WRITE DOWN YOUR GUESS, PALS.

Of course, there is actually no exact answer as the number very much depends on the choices you make, buuuuuuuuut I’m going to walk you through a real and recent example and then we’ll have a look at where we could possibly make some further financial savings.

First some context.

In August, I facilitated a DIY eco-funeral for a local family at a community allotment in Sunderland. One of the favourite pastimes of the person who’d died was growing tomatoes. We organised for the ceremony to be held outdoors at the allotment, followed by a green burial at Belsay Natural Burial Ground.

The family contacted me three months before their person died, asking for support to design and carry out a family-led nature-based funeral. So together we got to work to slowly transform their ideas into a beautiful reality. This involved two visits to the community allotment along with a long WhatsApp thread filled with voice notes and texts.

As well as co-creating the ceremony and rituals with the family, I was also able to lend them our DEAD GOOD gazebo and bamboo trestle legs for the allotment ceremony.

I was in my full eco-guide community role.

Part ecological event planner, part nature-based celebrant!

It’s also worth saying that the family bought a natural burial plot at Belsay and a Bellacouche woollen shroud a few weeks before the person died.

Advance planning like this can really work for some people and families.

The person died peacefully at home, supported by her son and a district nurse at the end of July.

Her body was then collected by a local funeral director and was looked after at their premises until the day of the burial (approximately 3 weeks between her death and burial). Her body was cared for naturally and was not embalmed (note: you can’t have a natural burial if your body has been embalmed).

The family chose to split the funeral ceremony across two sites on two consecutive days.

The formal garden ceremony took place on Day 1 in the community allotment and was attended by twenty close friends and family followed by a homemade picnic in the garden.

It’s important to note that her body was not present at this initial event. This ceremony was really a blessing of her (empty) shroud, as well as the family honouring and giving thanks for her life.

We began the first ceremony by asking the guests to quietly walk around the allotment and each pick three items to add to the wicker basket. People picked blackberries, apples, pears, sloes, tomatoes, herbs and flowers. The basket was brimful. This collective act helped to bridge the two ceremonies, as the natural items in the basket would be buried the next day with her body.

In the absence of her body at the first event, the family chose to place a lock of her hair inside the shroud. We also ceremonially unfolded her faithful blue coat and laid this on top of the shroud during the ceremony. I think it was a great idea to have the empty shroud front and centre at the first ceremony - a gentle process of familiarisation for the family.

After the first ceremony, her grandson drove the shroud to the funeral directors so that her body could be wrapped in the soft folds of the shroud before a simple family-led burial at a natural burial ground the next day.

On Day 2, the family met the funeral director at the natural burial ground. Family carried the shroud to the grave and gently lowered her body. They covered the shroud with fruits and flowers picked from the allotment. Then they said their goodbyes in their own time, but with no formal ceremony.

The family created and led a funeral that fitted the life and values of their person, whilst also being both eco-friendly and unconventional.

It was a really beautiful thing to be part of.

But how much did it cost? Here are the deets, shared with permission of the family:

Natural Burial Ground Fees (£2438.00)

Natural burial plot fee (buying the site of the grave) = £1050

Plot preparation fee (the digging of the grave) = £450

Internment registration fee (the admin and paperwork) = £450

Memorial oak tree (to be planted by the grave) = £120

Memorial stone (small piece of York stone) = £140

Inscription of the stone (carving) = £147

VAT on the tree, stone & inscription = £81

Funeral Director Services (£500.00)

This fee included the transport of her body from her home, care of her body for three weeks, and transport to the natural burial ground.

Bellacouche Woollen Shroud (£685.00)

The shroud was handmade by artist and craftsperson Yuli Somme from local materials in Devon. The fee included courier delivery.

DEAD GOOD Support & Celebrant Services (£561.00)

This fee included my role as celebrant as well as additional support to plan and organise the event in the community allotment.

TOTAL COST: £4184.00

Is that anywhere near the figure you thought of at the beginning of this piece?

Let’s compare the above cost of the recent Sunderland eco-funeral & natural burial with the current national average price for a UK funeral.

The average cost of a UK funeral in 2024 was £7146.00.

This average figure breaks down into £4285, which covers the services of a funeral director, burial or cremation costs, the funeral ceremony costs, a coffin, transport, and doctor’s fees. Plus an additional £2861 for venue hire, flowers, catering, funeral cars, funeral notices, order of service sheets, and a memorial marker.

However, please note that not all funerals need to cost £7146.00. We’re friends with lots of progressive funeral directors and undertakers who frequently support people to have wonderful funerals filled with stories and meaningful rituals at a lower price than this national average.

This is why it pays to think and talk openly about money and funerals before you find yourself having to arrange one for a friend or family member.

The family I supported last month were able to save money through the choices they made whilst also deeply honouring their eco-friendly values - notwithstanding that £4184 is still a lot of money.

They could potentially have made further savings by not having a celebrant and leading the ceremony themselves, by making a shroud from natural materials they already own (see our Shrouds Aloud zine for inspo), and by choosing a natural burial ground with lower prices (Belsay is currently the most expensive in the NE). Making different choices in these areas could have saved them about £1500.

My wish for you is that you carve out time to think about what you’d like your funeral to look like. What do you want it to involve? How do you want it to feel?

Let this open act of imagination be the starting point. Not the cost.

The costs can be mucked about with once you know what your funeral vibe will be.

Everything we do and share as DEAD GOOD aims to support you in growing your personal imagination for doing death beautifully, lovingly and differently.

I hope it’s working? Is it working?

Finally, while I’m here, let me share some of our upcoming events. We’d love to hang out with you in person. Have a looksy and see if anything tickles your fancy.

Check out our linktr.ee and our events page for fuller event info and booking links.

Join us in person for some quality time. We’d love that.

Love you bye