The 2024 Before I Die New Mexico Festival took place November 1 through 4 in different locations around Albuquerque. The first day focused on eco-friendly funerals and the events took place at the headquarters of Passages International. Here are the videos of speakers and activities from that day.
Eco-Friendly Funeral Trends
Darren Crouch, President and CEO of Passages International, talks to festival participants about consumer trends toward making funerals more eco-friendly. Since 1999, Passages has provided biodegradable, sustainable and eco-friendly funeral products to funeral homes in the U.S. and internationally. Darren is also the president of the Green Burial Council nonprofit organization.
Watch the video to learn about:
- Changes in funeral consumer preferences.
- The growing interest in green burial.
- The challenges cremation poses and greener cremation alternatives.
- Fair Trade practices and Green Burial Council certification.
- Biodegradable urns and scatter tubes.
- Creating meaningful memorial experiences.
- Passages’ Etern.Life geotagging program for cremated remains.
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Introducing Better Place Forests
Jessica Wakefield, CFSP, Better Place Forests‘ Director of Partnerships, Community & Education, talks to Before I Die New Mexico Festival participants about their memorial forests. The company offers eco-friendly memorial options for placement of cremated remains and natural organic reduction compost at conservation forests in California, the Midwest, the Northeast and the Southwest. Learn how these dedicated final resting places in nature are taking off with cremation customers and how you can participate.
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Panel Discussion on Greening Funerals
- This festival panel discussion focuses on trends in greening your final arrangements and creating eco-friendly funerals. The panelists are: Jessica Wakefield, CFSP, Better Place Forests, Director of Partnerships, Community & Education (https://www.betterplaceforests.com/).
- Darren Crouch, President and CEO of Passages International (https://www.passagesinternational.com/) and President of the Green Burial Council (https://www.greenburialcouncil.org/).
- Bryan Beard, co-owner, La Puerta Natural Burial Ground (https://www.naturalburialnewmexico.com/).
Topics discussed include:
- Changes in the demographics of funeral directors and consumer preferences in disposition choices.
- Alkaline hydrolysis (water cremation) and Natural Organic Reduction (NOR a.k.a. body composting).
- Whole body burial at sea, placing cremated remains at sea, working with cruise ships to do cremated remains disposition at sea.
- Open air cremation funeral pyres in the United States.
- The difference in cremated remains between fire based and water based cremation processes.
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Shrouding Demonstration Video
Participants at the 2024 Before I New Mexico Festival practiced shrouding a body with Passages International’s bamboo fabric shrouds. At the end of the video, volunteers Kathy Dempsey and Susie Leite talk about what it felt like to be shrouded.
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Video of Bamboo Casket Assembly and Cremation Q&A
In this video, participants at the 2024 Before I New Mexico Festival practice assembling Passages International’s bamboo caskets, which funeral homes are using instead of cardboard boxes for cremation. Jess Wakefield, CFSP, with Better Place Forests, answers attendees questions about cremation, including:
- How do you ensure the deceased’s jewelry is saved?
- Why are pacemakers removed?
- Can gold teeth be removed prior to cremation?
- What about mercury fillings in teeth?
- How can a family witness a cremation?
- What can you do with the black plastic boxes that some cremated remains are returned in?
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Thank You to Before I Die Festival Sponsors
The 2024 Before I Die New Mexico Festival featured entertaining and educational elements that get people to discuss end-of-life issues and plan ahead. Most sessions were recorded and posted on YouTube. Each day of the Festival had a theme: November 1 – Eco-Friendly Funerals. November 2 – Hospice 101 and MAID. November 3 – Planning for the Inevitable. November 4 – Unexpected Deaths.
The Before I Die New Mexico Festival is made possible by the support of:
- A Good Goodbye: https://agoodgoodbye.com/
- Bernalillo County Indigent Program: https://www.bernco.gov/general-services/about-the-program/
- Better Place Forests: https://betterplaceforests.com/
- Bosque Trails Hospice: https://bosquetrailshospice.com/
- Conscious Crossroads End-of-Life Services: https://deathdouladanielle.com/
- Death Doula Professionals: https://deathdoulaprofessionals.com/
- End of Life Options New Mexico: https://endoflifeoptionsnm.org/
- French Funerals & Cremations: https://frenchfunerals.com/
- Keeper Memorials: https://mykeeper.com/
- Passages International: https://www.passagesinternational.com/