When talking with a funeral home, inform them that you desire a natural or green funeral, with no embalming. Ask them if they have a cooler. If you want to use a casket, it needs to be biodegradable .It is legal for you to use your own casket. I have plans I can send you so you can make your own, and please also refer to our resources page that has web sites of people who make and ship caskets or you can purchase one from the funeral home. We also have a cabinet maker here in Westminster who makes them for $800.00

   Many of our clients just use the funeral home for paper work, pick up, storage and delivery to the preserve.  Remember there could be an extra charge for transportation depending on how far you live from the funeral home. If you are coming from a great distance or another state, you might want to transport the deceased yourself. Funeral Homes can charge up to or more than $2.75 a mile for transportation out of their pick up area. You can get the funeral home to do the paper work and get the permits, and then take responsibility for the driving. Most caskets can fit in a minivan, or you could rent one. This does take more planning, so it might be more convenient for the funeral home to provide the service for you. The choice is yours.

   It is also possible to fly people without embalming all over the world. Inman is the name of one company that provides shipping services, but they will not deal with individuals, only funeral homes. Our nearest airports are Atlanta, 2 hours away, and Greenville/Spartanburg, 1 hour away.

   Sandifer Funeral Home in Westminster has been very helpful and handled many of our clients. They have refrigeration and a crematory. Their telephone number is 864-647-5446. They can make arrangements for people outside of SC who require their services.

In many parts of the country, basic cremation can be purchased for $595.00.

We will be willing to talk with funeral homes if you need our assistance or if they need some additional information.