I saw this on Kickstarter yesterday – the Bios Incube, which describes itself as “the world’s first incubator for the afterlife.” Essentially it’s a way to grow a tree from a loved ones ashes, transforming the end of life into a return to life through nature.
At first I was a little uncomfortable. Would I really want this at my house? And knowing that I have the opposite of a green thumb, what happens when I inevitably kill the plant? What kind of emotions would that stir up? (In college, I proudly kept a tiny succulent plant alive for a whole year, only to discover that my friend had managed to grow hers to 10x the original size…it was supposed to grow?!?)
But on the other hand, it’s certainly an idea worth considering, especially if you have a place to ultimately put it into the ground, a place where you and others can view it. I also appreciate the overall goal of making the end of life more meaningful, sustainable, and even more affordable than traditional burial and cremation options.
Very interested to see if this gets funded and how people respond to it. What do you think about it, too weird or kind of cool?