- we have done ourselves a disservice by not having a talk about dea th. oftentimes, they place a foot on the conveyor belt of end-of-life care and they're swept aw ay. - most anybody that i know has n ever experienced a home funeral or a natural bur ial. they don't know how to do it because no one's offering it. - everybody's life you leave a lega cy. and john would help their family remember that leg acy. but also, to put one foot in front of the ot her after losing someone close to y ou. - this will be the first of what

i beli eve many mindful, beautiful endings but beginnin gs. ♪ [ambient music] - [male announcer] major funding for reel south was provided by etv endowment, the national endowment for the ar ts center for asian-american media, south a rts, and by the corporation for public broadcast ing, a private corporation funded by the american peop le. [shoveling]

[acotic amerana musi ♪ people le to ta about d

th. i mean, wh it's no happing to them.you kn what i me ?they d't like talk about deh in rel io tohemselve thelike to lk aboudeath li, oh my god. did u hear aut th car wreck? did u hear aut sond-so at d ie did you hear they found thbody oveth er ohy d. long as it' not fecting em that's wn people will talabout . thisind of bial ound hasot been ne-- nobody'sone it bore he . sohat's good.becauswe get t be t first and we n't have pcedent that we ve to fo ow. t athe same time nobody done it ere. soe're figing a lo of stu out on e way. learni a littlhere and littlehere

as create is. [interpong vois] - i starte realistally in t funeralusiness en i was prably sixr se ve i d a smalcemeteryat the ee of t w oods ere grewp onhe f ar and i wod find tse littl grasoppers a dead birds d differt thin . and i dot know wt reallystrucke to stoand pay tributor to crte thimomentof rememance, bui did . anit sck with throh my higschool days. and righafter hi school,my grafather psed aw . ani quicklbecame involvedn work gat my lol funeraho

me.after out 15 yrs in th convtional feral ind try, asn embalm and naging auneral homeand seng famils and plning furals on day-to-d bas isi realiz that thconventional neral instry, fo me wa't good ou gh. anit didn'truly meet the ee the indiduals wwere rving orhe envirme nt ♪ the indust has pertuated a mysterand mythurroun ng amican dea cultu . myselfyou, mos anyby that i now has never exrienced home neral a naturalur ial. ey don know how do it because one's oering . anthey're t offeri it cause itoesn pro fi the funeraindustryhat's created is metd th 's made thea lot ofon ey.

and i'planned whollife to this pern, this neral rector tt cared r peop .but i ju was lik there'sot to ba betteray to do his. beccsteven who is e foder of mdalene houseand thtle farms, and she' alsothe epcopal prst over re ataint augtine's c pel, she cas me andhe sa, i unde tand thatou have rticularintere in natul bu ri and end--life prtices and how to makthose be er. d thenheaid, cane ta lk we formea nonprot calledlarkspur cservation, w hich you have paperwork for in front of you. we a settingut to create the state's rst consva tion bual ground, whichis essentially nat ur preservemuch likradnor lake, whe you ca also be laito r es we he a 155-re tractof land sumner unty th we're purchasinfi rs this parcular land wilprobablyuse a quarr, if noa thir for actl buri . threst wl be left complete natur

. d we wilcreate an open green sp e, placthe enti projectunder coerva on d it wilbe prected fo ver. sohose peoe that are laid to rest there and buried t here don't have to be embalmed, they d on't have to spend excessive money on an expensive metal cask et no vaults are allowed, no metal caskets, no foreign materi als or contaminants are allo wed. people are laid to rest like they alw ayshave beethrougho histo ry. and yourody has e last purpose at's vervalu ableand cahelp savlandfor yo community. a t of peoplealys say, ll, i'just goi to be cmated cause i n't wa toake up sce when die. well, th is the nd of taking uspace th's g oo soe're usi actuall overy dead b y-- you've hrd that ra se--over mdead bod exactly we'rgoing toave this and.

[distantars ankids playi] - becca d the idea, prcipally,for what larpur is ye ah. you wereust the rst peon she rched o tory to ma it happ, or-- - she d alread sharedhe i de th don a tara angi na. and thenhey reachedout toe as someonewho actuly had industryxperie e ancould beomebody at couldphysical run theperati you knowhat i mean? i feel le it wasotally kismet a univers and j t divi ne. you ow? [bir chirp g] - thnatural rial servici attendthey we closero the death. do younow what m ean? ere wasn all thadistance there sn't fakgr ass,there wasn foldingha irs. was likwe were esent and the

dy was rht the .and thcommunitwas le to co clo se at a huge spirituabene fi i an, i doelieve that lovnever esand althat we ve in a personoesn d ie. t you arstill ieving a ot. d so to ha the abity to have theommunityartici te d be clo, i thinhelps people ithe firswe eks, escially aer a death. - i fi what hes the grieve pcess a probaytwo thin gs.one is just being al aning noburyinmy self in lanage that medical, noturyingys elfin t technicities ofwh's goingn here oth ere but st to beeal e way i uld lk to a iend, my husband,y kids aut j us the ality ofhe situation and metimes st how crummyt

is. doctors t on ite coat we tr ally harto put oour ga facenot foany othere ason but becae that'sow wee been tin ed. and think it impoant fope op be ableo see th thisffects u too. because ief is connecti to othepeop le and i thk that ges pele some an ing. d i thinthe othe thing griefs no rm d it's healthy rction tobeing ab to dealith a loss. d i think ife preten that oy weak p ple grieve a strong ople jus tougit out a are f e, i think 're alsomissinthe boat. it a normareacti .i mean, we tch our ks-- en theirrandfather my father-in-l passed ay--it'sk to be sad.we'rcelebratg o he is d itok to sad infront each other beuse it's functioof how much thaperson meant t you. and that just anormalart of life. and think pele sometes foet the nmalcy in hat. - well, there's a book out there called smoke in youryes. and her and john

kind of followed the same prem ise that death needs to be real to peo ple. we've made it such a sanitary t hing that people will not-- now won't even take days off from work to come to a funer al. life needs to stop for a little bit for folks to grie ve. with her, smoke in your eyes talks about different thin gs suchs seeing person unembal med, in their natural f orm. a lot of people don't see th at. a lot of people see thatfter w ve pumped them full of embalming fluid and put them in their nicest clothes and put them in a cask et. [wind and car noise] ruck enge]

- so othe righ here i178 acs of lan that th natureonservan o wns. - knn as tayr hollowstate naral ar a clasii sta scieific natal a re it one of e most biodiver areas in tees see. it iknown foits prolic wiflower pulat ioveral enngered species ourish t re. - here where wre gog to be rning .john cistian aays nts to gfarther rst. and our nd does n do to the ad h ereand foanother 0 or 0 yards,p the ad wi the cre runningnto it - soll this rough here. in 1998,y grdfather ed, and s moved

the exper nce. d i we to thefuneral me that mmer and hung out on the evening of a thunderst orm because the embalmer had called and s aid, if you're considering potentia lly being a funeral director, you sh ould come join me when i embalm someone to make sure that you can handle it. i met him and we went into the basement of the funeral ho me. i watched this gentleman be embal med. and the electrical storm killed all the power halfway thro ugh. and all you could hear was water running down the porcelain table while this man's blood was being drai ned. that was my first experience with some one ing embaed or being close a dead rs on. and right ter at, i began woing part ime the funal h om and thatall, it s 1998i went into mortuary col lege nashvil, tennese at a college

lled joha. gup n d ended uporking a stocale-maliin cam n, ok care familymember frien neighbs, old age, trac de at u name t. lived abe the fural ho after gduat io i moved and creed mywn envirme nt. i evenemember ving friendwho losthild re and theyafter hang a sitationnd seeg the bodyand beg downstrs wi the public, i rember tm comingp to apartme to justre athe and t it all go. was at sckdale-min for few ye s. and the company that owned the funeral home asked me to transfer to xon, tennessee, wh ich was a small town between camden and nashville. and i s the prary pers th did a of the balm in antook carof all the bodies anwent

outn all of the fer als.again,he company at i word forhad a potion for need r a funel dire orand emlmer in shvi lle.and i ended taki that poti on. d i rked inashvie for out seveye ars, prably, bere takin myeap ofai th. - i've bn able twork ongside m for many yea. i ickly proted himontour leadehip te .he reay had t a rong repat ion of being a great embal mer. and then when he started seeing families and ma king arngementsthe spect gr even re for how ll-rounded he thatnot onlys he tal tedin helng with e care o the ved one emselv li the embalming and prarat ion,bualso witbeing le to sefamili

help th throughtheir ur ney.and noeverybodthat's iour pression iable to b oth and do th well,nd he is.when hserves afamilyhe does not look at it as setting service times, writing an obitua ry having a fily sect a rvice anmerchandise. he takest far bend t ha and th's one othe thgs th i've alys respected anadmired abt him. looks f the this that mean somethi to thfami ly it the sma things that make the biggest impact and it mns the most. there waa servicethat hhad had foa young rl that d passedaway andhe lovedrinces s. and he gavher a incess fer al. it w just sothing that uld takeour breath a wa when someone would come in to the visitati on literally, she was like a sleeping princ ess. he took so much time in setting everything up. and that's the service that i can say that i will al ways remember and i associate john

christian with beca use of what he gave to the parents that have had such a tragic loss of a ch ild. everybody's life you leave a lega cy. and john christian has always looked for what their legacy is and what would help their family remember that leg acy but also have that healthy jour ney that it takes to be able to put one foot in front of the o therafter sing someone close to y ou. omber music] - i me, the marityf thgood stu that i' seenis alonghis way,here weame thatay w re the wer linecut through.it's reay goodight thugh herend right up inere and en arounthis waand thenind ofp in h e. anthen uin her it'sreally uhigh andid gy. d you rember up here, it's higand

ridg too. t ere's poibilitie for bual there oo. meow restotion isthe fun rt, and ople li flowersnd stu . sohe oppornity to able thave opeme adow rial wh wildflers owing th in the tuat n whe weould do burn offor we uld do aontrolled bu or brinin goats to e o ff--- the ats are etty f . - --the bad stf every ar the's a loof natur bur ia ounds th are doi t hat. and fromhat i' undetood, they gea lot ofood prs about it. - ah. - they'rlike, , let's ke thkids to e goats d fun uff likehat, butny wa blue-ed mary gws all ong thatater way, all the way do in ont of o prope y. - th's c oo - i noced thathen were the that day.- i'm ju amazed at this ma be thenly entrance to ylor holl ow- i thinit

is. iteally isrotected.- yeah. - aryou apprensi abouanything going to thimeet in no? no pe. - what areou filmi? - i don'kn .me, i ess. we're woing on aocumenta over three-year oc s. - re ly? ye ah - teresting. - sw t. ye . have aood on th ks. - we'rmaking a - should havsaid p orn. po-- you suld see at's ing on ithe back eat.- [laughs] - i think ally theain rpose ofoday's m tingis justo talabout this a ltle mo re. - we actlly thout that by keepi our 25 res do wards throad, th it's going toctually

ve you gu easier cess rticular up in aoss he . - ye . - ye ah - wel work iout once insteaof goingack like hat- yeahit goemore tha way. - -h mm. and i wod likeo takethis tdaddy's wy er. reallyant youall toave it is has g my father name wtten allver it - ye ah - heidn't ra a wholelot, butf you ha ever heard him on t funeralindustrynd allhat busine ss he-- - oh, that aweso . oh, you ver ld us th p art. - ll, he w from robertsoco unty and sapeople fm the me he waa small ild be bically pyed on by people whdid thatort of t ng. and it jt always got all er h im and would aays refeto ceteries

askull orch ds. heould sayhat a wae of gd real e ate. well, heounds li a man ter my o hea rt- wellye ah. absolutely.- th woulde gr ea i woullove t t. - yes. - alright. oughs] - i don'know if need to do a g publicampaign. i don'kn ow.- tell mwhat youe thinking. - don't knowhat i' thinki except 're no ing to g it donehe way we're thking abo doing it ght no do you tnk i'm ong abouth at? - we've got out six eighpeople w are waiting for us to y... it's on. ...is a go so theve been inking outheir plans. ok.i didn't k no - d who el to get volv ed. - ok. - d so i tnk out of that oup of ixor so, iould get or $50,

0. ma e--- sohat concns me ishat 're eith going t hit arou 75 to0 anthen tha s-- - maxed out. - d then mbe you b ld-- mean, mae we jushave o phasesf fundra ing. i n't kn . but i'm st worri tha t-on oneand, it esn't sod li a big nber to rai se buon the oer hand,it's big numr to raise. - thusiasms not do ars. ri gh - right. - d it's oy after makehe ask f those folks that we art tting a nse of - whe we're ing b - d how ha it's gog toe or howoable it is. but we d't know ll we y. [interpong voice- by sing this 155

acres l and and purchasi it outright by the e of january, weill ha the opportunityto cate a sht in t d eathculturwithinur community, helpe ople with less exnsivemode obu rial but also more mindfumode of rial d sayingoodbye at the e of li . i'so glad u all arhe re. want y to stayand ch wit h abt what nural burl is, out whatt me an about exacy what wre goingto be dog, and a the little idsyncrasies. 'll starthat conrsat n. - how many people can u bury othis l d? - on this partular operty, 5,000 to 10, 000. the idea is we're creating a ture pse rve. so t whole tng won'tbe ud for bu als. iton't be de-to-si rowsf peopleith stones. iton't loo anytng like at.it'll like raor lakewhen y're

walkg al on thermay be aacre her that'ssed for ri al ancre heresed foburi al e idea i also, o primy goal ito save nd.we're ving lan placingt unr a consvation eem ent th the nure consvancy ofenne ss anotherike-mind coervationnt ity. and we wl createore of these afr the rst on afr we havthe fundto puhase thifirst tract, weill be ae to usethe fus generated from eh burialon this op erty toave moreracts ofand ound the cy, reinf cing the tr canopy,the greesp ace, the ples where ks can gojust tbe in utr natu . you can so hike l thugh tayl hol lo ich s a lot endaered willowe rs d i meanit's reay a autiful sp lay. and th right adjacento that, ich is parof theeason wee inrested ithis pro rty,is thayou can st walk om onright ov to the her d arnd, make ia big

op. it's pr ty. - until have th land, we're tuing people waythat areeaching t to ust the enof l if sayingmy mom jt di ed d this iwhat shean ted. d we havto say, m so rr there's t a placlike this itennesse yet. [slow cello music] i can't just stop thinking about it. i'm constantly thinking about it. i have no lack of faith in what i'm in or t fact th i know can it and it well and helpthe peop le.it's jt the minutiaeof howo make sense ofnd keep ur sany whe waitinon dea . now, if had somedy ke anoth per so thatould wor about one dwhile i dn't wor about it, it wld be dier ent. i'be lik ok, ll, today, i'm off. i n relax little b m ore. i don't ve to beompletel consed

with is tod . low cellmu sic] ♪ i cat just sp thking abo it. i'm consntly inking about t. id-tem ambientus ic] ♪ in 2012, startedreallyetting to point imy professional car r ere i stard doing me so searchi and envio ningfor lo t erm. nce i wa20 yearsold, i'dnly everor

ked the funal h om d i'd on ever gin all my ener to th . and working r, at th time, a corporation or company t hat was owned by people that i didn't really know that well buhad goals of their o wn. felt le i play an iortant role the funal home,locay and heing people.but whenou workin a funal h e anyou wo in a cetery, yo see pele's lives reflected every day inverythg you .and i dn't wanto see m lifeeflectedn the y that i s it when real looked it.i wantedo do somhing bigger. not biat disneworl big,ut big ia waythat it fected pple, in e way touch people'hear ts the way it changed people's experie nces while they were al ive. right before thanksgiving and christmas, i took a train. i took the train around the count ry. i wanted to ablutely t myselfut

of my ox pushyself yond normal mi ts went fromemphis chicago made mway throh minneapo lis anacross t norther stat to seate, then down san franciscoultimatelyo los an les. so would s down foa lunchon the tin, in t train car ani wod alwayse siing acro from so bodythat iidn't know. theyould alws ask, well, what a youdoing the train? wherare you headed?and my rponse wa well, just quimy job and trying do me soul arch in and determe what'sn the other si of this rain avel andhis triphat i'mon whe i'm tryg, rea y, meet folks likeou and fd out at's imptant to youfor end l ife.becausi've onl everalked toeo plewho we in the roes ofdeath and had had a loved one that had just di ed. i was trying to find out who i was but also who they

are and at's imptant them anwho it s anwhat's iortanto it. being in l ife. wh is thisig thinghat 're all rticipat g in and we'rjust allalking alg compcent w h? are w w can we aually paicipatein this g, wild ing ca ed li and maka positi impactn the world and r commun ies? if'd stayeat the feral home andat in th roomand soldaskets o of a ok and ts and that in and outvery day i mit not have-- i me, i woul't behere i a now. [intersing v ces] - cart's notven seenthe finaprinted py.- aw, love the fonalre y.- put oureads togher and cread a pontial p of wt it cld be like. again, y go throh anyou see r te am

d thenn the back, ouvoluntee and dona informa on. i me, when y touch i yore just ke, whoa.th is ni . ese peop are for eal.- do y want toave ese odd mb ers, oro you wa to rounth em?- wellwhat weliked s the eaof peoe thking in termof buyinthis a cre. - mm-hmm. - sojust reay sort reinford the ct th they'rehelpinus buy this. it just t cashthey c actua y think out it iterms --- so tt's $1,8 to b an ac ? - --wenew we'dhave oneer son.1,800 for . ye ah we had 10-acr soety, w e'd prably havmore mov ent. t it's kd of a all society. - well said. - my frien happy she works fows mv d she's paionate about ouproj ecand shhas actuly alrey spokeno peop . she's ke, let kn when you'reready fothis to a news sty becausi want tmake i one.and we wt to be le to te the sty first news ch ne4, worki 4 y

ou we've go351 on o newstter list--or o ur- em ai - email st. - anthey're l going g et-- - theyill all ceive --- to y. --when w hit. just askhem to pt it on thr facebooks? - mm-hmm. - rf ect. - th is the ail ast thatill go ut. - aw ome.- press lease, veo, dona and l of ourocial media. - rkspur cservatioin suer counttennesseis a beautil parkike setting withiking ails and picnic ars and, sn, occaonal burl pl otit's pt of a n partnerip withhe naturconservancy, offeri familiea grner and eaper y toay to re their led on on protted la . will be place wre thland will preservedbut thbodies will goack to dust. fonpr ne . i'amy eski in nash lle. - agine beg buriedn your grandmoer's

quilt instd of in cask et is a coept a cal nonp fit isringing tenness for thfirst time. it's cald a tural bual gro d. thgoal is to preservereen spaces.develoent cont ues. tural buals, by e wa are alschea pe the typil funel can cost morthan15,0 00thaverage tural burial cts about4, 000. - jo christi phiferis the ecutive dec tor of lkspur coervation anhas wo ed as funeralirector tennese for abt 15 years. no he wantto coerve thi land and rn it in the state'sfirst grn burialround, what he cls a livg memorial. - we don use anychemals, we n't use any astics oconc tes. don't p those things io the earth, especily in a ture preserve ke we'rereating tha t don't hamp the ecost em. phifer ihoping to havthe site up d runng by ring of xt y ear. for newshannel 5 i'm isten sk

ira. [gene piano sic] - i'm taking notes. [song on the rad io] (song) ♪ and i promise i'm not playing. ♪ - i kind of have a measurement for th is but toda i'm notgoing o mu ch (song) ♪ bak it do. [banging] [count song onhe rad] (song) ♪ le you, by. ve you, rlin '. [rattlg][tapping] ♪ [rtl in [tappi ng] ♪ - he j ohn? - yeah? - ste of tse and see if ty're done, finish, if there s ofpl se.

- mm-h. ey're perfect. - ok. let me s. can i se it? - i thk its moer habeen hity a car. anour couss had hoes and farm dowon the sdy riv and ey'd nursethis ttle fawand keptt al iv unl they cld relea it. - itas kind like pet for hem. ey fed t. it was jt a pe - mm mm. well, had jusgott reallycomfortae with erybo dy years ag i was probably0 or 11, buwe werdown my granothe r' atarmon's eek. at day, the welhouse where wead a biguc ket thate lored wn and ple d up and everody woul take ladle and

drink ere was little blue pareet th d landedn the we hou se anhe becamone of mfirst pets thawas not dog. saved a w of hisfeathe from his ca ge. i ess is iswhat pservat n wa duct ta and sar w rap. i rember takg care ohim.and d already stard th small ltle cemetery wheri would into the kihen dr er and d grab a ork. and i ulrun out the ge of thwo ods. ani had th safe, secret ltle ace. and i wod dig ahole wh the rk d i woulbury ltle grshoppersnd thi s. but th time, m paraetilly d d. and i us a schoobox r crayonand pe ils ju like th one, ju exactllike thi one. d-- [sniing] i le thsmell of

tha - d i linethe boxth tissuand my om haan arranment of flowers.and th were fa flowe . and guess i ought th would st and tt was thid ea t i grabd a flow and made a ltle pi ow and i puthe flow in tre and t n i id billyn on hisback, the pillow, like y do witheo pl t i'm a ttle k . this ilike whai thinkit's sposed be. and close uphe crayo x, and iake duct apeand i ju duct ta aroundhe box bau se-- i don't ow where'd seenr heard thator whathe ideaf burialnd prervationeant or y-- i thoughthat w somethi thatad to ha en. or iit wasike u're locng away treasurthat you ant remembeand to b ab to rember

it, u haveo have i inta somewhere. whenhat i should have de is w t i diwith allthose asshop rs and justrapped h in lves and let itbody go ck to the eartinst ea of pting it a pltic box ap ped in duct pe in thgrou ndbut it's funny t thgs we do as ki dsand it funny t thingsthat l to wheri am today. still lo the sml of cra ns. [sff ing] smel 's the bt. usic: mike vio "king kg ha nd ♪ thers a satellite dish bold on theouse ♪ ♪ xt door. ♪ ♪ it not evehooked u thcord's jt dangng . ♪ ♪you've sn th before. ♪ ♪ l that iormation i st can'told on tit. ♪ my minis not aafe, mind's

conduit. ♪ ♪small eltric wes surrnd alliving ings ♪ ♪some calit a hal orn aura ♪ ♪ it'sust the eling when i singing. ♪♪ w am i tknow whe evything iright, ♪♪ wh i'm barling througthis wor nning evy red lit? ♪♪ anhow am io know wn u say ishat you an , ♪♪ en i'm breling througthis wld forest ergreen? ♪♪ ba, baby, by don't gi up on u ♪ ♪ t's growld togetr.

♪ ♪♪ i' got a pnt its leav all-- ♪ - pivol momentin life, hodo you gthrough fe and rely invesyourselfin eve bit of e mo me th you're rrently in, yoknow wt i mean? - mm mm. - so'm thinkg to mysf, i ould be ppier th i am. or i shoulbe like* ** * myself.or because've work so lg on t s, don'know, ju try celebrate. but, eah. 's been long timcomi ng fo years now? re than ur yea rs? and en-- let's see how ny yearsav e ibeen iested inuneral work? nce

'9 and en, longefore that as aid buryi anyth g that iouldind in tard, the woo, on the arm,you kn ? apping gsshopperin leave diggingraves wh fo rk so it's big da - ye, it's aig d ay. it's likwhen you putit in at perspti veit's a he da [music mikeiola - "ng kong nd"] ♪ (sinng) naudib ]

[gsses cnging] - to lkspur. - to onward. i was inking aboutight here being the sp nce it a littl bifurther away fr the roo of the ees. and you e how th top,he canop is? that'senerallyas farut as wherethe ros are gog to g eaves unching][cough [cruncng] - at maye a ro right tre.- there'a stump ere. yeah, mae a ck or soth ing. [sholi ng] [sing]

- 2013, wstarteth nonprot to cree this pce. weidn't kn where this pla would e,buthis pce came us. anthe commity ralld arnd us in support and helpeds purcse th 112 acres. and thisirst sime act of burial, e returno ea rtthe turn to nature, thereturn tgod and ur ce.this wl be theirstof whai believ many mdful, betiful, endings, but beginni s.

i feel le there'a eat numb of huma that are evolng durinthis t e. ey're beming more andmore csideratenot only of w they tat each her, t how ey treathe pla t and w they'rgointo leaveit foruture gerati on i ink consvation bial plays huge rolin t ha i think plac like laspur will contie to grow. will not becomehe only y. therwill alws be oth optio the will aays be crematio thereill al ys be traditional vaulted embalmed bur ial. but i think more and more people will choose conservation and natural burial as an opt ion at the end of their lives, especially in the ye ars to c ome. the most obvious challenge, and i come back to it every ti mewhat's t harde thi

ng wh's theiggest cllen ge genel education.educatn of theeneral p lic.we havso doneoursels a diss viceby notaving ata aboutea th. what hapns now iwe me to thend of life and we he desions to be ma de. and we have no idea how to make those decisi ons. we d't know at mom wted cause she never sa it. we neverelt comftable in havinthe convsa tion wi her at e dinner ble whenha t's wh we shou have ha it. pele are jt so ignant to whatheir optns are d how th can actuly do enof l if thathey ofteimes pla a fo on the nv eyor belt oend-of-le care d they'rswept away. lcome. ll let did kick o ff. david's nd of ouhead educati, if you ill.he's rlly goodt it a you'll e

why. so'll let m take it over om h er - always le to art withefinit nsso we n build foundati in lguage toth erso whewe talkabout tural buri al it means that thre thin are hapni ng the's no ealming, ere e no vaus or out bur iacontaine, think g, concte, stl, bronze, copp boxes tt are puintohe gro din a cventionacemeterybere someo is buried. and en lasy, that whateveris usein the bial process s to be tural, biodegra ble. the word thai'm usinmore ese dayss compos ble. if you p it in yr gaen, woulit break d own? grite mit be natal and odegradable, but 's not othe timecales at we'realking a ut. so wt we're lking about arthings thatmight falitate domposition. as you dyour search, u're g ng toind thathere's differenkinds ofemeter s thatllow foratural b ial. ere are brid cemeries, ose are reallyormally ingto be ther nvention cemeteries sometimes hisric on that ju set a de space fonatural rial occur, r peopleo have thats an option. the nextier

up a natul burialroun ds thosare cemerieshat on and excsively o natural bu al. and th the lastier areconsertion burl grou s that, li the natal ones,only allowor natur bur iabut mbine th with land conservatn effo s. - ath is aeird, cry littlething th we as aoc iety have nev been taht how toandle oreal wi talk about. 's somhing thas not mfortablto talk out wi tse that love because love them. and it mes us sad a t of times. buone of t thingsthat whave found if thatou have st a simple cversatio no ma er ere it srts, if u ju have th conversation, 's incdibly heful to your frids, youram ily, anto your n peace mind r when sething ds happ . because,ey, we'rall in ts thing geth er i don't ow anydyhat's lived fover

yet, so. i ess we'vall got th in comm, but. [leas crunching] i think at one othe adntages olarkspuris johs experice as funeralirec to the are someolks across t cou nt whare veryro-natur burialand verynti-funeho me. and we havto find way work toth er.i believe whate do as funeral directo rs i believe that we provide a valuable service to peop le. i believe that everything has its pla ce. i would like to see more people tr ying to work together than against each other in other ar eas. doesn't haen h erin my inion, esn't ppen h e. buthere ve beenoccurrces withuneral homes in the past where people have been taken advantag e of and, essentially, for lack of a better term, pr eyed upon during their time of ne ed. i don't think that's always been the ca se.i thinthere's ensituations where peo ple make emotional decisio

ns. but it's not our job to tell people what they ed or what they w ant. it's our jobo walk through th hem, guidthem, rect t m. d we don need tory to givthem som hingthat ty don'ne ed. ey tell what th want an we makthat hapn for them. i wouldn be siing wher i am thout thexperien of the nvention and traditi onal funeral indust ry. without all of these little odd idiosyncras ies and things that happened along the way that combined with my growing up on a farm anbeing connected toat ure, i uldn't bwho i am inthe posion that am. ani don't ow that rkspur would beere witht th . d you cajust swing it en and iwill clo its el [inaudib le]. - yeah. [engine nning] [jeep roing][inaudle] grav righthrough re.

i thk with conservaon buriawe have e opportity to ve two tngs happ at on . you ve the oortunityto resto and h l an eironmentn an ecost em. d enou hav th oppor nity toelp a faly durin the me of death, mo throughnd transitn in a new areciat nof a lifthat was, but so have e opport itytoetter apeciate tir own life andheir ownxisten . so iyolook ait 's kind like we're heing the rth. anat the se time, e otheside of e co in 're healing hearts. we're healing individu als. we're offering two modus for he ing, both othe envinment and of t per so and ju by openg up spa and crting thaspace fope ople to ce togeth in ture ando that, at's where weave thes folkthat wal away om thiexperice sang, i can't

explain wh just haen ed. that waso prou . y haven'we been ing ithis wafor so ong? [criets] [cricketcontinue [ftsteps] name isohn chriian anthis is vid.we are t team re at lasp ur. and we wcome youto tayr holl . day's cemony is ing toe a beauful on as we'reight a suns and theight isting acss the mdow andwe're derneath big t ip popl ar so wre goingo have a reallyeautiful alk upnto the eser ve d then wll algather a und. will ve sometime forha ngand thene'll beg the press of lering

co's body, hishell, io the grave.and th we'll a take tus inarticipang and cer ing and lling th gravin compl ely beforee leave is after on. i nt to inuce ristophe who is our dector that's he with s day fromhe funer homehat's provided elp.if youeed anytng u can reh out to himor assisnce d supporto day. i' turn itver toav id. tre anythg at i've ssed that yowould li to sh e? - i think e only tng thati woulstress teveryb ody is thathis ifor yo sonywhere ere u feel cled to you el that 's meaniful, want yoto partipa te. th is a counity act and m re al excited see thaso manyof youll came t to da is places open frodawn todusk eve single y for folksto vit and he and outsi . so whenever you feel called to, whether it's to visit cory or tjust go r a ke th place ifor yo

[music:duendi, "burme"] ♪ wa to sidown in ur arms. ♪ ♪ wrape in wonr. ♪ ♪ keep me safe and strong. ♪ want to ar your me d recogne you asy own. ♪ bury mbeneath r home ♪ ♪ when i fst saw yr light, oh, took mey surpri. ♪♪ noi can't t you go. ♪ ♪ u're thenly thing need to ow. ♪

♪and here am at yr feet ♪♪ and ly y can comrt me. ♪ there'a voice ep insid ♪ ♪and it tls me that y're my le. ♪ i wanto sit do in your arms. ♪ ♪ wrape in wonr. ♪ ♪keep msafe andtrong. ♪ ♪ i nt to he your na and feel t hum witn my bon. ♪ ♪ burye beneatour home.

♪♪ i wa to holdou till see the lit, wrap u in wonr, ♪♪ kissou everyight ♪ i wantou to lookt and seeourself.♪ ♪i want tlo you and no o else.♪ [vocaling] ♪ oh, a i need. - theskind of operes, youfeel likwith youloved ones you hano control in the

end. but thenhen th pits andhe y' free to nd a pla likehis where we now is is wh you wou w ant. we a returni you towhere u star d. were givinyou bety and n ure and a spiritual experience with the wo rld, with the planet that he loved so mu ch. he's h ere. and i'm just grateful. you kn ow?["burye" conties] ♪ wrap in wonder. ♪ keep safe anstro ng ♪ i wt to heayour nam anrecognizyou as mown. ♪ ♪ bury me beneath our hom e. ♪ when i first saw your light, [vocalizing] oh, ♪ ♪ it took me by surpris

e. ♪ now i can't let you g o. ♪ you're the only thing i need to know. ♪ ♪ here i am at your fee t. ♪ and only you can comfort me. - [male announcer] major funding for reel south was provided by etv endowment, the national endowment for the ar ts center for asian-american media, south a rts, and by the corporation for public broadcast ing, a private corporation funded by the american peop le. ♪ vo: you're watching pbs.

narrator: today on "earth focus," religion and development in asia. filmmakers kalyanee mam and gary marcuse on how cultural traditions intersect with economic growth in cambodia and china. coming up on "earth focus." kalyanee: as an immigrant, as a refugee, you know, from cambodia, family and i, you know, fled cambodia when i was four years old. and what i realized was what