A Dutch biodesigner has become the latest to enter the field of mycelial interment.
Bob Hendrikx, the 26 year old founder of a start-up called Loop, has designed a coffin, grown within a week, to help bodies decompose underground more quickly.
A Dutch woman was laid to rest in the “Living Cocoon” in mid September. We’ve seen the like of this before in the US with the burial mushroom suit.
“The mycelium breaks down the dead matter and pollution. Cemetery soil is heavily toxic, and this solves that problem too” he said.
“Mycelium is the largest organism in the world, the root structure of nature, and it is continually recycling matter into nutrients. It can generate heat, electricity and is self-healing. With it we could go into a very polluted area and transform it from landfill to a forest, with a tree planted on top of every body.”
A Living Cocoon fungi coffin made by Dutch startup Loop costs about €1,250.
With prices expected to fall as production ramps up, it could well be a saving on a standard box!
