Aquamasi, The Green Alternative To Cremation Chosen By The Late Archbishop Desmond Tutu

The late Archbishop Desmond Tutu. (Wikimedia Commons/Kristen Opalinski)

JAKARTA - Family members gathered to bid farewell to anti-apartheid hero Archbishop Desmond Tutu, in a private service at St. George on Sunday, where his ashes were interred in Cape Town, South Africa and buried.

At his request, the body of the Nobel Peace Prize winner underwent aquamation, a process seen as a greener alternative to cremation - the Anglican Church of South Africa confirmed to CNN, as quoted Jan. 2.

Aquamation is a water-based process whose scientific name is "alkaline hydrolysis," in which "a combination of gentle water flow, temperature and alkalinity is used to accelerate the breakdown of organic matter" when the body is rested in soil, according to Bio-Response Solutions, a US company specializing in themselves in the process.

The company's website says the process "uses 90 percent less energy than fire cremation and does not emit harmful greenhouse gases."

According to the Cremation Association of North America (CANA), an international nonprofit organization, alkaline hydrolysis is sometimes referred to as fireless cremation.

The body is placed in an alkaline hydrolysis machine, consisting of an airtight chamber filled with a solution made of water and alkaline chemicals. The room was then heated, melting the body and leaving only the bones, according to the CANA website.

After the shins they can be mashed. "This process produces about 32 percent more cremation residue than fire-based cremation and may require larger urns," according to CANA.

To note, Desmond Tutu's coffin was brought from St. Cathedral. George in Cape Town at the end of his funeral service on Saturday.

As is well known, the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu was passionate about protecting the environment. He has delivered many speeches and written many articles on the need to act to address the climate crisis.

In 2007, he wrote an article entitled "Fatal Satisfaction" for the Guardian, in which he discussed the alarming impacts of climate change on the Global South and on poor communities, as much of North America and Europe are yet to face extreme weather. conditions caused by the current climate emergency.

As well as calling for an eco-friendly alternative to cremation for his body, the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu also took other steps to ensure his funeral would be as simple as his lifestyle.

His body was laid in a simple pine coffin, which was the "cheapest". available" at his request, said his Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation.

Archbishop Tutu is said to have died peacefully at the Oasis Frail Care Center in Cape Town, South Africa on December 26 at the age of 90.