FUNNY OLD WORLD
fow@private-eye.co.uk
£ “The idea of weaving coffins came to me when I met a Landcare group who were working to remove the invasive Cat’s Claw vine,” Zimmi Forest told reporters in Ocean Shores, New South Wales. “Once this South American vine is stripped from the trees and pruned back, it forms long flexible strands that are ideal for weaving. So instead of cutting down a tree to make a coffin, now we are simultaneously weaving a coffin and removing an invasive species.
“The process to make a woven coffin takes about 150 hours, and my workshops are often a ‘living wake’, with the dying person and their loved ones weaving the coffin together. Some people might think it’s kind of morbid, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by people’s responses. There’s something beautiful about weaving a coffin, it drops you into a meditative state. The great thing about a woven coffin is it’s permeable, all the microorganisms on the soil can get in and it breaks down much quicker. We comply with New South Wales standards that require coffins to contain an absorbent lining and a fluid catcher – we make that out of corn starch, to ensure it breaks down in the earth quickly. Why would you burn solid timber for a cremation when you weave your own coffin?” (ABC News, 17/3/25. Spotter: Mart Elisabeth Scrafton)