Death is a costly, wasteful business. From the chemicals used to embalm the bodies to the endangered wood that make coffins to the land devoted to graveyards and mausoleums.
One rural community in the Philippines has come up with a more eco-efficient way of putting their loved ones to rest – they place the coffins on the walls of caves or cliffs. The people of Sagada in the Mountain Province of the Philippines carve their coffins out of hollowed out logs and hang them on cave walls, eliminating the waste of any precious land resources. When the coffins eventually deteriorate they fall to the ground and new coffins replace the old ones.
The Sagada have been hanging their cave and cliff coffins for more than 2,000 years. The practice of cliff hanging coffins also takes place in southern China.
Via Atlas Obscura
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written by Erin , October 22, 2011