Pros and cons of funeral businesses
“R5 billion is spent on funerals annually in South Africa,” says Inseta’s CEO, Sandra Dunn.
Threats to the industry as a whole include the lack of burial land. At Avalon cemetery in Soweto, for example, it has been reported that over 200 funerals take place every weekend. This is Johannesburg’s biggest and busiest cemetery, accounting for 40% of burials.
Another threat to the sector is emissions caused by cremation. Cremation spews about 400 kg of carbon dioxide – a greenhouse gas blamed for global warming – into the air, along with other pollutants like dioxins and mercury vapour which are emitted if the deceased have silver tooth fillings.
But these threats to the industry also can and have created opportunities. Internationally, there are many new practices which are being used to deal with these problems. In Japan, most deceased people are cremated.
According to a recent BBC report, it has become extremely difficult for the Japanese to find places to store ashes, especially in big cities. The solution has been to save space and money by converting old warehouses into storage facilities for the ashes of family members.
Because Israel is such a small country and tradition dictates that the dead are buried, a simple solution has been devised where two family members are placed in a single grave that is dug deeper by an extra metre. Israel has also designed above-ground niche burials, in which the niches are pre-cast concrete units.
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However, the most significant innovation is the multi-level cemetery. It allows for single and double conventional graves as well as niche burial, on at least two levels.
Sub-contracting is a good way to make money
“A funeral director is in fact an events manager, but one who doesn’t have as much time to organise an event,” says Dr Chris Molynex, past president, National Funeral Directors Association Southern Africa. Funeral directors sub-contract services such as catering, fresh flower arrangements, rental of tents and chairs, transport for mourners, tombstones, coffin name plates and wreaths.
A popular tribute at a funeral can be a dove or butterfly release at the graveside. Another appealing choice is a bagpiper or a ‘live’ jazz band to play at the end of the ceremony.
These services are all spin-off revenue earners. Other business opportunities include the manufacture of casket trimmings, linings and handles.
Green burial
In some parts of the world, and especially in the United Kingdom, the increasingly popular green or natural burial movement is working hard to reform how the dead are returned to the earth. With natural burial, bodies are not embalmed; coffins are simple and made of easily decomposable, non-toxic materials.
Sonja Smith, CEO of Sonja Smith Funerals for Pretoria, has been awarded the franchise rights in South Africa for natural woven coffins. “I want to help the funeral industry in this country to become a friend of the environment,” says Smith. “I started my research two years ago when I read an article about natural woven coffins in a British publication called The Funeral Journal.
“I was convinced that this concept would work well in South Africa and started to liaise with the company in England. I was offered the sole mandate for South Africa and Africa. The range features coffins woven from natural fibres like seagrass and cocostick. They are bio-degradable and made from easily renewable resources that don’t pollute the atmosphere when they are burnt in crematoriums.”
Smith’s first consignment of adult woven coffins arrived in April and she was overwhelmed by the response from funeral directors across South Africa. More than 80 funeral homes took a keen interest and wanted more information.
Coffin making
In South Africa a coffin should be manufactured to SABS standards. Coffins are generally made from wood, while caskets are produced from wood or metal. Most importantly, a coffin must be sturdily constructed in order to protect the dead and safeguard the health of the living, which is why the SABS has set strict standards.
There is a growing demand for coffins and training centres where coffin making is taught. Courses are available throughout South Africa and they provide the necessary practical knowledge to start a coffin and casket manufacturing business. Online business coffins.co.za was formed eight years ago due to the huge demand for affordable funeral products.
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