挑戰傳統的另類喪葬 遺體分解成肥料2

Composting layers

堆肥層

Functionally, the Urban Death Project isless like a spa and more like a farm. Composting large bodies has been donebefore – those bodies just haven’t been human. There’s a lot of researchandexperience among cattle ranchers and farmers for composting the bodies of theirlarge farm animals, and it’s work that Spade was able to look at when designingher system. People might baulk at the idea of using mechanisms designed forcattle carcasses on humans, but it’s a system that is well understood andtested. And Spade’s design for the Urban Death Project is certainly a bit more refinedthan your average livestock composting heap.

在功能上，“城市逝者計劃”更像是一個溫泉，一個農場。分解大型遺體的項目之前有人做過，但是這些並不是人類的屍體。有大量關於分解大型農場動物的屍體的研究和經驗，以供斯佩德在設計自己的系統時參考。人們可能會拒絕使用專爲牲畜的分解屍體的辦法，但這已經是廣爲人知並實驗成熟的辦法。斯佩德的設計的“城市逝者計劃”一定要比平時牲畜堆肥更加精細。

The Urban Death Project system would behoused in a three-storey building, with the composting segment divided intothree main regions. The top layer consists of a bed of sawdust and wood ’s where the body is laid during the ceremony, and where friends and familycan gather. Because the body is meant to compost, it isn’t treatedwith any of the embalming fluids or chemicals that a body intended for burialmight be.

“城市逝者計劃”系統分爲三層，堆肥段分爲三個主要區域。頂層由一層木屑和木片組成，在哀悼儀式進行時，遺體將被放置在這裏，朋友和家人可以在周圍聚集。逝者遺體不會像進行土葬那樣使用防腐液或化學物質，以便之後進行分解處理。

Beneath the top layer is a set ofcomposting bays, and each body eventually settles down into one as it slowlydegrades. This decomposition region is the largest part of the setup. Theprocess is collective and continual: as older bodies descend into the core, newbodies are added on top. At the bottom is a layer for screening and sorting,sifting out whatever might have descended all the way to the bottom, andharvesting the rich compost that the bodies have generated. It would take a fewmonths for each body to find its way there, into the finished compost, and, asthe Urban Death Project website says, “This compost is sacred, both its pastand its potential.” Family members and friends are encouraged to take some ofthis sacred compost with them, to use in their own gardens. What is left willbe used in city parks. “In this way, the dead are folded back into the fabric of the city,”the websitesays.

頂層下面是一組堆肥槽，隨着遺體不斷降解，最終落入對應的堆肥槽裏。這個分解裝置是整個系統中最大的一部分。在這裏遺體將統一進行分解，過程持續不斷：當時間較長的遺體不斷分解完成，新的遺體被放置上上面。底部是篩選和分類，篩除已經分解到底部的物質，獲取遺體產生的堆肥。此過程要經歷數月，才能完成堆肥。“城市逝者計劃”網站說，“這樣產生的堆肥，無論從他的過程還是潛在含義，都是神聖的。”該計劃鼓勵家庭成員和朋友帶走一些神聖的堆肥，用在自己的花園裏。剩餘的堆肥將使用在城市公園裏，“這樣，逝者重新成爲了城市的一部分，”網站說。

The idea of your body being compostedalongside others might not sit well with some. But Seidel doesn’t mind the ideaof being without a single, specific tombstone or urn. After all, she says, whatultimately is the point? “So somebody can say, ‘There’s Grace! She’s stillliving, I mean she’s dead, but there she is!’” she says. “We commingle withother human beings and animals our whole lives, we share everything. I hopepeople remember me by photos, by things I’ve said, by books I’ve written, Ihope that’s how people will remember me, not by a pile of ashes or a pile ofdirt, but by good memories –because that’s the only way we can live forever.”

想到自己的身體將要和別人的一起進行分解，可能有些人會感到不適。但是賽德爾不介意沒有一個專屬的墓碑或骨灰盒。畢竟，她說，到底什麼纔是重要的呢？“有人說，格蕾絲在這！她還活着，我是說她已經死了，但她埋在這裏！她說。“在我們的一生中，我們與其他人和動物接觸交往。我希望人們記得我的照片，我說過的話，我寫的書，而不是一堆灰燼或一捧塵埃，我希望人們想到我會想起這些美好的回憶，因爲這是我們唯一得以永生的方式。”

The system is designed to be able to take alarge number of bodies, but Spade is planning on limiting it to two a day –giving enough time for a ceremony in the morning and one in the evening.“Putting more than that seems to be pushing it and there’s no reason to dothat.”

該系統設計處理大量的遺體，但斯佩德計劃限制在一天兩個的規模，這樣上午和晚上都可以有足夠的時間安排哀悼儀式。“安排更多會形成壓力，我們沒有理由這樣做。”

Because, really, the Urban Death Projectisn’t just a system for the disposal of bodies. Spade wanted to design a placewhere people could have funerals, and celebrate the lives of those they havelost. “People like to create and tweak their own rituals,” she says, “so I lovethe idea that we could create a framework for ritual that isn’t set instone, but gives someone a space for ritual.”

因爲事實上，“城市逝者計劃”並不僅僅是一個用於處理屍體的系統。斯佩德是在設計一個人們舉行葬禮，緬懷逝者的地方。“人們喜歡創造和調整自己的儀式，”她說，“所以我們可以建立一個儀式的框架，不是篆刻在石碑上的，而是一個舉行儀式的空間，我喜歡這樣的想法。

And when it comes to convincing people thatcomposting is a legitimate option, both Spade and Seidel say that it hasn’tbeen as hard as you might think. Seidel doesn’t have any children to convinceof her decision to have her body composted, but she says that everyone she’stalked to about it has ultimately accepted the idea. Even her best friend – whowas initially surprised by Seidel’s plan – has accepted her decisions. When theday of Seidel’s funeral arrives, her loved ones will be part of a very natural –andpersonal –send off.

據斯佩德和賽德爾所說，說服人們相信堆肥法是一個合法的做法並沒有想象的那麼難。賽德爾沒有孩子說服她採用堆肥法，但每一個談到此事的人最終都接受她的這個觀點，包括她最好的朋友——起初對她的想法感到非常驚訝，最後接受了她的決定。因此當賽德爾葬禮那天到來的時候，她所愛的人將爲她進行一個非常自然的——私人的——送別儀式。