Aquamation – also known as alkaline hydrolysis, is an eco-friendly, water-based alternative to flame-based cremation.

Aquamation services will be rolled out at multiple locations across South Africa, after a successful introduction in Maitland, Cape Town, just over three years ago.

While families previously opted between a burial or flame-based cremation, aquamation is gaining traction as a sustainable choice.

It helps to know your options when planning a funeral so that you can make an informed decision and discuss it with your loved ones. 

Becoming eco-friendly is top of mind for consumers and businesses alike, and the funeral industry is no exception. As a leading provider of funeral insurance and funeral service, AVBOB launched aquamation in 2019 as a gentler alternative to flame-based cremation.

In January 2022, the AVBOB Maitland branch received international attention when it was widely reported that Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu had opted for the eco-friendly alternative for his send-off. To date, AVBOB has performed more than 500 aquamations.

AVBOB launched aquamation at its Pretoria Prep Centre on 22 June 2022 and plans to expand its aquamation service to a further eight AVBOB branches across the country. 

According to Bester, innovation is at the forefront of everything AVBOB does. AVBOB is investing heavily into aquamation, he concludes.

How does aquamation actually work?
With aquamation, the beloved’s body is respectfully laid out in a receptacle, which is then placed in a sterile, stainless-steel chamber. A combination of gentle water flow, moderate temperatures and alkalinity is then used to hasten the natural process, and all organic material is gently broken down into its most basic building blocks. At the end, the process water is released for recycling, and the remains are returned to the family in an ash urn.

Is acid used?
No. Aquamation uses a catalyst which is, in fact, the chemical opposite of acid. AVBOB uses alkalis, made from a combination of sodium and potassium salts.

Are the alkalis used in this process safe for the environment?
Yes. The water-based process uses a solution of 95% water and 5% alkali (a combination of sodium and potassium hydroxide). By the end of the process, the chemicals are rendered inactive.

AVBOB’s FREE funeral benefits^*, provided AVBOB Funeral Service conducts the funeral, are given to every person under your AVBOB funeral policy. If AVBOB is appointed to conduct the funeral of the life insured, you’ll receive:

• A basic funeral valued at R13 000, including arranging and conducting the funeral, a specified coffin and a hearse
• R3 000 immediate cash payment for initial expenses
• R3 000 discount on a tombstone^** or cremation – (fire or aquamation)
• Transport of the deceased within South Africa

*Terms and conditions apply.
**The discount on the tombstone is valid for 18 months from the date of the funeral and on condition that AVBOB Funeral Service provides the tombstone. FREE funeral benefits only apply if AVBOB Funeral Service conducts the funeral.

There are several types of funerals to choose from, considering religious and cultural beliefs – and your unique wishes for your preferred send-off.

Deciding on the actual burial or cremation service includes a memorial service where catering, family cars, tents, chairs and other services are required. AVBOB provides a comprehensive service to help you plan your funeral so that your family is not faced with the task while grieving.

Whether you opt for a full-service (traditional) funeral, a graveside or committal funeral service – or a celebration of life, the decision lies in your hands now at a time when you can adequately share your wishes. Here’s a breakdown of your options:

You could opt for a burial, cremation or aquamation – all of which consist of the following services:
• Collection of the deceased at the place of death
• Storage of the deceased
• Preparation of the deceased for cremation or burial
• Arrangement of the funeral
• Transportation of the deceased to the place of burial
• Execution of the funeral

A burial normally includes a memorial service at a church or any other venue – even at the gravesite. If the memorial is not at the gravesite, the loved one is transported in a hearse from the memorial to the place of burial. Family members attend the interment service at the gravesite. Normally after the funeral, the family get together.

In some cultures, a fleet of family cars are used to transport the family between the home, church and burial site.

The cost for a burial will start at approximately R13 000, but this will exclude any other costs such as flowers, transport, a burial plot, catering and any additional services requested by the family.

Instead of a burial, the deceased is sent to a crematorium to be cremated. The deceased and the coffin is placed in a furnace “cremator” and reduced to ash by fire. The remaining bones are then placed in a cremulator and ground into powder – which is the ash you receive. The ash can be placed in an urn and handed to the family. The ash will then either be scattered or placed in a wall of remembrance by the family. 

The cost for a cremation is also approximately R13 000 excluding the actual cremation cost. The services rendered by the undertaker includes all the services rendered for a burial – as well as all the documentation required from the medical doctors to approve the cremation – but excluding the funeral services. This actual cremation cost varies.

There is no memorial service. All other services rendered are similar to what is done for a comprehensive cremation service. The deceased is sent to the crematorium to be cremated or aquamated. This service is generally cheaper than a comprehensive cremation service.

All the services rendered for a comprehensive cremation service is rendered, but instead of being sent to the crematorium, the loved one is sent to be aquamated. A process of alkaline hydrolysis will break down the body into its basic elements.

After the process, only the large bones remain, which are then grounded into a powder form and handed over to the family in an urn.

The ash, as well as the wastewater, contains no DNA of the deceased, all DNA is destroyed in the process. The cost for aquamation is currently similar to the cost for a cremation.

In most instances a coffin or casket is required, only in case of a non-attended aquamation is there no need for a coffin. By law, a coffin is required to cremate a deceased body. In some cultures, cloth instead of a coffin is used to bury a deceased body. AVBOB has a wide variety of coffins and caskets that are manufactured by our factory in Bloemfontein.

• If not indicated, your family will decide on which venue they would like to use for the funeral proceedings. Any venue can be used, such as a church, wedding venue, golf club, school hall etc.
• If the family does not have a reverent, a reverent could be arranged according to family preferences and cultural needs.
• If you do not want a formal religious service, then the service could be a celebration of life that consists of speakers telling stories about the deceased.

Emotional healing and closure is a journey and a dignified funeral plays a big part in this.  Luckily, it is not a journey that needs to be travelled alone.

At AVBOB, we believe in taking care of everything we possibly can, leaving those who are still alive with the practical and emotional space to mourn. The red tape can seem like a lot to take in at a time already fraught with suffering, but that’s exactly why we’re here, equipped with the knowledge and compassion people need at this trying time.

Here’s AVBOB’s guide through the landscape of loss.

To ensure that your family has all the required documentation for your final farewell, it is helpful to create a File of Life. In a nutshell, it is a comprehensive collection of all your important documents which are needed if your family would like to make a claim from your policy and plan your funeral.

This includes:
• Birth certificate
• ID document
• Contact information
• Last will and testament
• Marriage certificate/divorce decree(s) if applicable
• Financial statements
• Insurance information
• Investment information
• Property information: car, home and home contents
• Tax returns (at least five years’ worth)
• Medical and dental records
• List of important passwords
• Your wishes for your funeral
• Arrangements for your pets

You can click here to view the full File of Life document that is available from AVBOB to assist you in completing your final wishes.

We advise you to encourage your partner to also create a File of Life if you are married. It is an invaluable act of love.

This will be vital following your own or your spouse’s death. It’s essentially a “living” file which you will have to keep updated to ensure it’s helpful – and useful to your family when the executor of your will has to register and administer the estate.

Think of this as part of your journey of life – and you’re doing a rough draft of writing the last chapter. Your loved ones will no doubt appreciate your efforts.

If you’d like to learn more about creating a File of Life – and find out more about the benefits of having one in place when planning a funeral, click here to download your FREE resource.

PHASE ONE relates to how the deceased passed away. It’s important to know whether it was due to natural or unnatural causes. In the case of unnatural death, the police need to be involved. See the image below for the steps in each case.

PHASE TWO relates to steps that need to be taken before the service, such as informing family and friends of the death, contacting the funeral home and choosing coffins.

Depending on your choice between a burial or the type of cremation you opt for, you’ll have to complete the following forms:

PHASE THREE relates to what happens after the funeral or cremation service.

 You’re in good hands. The AVBOB Group (AVBOB Insurance, AVBOB Funeral Service and AVBOB Industries) is Africa’s largest Mutual Society that provides a one-stop funeral insurance and burial service solution – since 1918.

Over 104 years later, AVBOB continues to make affordable insurance available so that people have access to a dignified send-off when their time comes.

Funerals play a very important role in many of the cultures in South Africa, but also for the individual, to help us process loss. The decision lies in your hands to help your family with the journey ahead.

Preparing a dignified send-off for a loved one could be very expensive, depending on the expectations that people have for a funeral.

AVBOB is a leader in the funeral space and offers several options to ensure there are sufficient funds available for these kind of needs – for example, the Extended Family Funeral Insurance plan.

AVBOB believes that our mutual status – meaning policyholders own the organisation – as well as our national footprint, free funeral benefits (https://www.avbob.co.za/Product/FreeFuneralBenefits), knowledge and mutually-supportive relationships which we have built within the Group and South African communities. It adds unique value to our stakeholders, and has set us apart from other insurers and funeral service operators.

The first responders – such as an ambulance or doctor – will issue a declaration of death. AVBOB will collect the deceased from the place of death. AVBOB will then arrange for a DHA-1663 form to be completed by the attending doctor. The DHA-1663 form has 7 sections whereby the family must complete one as the informant. Home Affairs need this DHA-1663 form to register a death.

AVBOB takes care of the documents and makes sure that the relevant doctors and family members complete their sections before taking the DHA-1663 form and other documents to Home Affairs to register the death for a death certificate to be issued. AVBOB will need the following to register the death:
• ID of the deceased
• ID of next of kin
• ID of designated undertaker
• Designated appointed letter

Some offices of Home Affairs demand that the family member should register the death themselves. Only a family member or a registered person – usually an undertaker – will be able to register a death at the Department of Home Affairs.
The Department will stamp the ID of the deceased to indicate the person is deceased. Thereafter, the Department will issue an original death certificate and burial order.

The first step will be to make an appointment with a funeral home. It is important to know what to take along when visiting a funeral home in order to make funeral arrangements.

Some people plan their funerals while they are still alive to take the burden from the family when they pass on, but should this not be the case, then the family must take important decisions – such as deciding if it will be a burial or cremation and how the memorial service should be carried out. They might also not be able to reap the benefits of having AVBOB help them through the process with Home Affairs.

AVBOB can simplify the process for you and your loved ones in many ways. Contact an adviser today for more information.