Life Tending, Shroud Making
A 10 month journey of tending to our lives and creating our bespoke burial or cremation shrouds.
In the course of this creative journey we will explore our life stories, our grief, bringing together the threads of our lives, weaving the richness of our stories of life and loss. Sharing this process with a small group of like-minded souls we can support each other, each on our own individual journey but together in community.
Supported by the wheel of the year, the elements, time in nature and tending to our well being, integrating gentle ritual, creativity, story telling, and friendship we will build a small community together, a container within which we can design and bring into being our own burial (or cremation) shroud.
Each of us is unique, and the invitation is to explore and express our uniqueness in an earth-friendly cloth that will be used to wrap and carry us when we die.
In this course we will:
Explore the history and ethnography of shroud making
Learn and develop creative skills that can be used in shroud making
Design/make/collaborate/commission our own shroud
Practice shrouding together and come to understand the value, functionality and ritual possibilities of shrouds
Explore our values, our connections and our gifts
Tend to our grief, alchemising our sorrow, finding gratitude and connection
Support each other in thinking about our own deaths, exploring what else we might want to do to prepare, supporting each other to take actions such as will writing and advanced planning
Enjoy well-being sessions together, nourishing body, mind and soul
Each of us will (one way or another) finish the course with a shroud that we can be wrapped and carried in after we die.
Dates, times and numbers
The group will run for 10 months, from September 2025 to June 2026.
There will be 5 in-person gathering times:
22nd and 23rd Sept - 2 days
3rd and 4th Nov - 2 days
2nd and 3rd Feb - 2 days
20th and 21st April - 2 days
22nd, 23rd and 24th June - 3 days
Each in-person day will be 10 til 5pm, and we will finish at 4pm on the final day of each gathering to allow for travel home. There is an optional evening meal together and some of our gentle well being or creative sessions may take place in the evenings also.
Each participant will have 3 online one-to-one sessions with Rachel, dates and times to be arranged individually.
An ongoing What’s App group community will support our process together.
There will be a maximum of 8 participants in the group.
Venue and accommodation
We will meet together at a venue in Luddendenfoot in Calderdale. The venue is very spacious with a large kitchen and meeting room, balconies looking out over the canal and beautiful views of the park and woodland. We will have exclusive use of this venue for each of our 2 or 3 day gatherings, including overnight. Overnight accommodation is available at the venue in single or shared rooms. There are stairs and steps in the venue. Please talk to me if you have any access needs.
Price
I’m offering this course at 3 price points:
Contributor £2000
Standard £1500
Accessible £950
Overnight accommodation is an extra £40 per night.
Paying in installments is possible, to be arranged on an individual basis.
It is important to me that all the events and courses that I run are accessible. If price is a barrier for you please talk to me. If your means allow you to, paying the contributor rate will mean you are supporting my work and making it possible for more accessible places to be available to others. One of my aims is to run free sessions in the community; by paying the contributor rate you will be making this more possible.
The price includes all the in-person sessions, one-to-one online sessions, wellbeing and creative activities, lunch, refreshments and snacks each day. Evening meals will be “bring and share” and a celebration feast at the end of the course will be provided, included in the price.
Q and A
What is a shroud?
A shroud is the word used for cloth or fabric that is wrapped around a person after death.
Can I use a shroud instead of a coffin?
Yes. Shrouds are very normal in some cultures and in other parts of the world, although it is not a well known/popular choice or idea in mainstream UK culture. Shrouds can also be used as well as a coffin.
Why might I want a shroud?
For many reasons… a shroud is a much greener alternative to a traditional coffin, using less materials and biodegrading more easily, creating a much smaller carbon footprint and makes a lot of sense for natural burial. A shroud is soft, flowing, and has no hard edges. A shroud offers the prospect of being wrapped, rather than boxed. Shrouding is an ancient practice that can connect us to our ancestors. If we prepare one ahead of time, a shroud can be folded up and stored for when it is needed. We might choose to have it with us before we die, either in a practical way like a blanket or as an art piece, as a way of connecting with our mortality.
Do I need to have creative skills?
No, not necessarily. A shroud can be a very simple thing and can be made without any pre-existing creative skills. On this course there is an optional extra component where you can collaborate with me or commission me to make your shroud for you. There would be an extra charge for any additional time needed from me for making or collaborating with you.
I have creative skills!
Great! Then let's think and feel together what your shroud might be like and how you might use your skills to make it. Being part of this group process will support you to bring your own vision to reality.
Can I come on this course to make a shroud for someone else?
Yes, for sure, you are welcome to make a shroud for someone else on this course. Whoever we are making for we will still engage in exploring our own grief, tending to our lives and planning for our deaths. Taking ourselves through this process can help prepare us to support others.
Thank you…
…for your interest in this brand new adventure! This is the first time I am offering Life Tending Shroud Making and is an exciting new chapter in my own personal adventure as a shroud maker / death doula / artist. Shroud making is where my own life’s threads weave together, I am so grateful for the clarity that has brought me to work in this (rather niche!) area. I believe it can be beautiful, powerful work and I am thrilled to be able to share it with others who are also feeling the call. Please do contact me with any questions.
Much love,
Rachel