There is an artificial reef made of animal ashes – the human ones are the next

In June 2024, a team of divers sank a curious set of 24 sculptures off the north coast of Bali.

As sculptures look like works of art -And in many respects are it. But they are also memorial reefs that transform cremated ashes into structures that regenerate marine life.

According to, in the last three years, a startup British called has been working to renew the industry care for death.

Instead of storing the ashes in a ballot box or spreading them in the sea, the remain reef can integrate them in a underwater memorial which can function as an artificial reef.

Now, the Results are in sight. Almost a year after they were placed in a barren stretch of the bottom of the sea in Bali, the artificial reefs attracted more than 46 new marine species.

The site now presents a BFish iodiversity four times higher to the nearest comparable site, thanks in part to the turf algae and the coaline algae that grew to the surface of the reefs, providing a habitat for many marine organisms.

O pilot project of Recife de Bali, which was funded by six UK government subsidies, is the only of this type in the world.

The team is also in conversations with places in Plymouth, the UK and Mexico. “Just as we have a cemetery around the corner, in the future we will have memorial locations – marine places – opening around the world,” says Aura Elena Murillo Pérezwhich co-funded the remafs with Louise Lenborg Skámej.

Despite all our beautiful differences when we are alive, we are all reduced to the same chemical composition when we die. The exact composition of a person’s ashes may vary according to their weight, diet, age and genetic composition, but the chemical signature of most people is mainly composed of calcium phosphate.

This calcium phosphate is “one of main fertilizers of nature“Says Skajem. If you spread someone’s ashes on your pitch, excess minerals will be leacked to the ground, but when captured as part of the mixture that constitutes a rest Recife, will help several species to fix to structure and grow on its now bio -eight surface.

The exact proportion of materials is part of the company’s IP, but the team is committed to working with locally available materials. In Bali, the reefs used for the pilot project are made of dog ashes and horse mixed with shells crushed and volcanic from the island.

In the United Kingdom, the company has developed a non -cementitious formula that says it is very poor in carbon.

More than an initiative of marine regenerationResting Reefs presents itself as a sustainable death assistance service that helps people build a significant legacy for themselves or their loved ones.

Both Murillo Pérez and Skajem are celebrating certified funerals, allowing them to officiate funeral services and support families during mourning.

Os 24 Memorials who are currently under water in Bali are part of a community memorial to Various pets.

The pet memorial served as a useful pilotbut this summer the Resting Reef will expand launching your first service Memorial for humans.

The team will ask you to send the ashes by mail, but some countries have a limit to the amount of human ashes they can post by mail. Therefore, Resting Reef is considering other options, such as collection of ashes in various funeral agencies that could act as partners.

For those who want to make a funeral ceremony and see Recife in person, the team offers a custom package called Experiential Reef.

As part of the service, regardless of the level, the team sends a Miniature version of your Recife that can keep close to you. You can choose to incorporate part of the ashes in the miniature sculpture, “because some people have difficulty freeing from the ashes,” says Skajem. And if you do not do so, it continues to have a tangible object to remember your loved one.

It is not yet known if the distance will be a problem, but to help people feel more connected, the team also sends regular updates in the form of impact reports-both environmental and social-and images of Recife as it evolves. As skajem says: “This is part of the legacy.”