“It’s the softer, nicer, less commercial side that attracted me to this cooperative.” recognizes Michel, 76 years old. But what is a funeral cooperative? To explain the services it offers and distinguish itself from private funeral directors, members of Akène welcomed the public to their premises this Saturday, November 2. The funeral cooperative or how to see funerals differently.
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Unique funeral urns made by local artisans, tailor-made support for bereaved families, and a commitment not to encourage consumption, are the main aspects put forward by the Strasbourg funeral cooperative Akène, based in the Cronenbourg district.
Created by a group of citizens, it presents itself as an alternative to private funeral agencies and has around sixty members after one year.
Because the death of a loved one is an ordeal, and we can find ourselves alone and distraught, the founders of the first funeral cooperative in Alsace decided to present their services during a friendly day.
Despite the urns and coffins presented, the setting of the store seems clear and pleasant to the public
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Present during this open day, Michel and Eva have been members for several months. “It's the softer, nicer, less commercial side that attracted me to this cooperative..” recognizes Michel Perreau, 76 years old.
“I have already chosen my coffin, it's reclaimed wood. It's great, por be cremated! There's no point in adding mahogany. In the store it's beautiful, it looks more personalized. This solution seems to me a better approach, more intimate, more discreet.” As for Michel, respect for the environment, the possibility of opting for a concession in a funeral forest without a monument is an increasingly sought-after and important aspect for citizens.
Eva discovered here the documents to complete to express her last wishes for her burial. “It's not easy, there are choices to make and we're not necessarily ready or sure of making the right choices at that time, but there is the possibility of making changes. We choose the ceremony, the music, which people to warn. It evolves over time and there is the possibility of modification, which is important. We don't have all the answers right away, sometimes it takes a little while.”
“It’s to make life easier for the children, but also so that it corresponds more to my way of seeing and experiencing things.”
Eva Perreau, member of the Akène Funeral Cooperative
For Eva, organizing her own farewell ceremony to the world is a way of emphasizing her convictions to family and friends. She already knows that she would like “Something simple and happy rather than something solemn and sad.”
Vivianne Gangloff discovers the place. What she likes at first glance is the atmosphere of the place, the color yellow everywhere around her. She came to find out and made an appointment for the following week.”I came to look for information, I'm starting to think about the funerals of my parents who are 90 and 93 years old and mine too. I worked for a while in an employment cooperative and I really like the cooperative spirit. Unlike traditional funeral homes, it is a social and solidarity economy, it seems to me a more humane approach.”
Caroline Laemmel is president and director of Akène. “We offer mourning cafés and mourning workshops to support people who have experienced the death of a loved one. Once a month, on Saturday, we welcome a small group of 6 to 8 people, around a coffee between 10 a.m. and noon. That allows everyone to speak freely. Talking about your grief with strangers is often easier than at home.“
During these coffees, participants talk about more or less recent bereavements, sometimes even old ones, which they have never been able to talk about. The feeling of freedom in a caring environment is privileged in these meetings. “Death is a universal subject, unfortunately taboo” regrets the director of the collective. “However, it touches life. So we address all subjects, even financial, psychological, family, medical…“
The next Alsatian mourning cafés will take place onamedis 16 November from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and on the 14th December from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., always upon registration, in the Cronenbourg district.
Other workshops will be offered at the beginning of 2025, particularly around funeral wishes for oneself. We draw, write and specify what we would like as a coffin, urn, speech or “staging”.
There will also be soothing music workshops, art therapy and even a storytelling workshop related to death entitled “At the end of a tale, life”.
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