Tending the
Holy Well
Community Centered Death Care + Threshold Support
- stewarding culture - bringing deathcare back into the hands of the people and the land -
“Oh build your ship of death, build it in
time and build it lovingly, and put it
between the hands of your soul.”
D. H. Lawrence
(Kimble)
Providing death doula and home funeral services,
after-death care, ritual support, counseling services,
end-of-life advocacy, mutual aid and community offerings.
About Sarafina LandisSarafina (they/them) began their deathwork journey on the Olympic Peninsula, after an intimate experience of supporting a loved one through Medical Aid in Dying - filled with ritual and planning and connection with the land, and discovering deathcare as a soul calling. The path took Sarafina from coast to coast working in conservation burial, home funeral care, bedside VSED support, and end-of-life community organizing including the founding of the Dying Matters Guild nonprofit. They have a thesis work on the intersection of death care, ancestral healing, and collective liberation, called Body As A Future Offering, and facilitate interactive performance pieces with the project Tunnels of Light, which invite people to get close to mortality, with its fecund regenerative decay and spiritual mysteries. Through weaving community webs of care around death and dying, they believe in creating healthy culture in the margins of oppressive systems.
(Grandpa Ralph)
Services
End-of-Life Companionship and Planning
Ritual and Blessings
— Specializing in VSED*
After-Death Care Services
Home Funeral Services
Mutual Aid / Community Advocacy
Trauma-informed Counseling & Spiritual Support
*VSED, or voluntary stopping eating and drinking, is a legal way to hasten death by supported fasting. It is a process that is often an alternative to Medical Aid in Dying, and requires assistance. With good preparation and support, it can be a meaningful option for those no longer wanting to prolong their dying process.
Developing a support plan as the end of life nears, and advocating your wishes
Trauma-informed counseling for emotional and spiritual support
Home funeral services and after-death services including transportation
Providing guidance in getting affairs in order, including advanced care directives, conservation burial and other disposition options
Co-creating legacy projects and life review
Helping develop and carry out a vigil plan
Holding ceremony and rituals in collaboration with you
Facilitating connections with important people
Bedside companionship as the dying time nears
community education
Services are offered on hourly basis, with package options available for larger time commitments.
Sliding scale available for BIPOC, low income, trans/queer people and anyone unable to access resources or care. I believe in futures born from collective accountability and care, please reach out if you are in need and we can collaborate.
Contact Sarafina for more information or to schedule a free 20 minute consultation.
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