Photo: Rodger Bosch/AFP via GettyHuman rights activist and anti-apartheid heroArchbishop Desmond Tutu’s last act is one that speaks to his legacy of selflessness.The Nobel Peace Prize winnerdied at 90 years oldon Dec. 26. Accordingto BBCandCNN, Tutu requested his remains be aquamated, which is described as an environmentally friendly alternative to cremation.A private service was held at St. George’s Cathedral on Sunday, CNN reports, where his ashes were interred in Cape Town.Aquamation, also known as alkaline hydrolysis, involves liquefying the body under pressure in a mixture of potassium hydroxide and water. The bones are then dried to ash, BBC reports.The process is the same as that which occurs naturally when a body is buried, though at an accelerated rate.Bio-Response Solutions, an Indiana-based manufacturer of aquamation equipment, says that the process promotes natural decomposition and is more eco-friendly than traditional cremation, which emits greenhouse gases.The company estimates that aquamation uses 90 percent less energy than flame-based cremation.Desmond Tutu.Valery Hache/AFP via GettyBorn in the former province of Transvaal in 1931, Tutu served as Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 before becoming the Archbishop of Cape Town from 1986 to 1994. He was also a famed author, with more than a dozen published works, includingThe Rainbow People of God: The Making of a Peaceful Revolution.Tutu was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 after being nominated thrice prior in ‘81, ‘82, and ‘83 for his non-violent tactics in dismantling apartheid. South Africa eventually held its first democratic, non-racial elections in 1994.TheDesmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundationconfirmed the South African civil rights icon’s death last month, noting that he passed away in Cape Town.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free weekly newsletterto get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday.“Tutu was a living embodiment of faith in action, speaking boldly against racism, injustice, corruption, and oppression, not just in apartheid South Africa but wherever in the world he saw wrongdoing, especially when it impacted the most vulnerable and voiceless in society,” his foundation wrote.“Officially ‘retiring’ from public life on his 79th birthday, Tutu continued to speak out on a range of ethical and moral issues: illegal arms deals, xenophobia, oppressed people in Palestine, respect for the rule of law, HIV/Aids, Tibet, China, Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, and LGBTQI+ rights,” the notice continued. “He also vociferously campaigned for gentler stewardship of the Earth, and against the coming ravages of climate change, a very real example of how human survival rests on our ubuntu-spirited ability to cooperate and work together.”
Photo: Rodger Bosch/AFP via Getty
Human rights activist and anti-apartheid heroArchbishop Desmond Tutu’s last act is one that speaks to his legacy of selflessness.The Nobel Peace Prize winnerdied at 90 years oldon Dec. 26. Accordingto BBCandCNN, Tutu requested his remains be aquamated, which is described as an environmentally friendly alternative to cremation.A private service was held at St. George’s Cathedral on Sunday, CNN reports, where his ashes were interred in Cape Town.Aquamation, also known as alkaline hydrolysis, involves liquefying the body under pressure in a mixture of potassium hydroxide and water. The bones are then dried to ash, BBC reports.The process is the same as that which occurs naturally when a body is buried, though at an accelerated rate.Bio-Response Solutions, an Indiana-based manufacturer of aquamation equipment, says that the process promotes natural decomposition and is more eco-friendly than traditional cremation, which emits greenhouse gases.The company estimates that aquamation uses 90 percent less energy than flame-based cremation.Desmond Tutu.Valery Hache/AFP via GettyBorn in the former province of Transvaal in 1931, Tutu served as Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 before becoming the Archbishop of Cape Town from 1986 to 1994. He was also a famed author, with more than a dozen published works, includingThe Rainbow People of God: The Making of a Peaceful Revolution.Tutu was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 after being nominated thrice prior in ‘81, ‘82, and ‘83 for his non-violent tactics in dismantling apartheid. South Africa eventually held its first democratic, non-racial elections in 1994.TheDesmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundationconfirmed the South African civil rights icon’s death last month, noting that he passed away in Cape Town.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free weekly newsletterto get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday.“Tutu was a living embodiment of faith in action, speaking boldly against racism, injustice, corruption, and oppression, not just in apartheid South Africa but wherever in the world he saw wrongdoing, especially when it impacted the most vulnerable and voiceless in society,” his foundation wrote.“Officially ‘retiring’ from public life on his 79th birthday, Tutu continued to speak out on a range of ethical and moral issues: illegal arms deals, xenophobia, oppressed people in Palestine, respect for the rule of law, HIV/Aids, Tibet, China, Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, and LGBTQI+ rights,” the notice continued. “He also vociferously campaigned for gentler stewardship of the Earth, and against the coming ravages of climate change, a very real example of how human survival rests on our ubuntu-spirited ability to cooperate and work together.”
Human rights activist and anti-apartheid heroArchbishop Desmond Tutu’s last act is one that speaks to his legacy of selflessness.
The Nobel Peace Prize winnerdied at 90 years oldon Dec. 26. Accordingto BBCandCNN, Tutu requested his remains be aquamated, which is described as an environmentally friendly alternative to cremation.
A private service was held at St. George’s Cathedral on Sunday, CNN reports, where his ashes were interred in Cape Town.
Aquamation, also known as alkaline hydrolysis, involves liquefying the body under pressure in a mixture of potassium hydroxide and water. The bones are then dried to ash, BBC reports.
The process is the same as that which occurs naturally when a body is buried, though at an accelerated rate.
Bio-Response Solutions, an Indiana-based manufacturer of aquamation equipment, says that the process promotes natural decomposition and is more eco-friendly than traditional cremation, which emits greenhouse gases.
The company estimates that aquamation uses 90 percent less energy than flame-based cremation.
Desmond Tutu.Valery Hache/AFP via Getty
Born in the former province of Transvaal in 1931, Tutu served as Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 before becoming the Archbishop of Cape Town from 1986 to 1994. He was also a famed author, with more than a dozen published works, includingThe Rainbow People of God: The Making of a Peaceful Revolution.
Tutu was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 after being nominated thrice prior in ‘81, ‘82, and ‘83 for his non-violent tactics in dismantling apartheid. South Africa eventually held its first democratic, non-racial elections in 1994.
TheDesmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundationconfirmed the South African civil rights icon’s death last month, noting that he passed away in Cape Town.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free weekly newsletterto get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday.
“Tutu was a living embodiment of faith in action, speaking boldly against racism, injustice, corruption, and oppression, not just in apartheid South Africa but wherever in the world he saw wrongdoing, especially when it impacted the most vulnerable and voiceless in society,” his foundation wrote.
“Officially ‘retiring’ from public life on his 79th birthday, Tutu continued to speak out on a range of ethical and moral issues: illegal arms deals, xenophobia, oppressed people in Palestine, respect for the rule of law, HIV/Aids, Tibet, China, Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, and LGBTQI+ rights,” the notice continued. “He also vociferously campaigned for gentler stewardship of the Earth, and against the coming ravages of climate change, a very real example of how human survival rests on our ubuntu-spirited ability to cooperate and work together.”
source: people.com
