Mandy Stafford, preplanning and national partnerships manager for Return Home, recently joined Alan Creedy and Danny Jefferson on their podcast Two Guys and a Question to discuss how her company is helping families embrace a new, natural approach to death care through natural organic reduction — also known as terramation or “human composting.”
Return Home, based in Washington State, is a fully licensed funeral home — but with one key distinction: NOR is the only form of disposition it offers. “I’ve been a licensed funeral director for over 15 years,” Stafford said. “This is just another form of disposition, but one that brings a lot of meaning and excitement to families.”
The company was founded about five years ago by CEO Micah Truman, who came from a finance and business background. After reading an article about human composting, Truman discussed the concept with his mother and her friend — both of whom said they’d choose it for themselves. That conversation sparked his “why.” Though he’d been financially successful, Truman realized he lacked purpose. “He found this as his why,” Stafford shared. “He discovered that he could actually make people happy by creating a form of disposition people are genuinely excited about.”
Return Home now operates two locations — in Washington and Minnesota — and has helped serve more than 200 families in just four years. Demand continues to grow, with cremation-alternative options like terramation expanding rapidly. Stafford cited the Cremation Association of North America’s recent findings that NOR is rising faster than cremation did in its early years.
One of the aspects families appreciate most is what happens after the process. Each individual produces about 200 to 250 pounds of soil, and roughly 70% of families request to receive all of it back. “You don’t ask for half the cremated remains back,” Stafford noted. “That’s their person.”
The process itself takes about 60 to 80 days. Within the first 45 days, microbes break down all soft organic matter. The remaining bone material is mechanically reduced — not pulverized — to allow microbes to complete the transformation. “There cannot be any visible particles of bone left,” Stafford explained. “We run 14 separate tests every time to make sure the transformation is complete.”
Listen to the full interview on “Two Guys and A Question.”
