ECO International is a public benefit, non-profit, non-governmental organization advancing Social Justice in the fields of Environmental Protection & WASH (e.g. water, sanitation and hygiene) around the world.
ECO International – это общественно полезная некоммерческая неправительственная организация, продвигающая социальную справедливость в области защиты окружающей среды и WASH (например, водоснабжения, санитарии и гигиены) по всему миру.
ECO International 是一个公益，非营利，非政府组织，在全球的环境保护与WASH（例如水，卫生和个人卫生）领域中促进社会正义。
ECO International contributes a broad spectrum of professional disciplines including Engineering, Science, Law, Public Health Administration & Economics.
ECO International вносит свой вклад в широкий спектр профессиональных дисциплин, включая инженерию, науку, право, управление общественным здравоохранением и экономику.
ECO International 贡献广泛的专业学科，包括工程，科学，法律，公共卫生管理与经济学。
ECO International does NOT provide grant funding to any project, but DOES collaborate with public and private partners to secure funding for and to implement activities consistent with ECO International’s Mission Statement.
ECO International НЕ предоставляет грантовое финансирование ни одному проекту, но ДЕЙСТВИТЕЛЬНО сотрудничает с государственными и частными партнерами для обеспечения финансирования и реализации мероприятий в соответствии с Заявлением о миссии ECO International.
ECO International 不为任何项目提供赠款，但DOES与公共和私人合作伙伴合作以确保获得资金并实施与ECO International的使命声明相一致的活动。
Countries Served
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” Mark Twain
ECO International has long experience engaging with local governments and non-governmental organizations in Russia, China, and Uganda. We are prepared by training and experience to work almost anywhere in the world.
ECO International имеет многолетний опыт взаимодействия с местными органами власти и неправительственными организациями в России, Китае и Уганде. Благодаря обучению и опыту мы готовы работать практически в любой точке мира.
ECO International 在与俄罗斯，中国和乌干达的地方政府和非政府组织接触方面具有长期的经验。 我们经过培训和积累了丰富的经验，可以在世界上几乎任何地方工作
China
In China ECO International has focused primarily on drinking water protection, at first responding to the May 12, 2016 Sichuan Province earthquake and afterward engaging with provincial environmental authorities to address risks associated with fresh water and sediment contamination in the Chengdu river basin. Our projects are entirely “environmental” in form and function, apolitical and consonant with China’s governmental systems. We identify and support local officials, and private citizens, who are genuinely committed to improving quality of life in their communities.
Russia
In Russia ECO International’s projects have widely varied. We started with collection and control of municipal solid waste (garbage) in the City of Khabarovsk and soon began working with territorial authorities to address hazardous waste management problems throughout Khabarovsk Krai. We led the City of Portland’s sister-city response to a chemical spill to the Amur River basin that threatened Khabarovsk’s drinking water supply. In the meantime ECO International’s staff have become trusted advisors to City and Krai leadership throughout the Russian Far East.
Uganda
ECO International was invited to Bugiri, Uganda following its work in China and Russia. It was initially hard to foresee what ECO International could contribute to a community still struggling with 19th century water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) issues. As it turned out, being there was the most important thing. ECO International worked with local officials to develop project proposals for rehabilitation of the local hospital drinking water supply and for creation of a locally controlled municipal drinking water system. The local hospital got its water but the Bugiri Municipal Water Company never came to fruition. Nevertheless, both initiatives were successful.
How We Operate
“Priests and pundits will say it cannot be done, and unless we know the hocus-pocus in the proof, we will have to submit.” H.H. Munroe (“Saki”)
ECO International demands of its partners, within the scope of any project, a dedication to public service and adherence to the social principles espoused in our Mission Statement. That is not to say that ECO International seeks to impose its values upon its partners and communities served, or seeks to influence the political systems in communities we serve, only that the projects we design and implement not derogate ECO International’s core values.
Providing Leadership
ECO International brings together professionals in the physical sciences, engineering, law, finance, public health administration and other disciplines to develop and implement social systems that will sustain a healthy natural environment. As an organization, ECO International focuses decades of professional experience on the unique problems of each partner community to create a template for improvement within that community. ECO International’s leadership is by design ephemeral – we identify promising individuals within each community served and empower them to lead ultimately.
Acknowledging Social Context
Countries Served by ECO International have disparate sociopolitical histories. Often, the differences are only in time or magnitude (leading to “What about…” arguments in defense of present violations of international law.) Sometimes, the differences are more of appearance than of substance. It is important to remember that the 19th and 20th century struggles between capital and labor, around the world including in the US, continue to reverberate in the 21st century. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics may have devolved, but a socialist mentality (in the sense of the responsibility of the State to ensure the welfare of the individual) yet persists in the Russian обычные люди. The Peoples Republic of China may be increasingly capitalistic, but communal welfare and the influence of guanxi (expressly excluding the interests of laowai) still prevails there. And in Uganda, where 99% of the local economy is funded by western aid, mzungu are often treated with the same respect as a walking Bankomat. Foreign actors can only succeed by acknowledging the social context in which they are acting. This does not mean that ECO International accepts or ignores objectionable social norms (for example, racial prejudice or sexism), only that ECO International accounts for the differing social contexts in which it operates to ensure a successful and sustainable result.
Supporting Volunteers
ECO International facilitates grant funded opportunities for specialists to contribute their knowledge and experience to the communities ECO International serves. ECO International programs, particularly the Good Governance aspects of ECO International programs, often require the participation of seasoned professionals who never considered their skills exportable. Matching volunteer professionals with their counterparts in recipient communities is key to a successful and rewarding exchange. Because we partner with the communities we serve, ECO International can identify a good local match for any volunteer professional and develop a culturally and professionally appropriate itinerary and activity schedule for them.
Featured Initiatives
Uganda
Bugiri Poultry Cooperative
When one of our donors decided that his Covid-19 government check could be put to better use elsewhere, we asked ECO International’s Uganda Country Director Edwin Osibo what we should spend it on. Edwin surprised us by suggesting a community chicken farm. In response, ECO International has organized the Bugiri Poultry Cooperative and provided startup funds. More Details
Field Notes
It’s not fake, but neither is it “news”.
When a natural disaster struck Texas (an uncommonly long freeze in a normally balmy state) many electrical power generating stations shut down because they were not sufficiently “weatherized” to operate in the extremely cold weather. Electricity was rationed with...
The Principled Error of Those Who Will Not Mask-Up
One of the founders of the United States of America, Benjamin Franklin, is credited with the following saying: Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. Some Americans rail at any...
Give Today
You can give to support ECO International generally (to cover its overhead and incidental expenses) or you can give to support a particular ECO International program (to cover staffing expenses, in-country overhead and direct expenses), its your choice. If you wish to give for a specific purpose, please indicate that in the notes of your donation form. Donations made with directions that are not consistent with ECO International’s Mission Statement or program goals, as determined by its Board of Directors, will be returned. ECO International is a public benefit company organized under the laws of the State of Oregon and is recognized as a qualifying charitable organization under § 501(c) of the US Internal Revenue Code.
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