JECO (Jaladurgam’s Eco) - From a Seed of Thought to a Growing Movement

Jaladurgam’s Eco

When I first sat with the 42 cards of Climate Fresk—a scientific board game breaking down UN climate reports—I wasn’t just playing a game. I was staring at the invisible strings tying every human action to its environmental consequence. Deforestation linked to carbon emissions, emissions linked to rising seas, pollution linked to disease—it was a spider’s web that revealed one undeniable truth: anything we do produces a byproduct for nature to absorb.

That moment left me shaken, but also awake. I saw how deeply interconnected the world is, and how fragile. “Everything is connected to everything else,” Barry Commoner wrote in The Closing Circle, and suddenly his words were no longer abstract—they were alive on my table.

It planted a thought I couldn’t shake: what if kids could see the world this way, too?

The Foundational Seed (Jaladurgam’s Eco)

JECO—short for Jaladurgam’s Eco—is my way of saying “this belongs to me, but also to all of us.” Eco, for me, isn’t just the environment—it’s the culture we create around it.

I first felt its urgency through Climate Fresk that revealed how deeply human actions intertwine with environmental impact. Later, in Tokyo, I thrived in vibrant climate communities, weekends filled with ideas and energy.

Back in India, the contrast was stark. If even Bengaluru struggled with climate education access, what hope was there for suburbs and rural areas? That’s when the market and mission aligned. Suburbs weren’t just overlooked—they were the real leverage point.

So JECO was born: from a personal awakening and a practical gap. The goal is simple yet bold—teach kids not just what climate change is, but how to act on it. Awareness sparks; habits sustain.

“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”

— Robert Swan, polar explorer

       The Cofounder - Sreenivasulu Jaladurgam delivering the first speech

Cofounder, My Father , Roots

Impact, I’ve always believed, is a three-dimensional space: social, environmental, and financial. I wanted JECO to start with two pillars—social and environmental—and let the financial growth later.

But an idea alone isn’t enough. It needs roots. And mine came from my father.

At the time, my dad was looking at his small office space, wondering what it could become. A business? A consultancy? When I shared my dream of a green venture, he surprised me: “Why don’t we make it a nonprofit?” He’d always wanted to give back to the suburb where he studied, and this felt right.

So he became my cofounder. Together, we rolled up our sleeves—branding, content, decorating the office, everything. He brought wisdom, I brought energy. He anchored me when my ideas ran wild; I fueled him when his practicality needed spark. It was the most personal partnership I could have asked for.

And if you’re wondering, why at 24 would I dive into founding an NGO? Because I’ve always dreamt of being a serial entrepreneur in the impact space. To me, nothing feels more meaningful than building something that makes the world lighter for the next generation.

The messy yet powerful figma boards , business plan crafting 

The Pre-Story and Plan

Of course, passion doesn’t pay the bills—or in this case, doesn’t build an NGO. For six months, I wrestled with the business plan, working under the guidance of my strategy professor, Dr. Nakul Parameswar.  He taught me how to move from dreams to decisions.

An NGO is still a business—only its returns are measured in impact instead of revenue. We mapped opportunities, weighed models, and tested strategies. I spent late nights turning walls into Figma boards, pasting virtual sticky notes like an architect sketching a blueprint. It was messy but magical—watching a fog of ideas crystallize into a plan

          “Development is freedom”

—  Amartya Sen, Economist

JECO, in my eyes, wasn’t just about teaching climate literacy—it was about giving kids the freedom to imagine sustainable futures. And like any startup, we had to be disciplined: define the customer (schools), test the product (programs), and plan for scale (partnerships).

      Day One – From Paper to People

Eshwari Jaladurgam, the founder of JECO, addressing Climate Impact

All the planning in the world cannot prepare you for day one.

We chose to launch at the school where my dad and grandfather studied. Returning there with this mission felt almost cinematic, like the past blessing the future.

That first session, we didn’t start with jargon—we began with local stories. We spoke about how the Anantapur(the school’s location) water tank once held clear water but now floats with plastic wrappers. We reminded them how their own grandparents carried cloth or jute bags to the market, long before “sustainability” was a word. The kids nodded; they could picture it.

Then came the visuals: short videos on plastic pollution. They gasped, laughed, but the real shift came when we handed them jute bags. They held them, imagined carrying vegetables home, and suddenly the idea wasn’t abstract—it was theirs. Learning by doing—that’s how habits begin.

After the session, a student came up quietly and asked me, “So, will we really start using these from now on?” That stayed with me—not as pressure, but as a reminder: kids expect us to follow through.

That day, I wasn’t a founder giving a workshop. I was part of a lineage, standing on the shoulders of my father and grandfather, planting seeds for the next generation.

          Ripples and Realizations

The school renewed us. That was our first sign of real impact. But the bigger win was the ripple effect—students nudging parents, parents asking teachers, and teachers inviting us to other schools.

The lesson? Local storytelling matters. Use the local language, connect sustainability to everyday life, and people shift. Numbers may prove trends, but stories move hearts.

JECO is now formalized as a trust. We’re expanding to nearby schools, and experimenting with partnerships—like connecting schools with local waste collectors to build end-to-end circular solutions.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” 

                                                                         -Margaret Mead, Anthropologist 

JECO is still small. But our DNA is unique—born from a game of 42 cards, a father’s support, and a belief that kids can carry systems thinking into their lives.

A picture shot at our office space with our Jute Bag

This isn’t just my ecology anymore. It’s ours-  Eshwari Jaladurgam, founder JECO