ECOLIFE Conservation
Saving Ecosystems. Saving Lives.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
ECOLIFE® was established with the belief that our communities are only truly sustainable in association with healthy, resilient natural environments.
The number one cause of species extinction is loss of habitats – which are resources that make homes for wildlife. To reduce the rates of habitat loss, we need to address what is consuming our open spaces. Overwhelmingly habitats are lost to expanding rural agriculture. To talk about conservation without talking about reducing our agricultural footprint is irresponsible.
Another major cause of habitat loss is the harvest of wood for fuel and cooking fires. Smoke from these cooking fires is the largest environmental killer of people. Simply constructed stoves can reduce fuel use, forest loss and save lives. With these two programs we can unite the needs of people and their resources and have a tremendous impact in protecting natural resources.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Community Aquaponics - San Diego, California
ECOLIFE Conservation maintains two large-scale aquaponics models to host community workshops and provide fresh greens to other local nonprofit organizations. Aquaponics uses 90% less water and 90% less land required by traditional agriculture. This highly versatile technique has the potential to change the way we farm across the globe.
Community Stove Project - Central Mexico
ECOLIFE is working in communities surrounding the Monarch Biosphere Reserve in Mexico to install fuel-efficient stoves that improve health and save trees. In this program, ECOLIFE builds the locally accepted Patsari stove which uses 60% less wood than traditional stoves. This wood saving reduces deforestation of the sensitive monarch habitat. The stove also improves indoor air quality, dramatically reducing the incidence of respiratory disease.
Community Stove Project - Bwindi, Uganda
ECOLIFE is working in communities located near the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda. This region is home to some of the last wild mountain gorillas. In this program, ECOLIFE builds stoves specifically adapted for this region of Africa. This wood saving stove reduces deforestation of the sensitive Bwindi Forest and while also improving indoor air quality. The health impact is a reduction in the incidence of respiratory ailment and burns due to open fires.
School Aquaponics - San Diego, California; National (USA)
ECOLIFE Conservation supports science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) through our project-based School Aquaponics Program. Our program engages students of all grade levels in scientific inquiry while sustainably growing plants and fish in our hands-on aquaponic systems. This program is designed to follow Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and break from the conventional classroom to immerse students in a world where they can learn about sustainable food production systems. ECOLIFE provides the resources for low-income schools to design, engineer, budget, and build an aquaponics system to serve as a community garden for their peers. We educate future leaders and farmers by utilizing aquaponics as a tool to understand important STEM concepts, sustainability, and community engagement all while addressing the serious issues of resource consumption.
Where we work
External reviews

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Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsNumber of groups/individuals benefiting from tools/resources/education materials provided
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of clients served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
At ECOLIFE®, we focus on using conservation as a tool that is adaptable and integrative rather than confrontational. Our approach matches simple technologies with education to improve upon our use of precious natural resources such as water, land, and forest. We design and implement on simple, sustainable solutions.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Aquaponics:
Aquaponics is a sustainable method of food production combining aquaculture (raising aquatic animals) and hydroponics (cultivating plants in water with added nutrients). In this circulating system, nitrifying bacteria converts fish waste into a natural fertilizer for plants, plants take up those nutrients and return clean water to the fish. Perfect harmony! Aquaponics is a valuable farming technique in areas where land and water are not plentiful. Aquaponics is beneficial for everyone who wants to grow food, and it can be done just about anywhere that has access to clean water and energy.
Stoves:
3 billion people around the world cook and heat their homes using open fires and simple stoves. In fact, it's the biggest – and least known – killers of women and children, who spend the most time in the kitchen and at home. Over 4 million people die prematurely from an illness attributable to household air pollution caused by cooking indoors.
Can you imagine a campfire in your living room? Having to cook over an open fire is the health equivalent of smoking five packs of cigarettes a day. Carefree children often fall into open flames which result in horrific burns.
ECOLIFE installs fuel efficient stoves as an alternative to rudimentary stoves responsible for the deaths of millions. Patsari Stoves, significantly reduce the amount of smoke in the household – improving the health and quality of life for families.
What a simple stove can accomplish:
Up to 90% reduction in indoor air pollution
Over 50% reduction in fuelwood use
Saves families time and energy by reducing the time spent collecting firewood
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Many organizations provide safe and/or fuel-efficient cookstoves to families in the developing world. However, what makes ECOLIFE Conservation unique in providing stoves is that ECOLIFE does not own, promote or sell any particular type of stove. Rather, the program established five important criteria each stove design must meet:
1. The stove must be culturally appropriate. This means it needs to be familiar and cook in a way that is comfortable for the user.
2. The stove must have cool sides and enclosed fire and fuel to protect children (and adults) from accidental burns.
3. The stove must have a chimney that takes poisonous smoke out of their home.
4. The stove must use at least 50 percent less fuel than their traditional cooking techniques
5. The stove must be indoors and permanent. The stove is a part of the home thereby allowing ECOLIFE to track the adoption of the stoves.
More distinctly, ECOLIFE stoves are designed for specific circumstances, specific indigenous groups, specific foods. What works in Mexico won't work in Uganda. Or China. ECOLIFE is flexible in our design criteria, and our team is equipped with an industrial designer so that if something is not functioning properly, or something can be improved upon, the issue can be addressed quickly. The stoves aren't just a source of heat--they are specifically designed with the cook in mind. All of the changes in design are made based on feedback from actual users.
Aquaponics:
An aquaponic farm is a self-contained ecosystem whereby water is cycled between fish tanks or ponds and a vegetable growing area. The fish waste provides rich nutrients for crops, which in turn remove the nitrogenous waste, making the water clean and habitable for the fish. Additionally, aquaponics provides near-zero environmental impacts, removing the need for fertilizers and harmful chemicals from the agricultural process. Furthermore, it provides fresh fish and vegetables for human consumption, thus reducing the need to import food. The widespread use of aquaponics could greatly reduce fuel consumption associated with food transportation, significantly decreasing a community's carbon footprint.
An Aquaponics class is different than most, and the one that you will remember, where you will use your inquisitive mind with a desire to “do" science rather than read about it in a textbook. Our education program is designed to break from the conventional classroom and spark interest in students where sustainability is a concern as it directly affects their future. Our strategy is using the ECO-Cycle as a project-based STEM teaching tool, while addressing community engagement, and serious issues of sustainable resource consumption in relation to agriculture.By providing the ECO-Cycle, Introduction to Aquaponics Workshop, curricula, and dedicated staff support, this program puts the student in a position to rethink our current food system and learn valuable science concepts.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Fuel-Efficient Stoves:
In 2017, ECOLIFE built 872 stoves. Currently, implementation has been scaled to over 2,000 stoves per year for a total of 10,700 stoves built to date. Eventually, construction of 8,200 stoves per year will allow ECOLIFE to reach its goal of surrounding the Monarch Biosphere Reserve in this area of Mexico. These stoves combat indoor air pollution that otherwise would lead to pulmonary disease, eye injuries, burns, and premature death. Approximately 50,000 human lives were saved from pulmonary disease and over 75,000 trees were prevented from being cut down due to the ECOLIFE program. However, the conservation and health problems associated with open fires is a present. Given that 3 billion people in the world--and millions in Mexico alone--still rely on traditional three-stone indoor cooking, the expansion opportunities are virtually limitless.
Aquaponics:
Currently we have placed aquaponics kits in over 1,429 classrooms, reaching over 71,450 students on average. We have constructed nine backyard system greenhouse gardens in Title 1 schools. Our Aquaponics Innovation Center (AIC) farm has grown and donated over 9,000 lbs of produce to local partners feeding people in need. Yet we know that localized food systems go beyond the farm to enhance the knowledge and well-being of an entire community. Access to healthy and culturally appropriate food through environmentally compatible and sustainable methods are vital to the future well-being and economic growth of urban communities. ECOLIFE is planning to enhance food systems at community centers through the use of aquaponics, job training, and environmental education.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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Who are the people you serve with your mission?
We serve underdeveloped communities in Mexico by providing culturally appropriate cooking stoves that benefit the health and safety of the occupants while preserving the natural resources of the Monarch Biosphere. In the US, our Sustainable Agriculture Program utilizes aquaponics to cultivate and grow fresh fish and produce; which is donated to local charities that aid underserved communities. Applications of this program include, environmental education, community development, job/ internship opportunities, food security, and conservation. Beneficiaries of this program include school children, at-risk youth, people experiencing homelessness, low-middle income communities, and veterans.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve
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What significant change resulted from feedback?
ECOLIFE Consistently seeks ways to improve and streamline processes in order to maximize impact of donor contributions. The most recent includes shifting our marketing of our new pilot system, the Modular Aquaponics Response Kit or M.A.R.K.. Initially developed to be an emergency response kit for communities facing food insecurity, the aim of the MARK has shifted to a open ended programmatic goal since discussing possible applications with potential community partners and beneficiaries. Now, community programming is approached firstly by identifying community priorities, there in programming and siting of the system is adjusted on a case by case basis to fit the given needs.
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
ECOLIFE Conservation
Board of directorsas of 02/28/2023
Mr. A.J. VAN DE VEN
Calsense
Term: 2021 -
Steven Shultz
Shultz Steel
Ricardo Cervantes
La Monarca Bakery
Fred Wollman
Eleanor Musick
Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP
Erin Grey
Joseph Orndorff
Daryl B. Williams
Taylor Holland
Paul Bernstein
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Not applicable -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 02/28/2023GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.