The EkoNest Story

It all started with a beach cleanup.

EkoNest was formed in 2018 by a young couple, Eleni and Andrey, due to the love of their favorite turtle breeding beach, Paramali, on the island of Cyprus, where they were married just a few months before.

Eleni Kazelas Co-Founder & CEO:
“We’re both big nature enthusiasts. Every weekend we go on our own adventures exploring the island to enjoy our surroundings. One of the great things about Cyprus is that we’re lucky enough to have everything nearby – weather its the mountains or the sea. But because we have so much sunshine throughout the year, one of our favorite places to visit is Paramali Beach. Although sadly, every time we visited the beach, we noticed that there was more and more trash collecting, so one day we just decided to take it upon ourselves and clean it. And after a few hours of cleaning the beach, we managed to collect 12 big bags of trash”

“We were extremely disappointed with our findings, but at the same time it made us feel really good to have cleaned our favorite beach. After that cleanup, we were brainstorming what we could do to raise awareness locally about waste and other climate-related issues. So we created a Facebook page called “Let’s Make Cyprus Green” to reach out to the public by posting some “green tips” to encourage people on the island to become more eco-friendly with simple changes to their daily habits. But mainly, we wanted to host another cleanup at a different beach where we could invite the local community to join us. That way, we would be able to pick up much more than just 12 bags of trash. And Facebook was the perfect tool for that.
So we announced a community cleanup event at Lady’s Mile Beach and when that day came, we were pleasantly surprised to see that 70 people from all over Cyprus came to help. And together we collected over 100 bags of trash. The feeling was extremely satisfying and we felt so accomplished for collected so much trash. Especially considering the weather on that day. It was in February – so cold and windy but everyone ignored it and was just focused on cleaning up.”

Interesting Fact:

“At our cleanups, approximately 80% of the litter collected is made from a type of plastic – more than half of which are single-use items (straws, bags, cups, bottles, etc.) that could have easily been avoided by reusable items.”

“Seeing what a positive impact this had made and the enthusiasm from the other volunteers, we decided to continue with our community cleanup actions. Not only to stop waste from making its way into the sea and potentially harm marine life, but to also raise community awareness about the severity of littering and marine debris.”

“At the same time, we began giving presentations in schools to educate the kids about the dangers of waste, plastic and littering – encouraging them to get involved in and learn about eco-issues so they will grow to become environmentally conscious and think about the consequences of their choices, behaviors, and purchases.”

"Before we knew it, we made the decision to register an environmental NGO (non-profit organization) called Let’s Make Cyprus Green. The mission of the organization is to raise public awareness of the negative impact on our environment caused by human activities – especially excessive waste and the wider problems caused by plastic consumption. We campaign to encourage responsible waste disposal and the adoption of a lifestyle based on “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”, in that order of importance. And we do this by three important steps which are: 1) education 2) action 3) prevention"

“And in order to work on this very difficult mission we, of course, needed funds to operate. So to help fund the organization, while combating waste at the same time, we decided to feed two birds with one seed by coming out with our own line of ethical eco products. To encourage people, both residents and visitors of the island, and local businesses to switch to reusable and eco-friendly alternatives to protect the environment and sustain the beauty of our home (Cyprus). And with our combined backgrounds of sustainability, compliance, and design, it was the perfect fit.”

This is how EkoNest was born.

Since then, EkoNest has been accepted into:

Climate KIC – Europe’s leading climate innovation initiative which supports entrepreneurs with solutions to help combat climate change.

ARIS – An accelerator founded by Deloitte & the Bank of Cyprus to assist startups transform innovative ideas.

Today, founders Eleni and Andrey are continuing to actively fight for the future of the planet, are even more committed to reducing waste, and will continue to offer a wider variety of high-quality, ethically sourced eco-products.

“EkoNest is our way of giving back,” Eleni reveals. “It’s our way of giving back to the planet, giving back to the community, and giving back to our home – to the place we live, love and in which we were married. Change,” she concludes, “begins at home. And so that’s exactly where we’ve started!”

Watch this space! 😊