What Eco Children does

Eco Children NPC is a South African non-profit organization founded in 2007 and headquartered in Hoedspruit, Limpopo, at 4 Khayagelo Business Suites, R527. Initiated by Klaserie Private Nature Reserve, it operates a "whole-school development" model across nine partner primary schools in the rural Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces surrounding the reserve, serving learners from Grade R through Grade 7 (ages 5-16). Core programs include School Eco Villages (keyhole vegetable gardens, eco-classrooms, libraries, school kitchens, eco-toilets), a flagship Bursary Programme delivered in partnership with Southern Cross Schools, Holiday Workshops at the reserve, Teacher Training in maths and Early Childhood Development, the Kit-a-Kid school uniform donation program, Merry Moments festive gifts, Kruger National Park excursions, and an Annual Winners' Getaway at Blyde Adventure Camp. Operational delivery relies on Environmental Educators stationed at partner schools (e.g., Patrick Ndlovu at Mahlathi Primary, Winky Mokgope at Hloaia Primary, Tshegofatso Mkhonto at Mphaku Primary), with CEO Zelda de Keijzer leading a six-person team.

The organization's "technology" is pedagogical, physical, and community-embedded rather than software-based. Its proprietary features are domain-specialized curriculum modules (bush safety, animal behavior, recycling, conservation) integrated into Eco Village infrastructure, plus a Holiday Workshop model reaching roughly 500 children per school holiday. No proprietary software, API, or data platform exists (api_exists: false). Distribution is hybrid: direct service delivery at the nine partner schools, experiential Community Tours at R750/person (R650 for groups of 5+), a quarterly Klaserie Chronicle magazine with paid advertising tiers, and online donations via the Givengain platform.

The revenue model is philanthropic-dominant with light commercial overlays. Donations are tax-deductible under Section 18A of the South African Income Tax Act. Recurring revenue comes from an Eco Club membership at R1,000/month (with online dashboard and project reporting), while unit-priced offerings include Kit-a-Kid at R500 per uniform, Community Tours at R750/person, and Klaserie Chronicle advertising from R750 to R3,000. Major disclosed funding relationships include The Legacy Experience Foundation, Sorai Foundation, TELUS ($5,000 in 2025), Kapama Private Game Reserve, Southern Cross Schools, and corporate volunteer engagements. No audited revenue figure, headcount trend, or grant total is disclosed, and no parent company controls operations despite the organizational lineage with Klaserie Private Nature Reserve.

Name

Eco Children

Legal name

Eco Children NPC

Website

https://ecochildren.co.za

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Eco Children NPC is a South African non-profit (founded 2007) that delivers environmental education and whole-school development across nine partner primary schools in rural Limpopo and Mpumalanga, serving learners aged 5-16 through Eco Villages, bursaries, teacher training, and community tours.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Education and Rural School Development

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental Education & Outreach (BPAGAGAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Outdoor & Wilderness Education Schools (Field-Based Learning) (THAAAOAA)

Keywords

• Environmental education
• School development programs
• Rural community outreach
• Conservation bursaries
• Teacher capacity building

Headquarters

HQ city

Hoedspruit

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Program: Eco Club Members pay R1000/month for access to online dashboard, live updates on bursary student performance, regular feedback on school improvements, quarterly and annual reports, project profiles with multimedia content, and events calendar.
2. Donations and Grants: Tax-deductible donations under section 18A of the Income Tax Act. Donations support bursaries, Kit-a-Kid uniforms, Eco Villages, library programs, and Merry Moments festive gifts.
3. Kit-a-Kid Program: R500 provides a complete school uniform including shoes, shorts or skirts, shirts, and jerseys for disadvantaged children.
4. Klaserie Chronicle Advertising: Magazine advertising with rates of R3000 (full page), R1500 (half page), R750 (quarter page). Revenue from conservation enthusiasts, local communities, and eco-conscious travelers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Eco Children runs environmental education and whole-school development programmes at nine partner primary schools in rural Limpopo and Mpumalanga. Core deliverables include School Eco Villages (keyhole gardens, eco-classrooms, libraries, kitchens, eco-toilets), a Bursary Programme placing talented learners at Southern Cross Schools, teacher training in maths and ECD, holiday workshops, Kruger National Park excursions, an Annual Winners' Getaway, and the Kit-a-Kid uniform and Merry Moments festive gift initiatives, funded through donations, Eco Club membership, community tours and foundation grants.

Product overview

Eco Children operates as a non-profit organization offering a comprehensive suite of environmental education and community development programmes centered around a whole-school development model. The core offerings include School Eco Villages (sustainable spaces with gardens and eco-classrooms), the Bursary Programme (flagship initiative providing educational access), Teacher Training workshops, Holiday Workshops, Community Tours, and the Eco Club Member membership platform. Additional programmes include the Klaserie Chronicle magazine, Kruger National Park Excursions, Annual Winners' Getaway, Kit-a-Kid uniform programme, and Merry Moments festive gift initiative. The organization partners with nine primary schools in the Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces, serving over 5,000 learners from Grade R to Grade 7.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• School Eco Villages
• Bursary Programme
• Teacher Training
• Kit-a-Kid Programme
• Merry Moments
• Holiday Workshops
• Community Tours
• Eco Club Member Membership
• Klaserie Chronicle Magazine
• Kruger National Park Excursions
• Annual Winners' Getaway
• Environmental Education Programme

Quantifiable outcome

• 36,841 books provided in 7 libraries
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Klaserie Private Nature ReservecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKlaserie Private Nature Reserve initiated Eco Children and remains the primary partner. Hosts holiday workshops at reserve headquarters. Eco Children operates in communities surrounding the reserve.
• Kapama Private Game ReservecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKapama hosted TELUS group during their visit and facilitated their participation at Makwetse Primary School. Ongoing partnership supporting community engagement activities.
• Southern Cross SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-educational institution in Hoedspruit providing bursary education for Eco Children beneficiaries. Partner in identifying and supporting talented learners from partner schools.
• Young Game ChangersminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner organization supporting Eco Children's mission. Listed among partner logos on website.
• Zanza AfricaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner organization supporting Eco Children's mission. Listed among partner logos on website.
• Jell FoundationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner organization supporting Eco Children's mission. Listed among partner logos on website.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• WWF South Africa: South African arm of global WWF, running conservation education and community programs. Broad incumbent with overlapping environmental-education-to-schools mission but at much larger scale and broader portfolio.
• Peace Parks Foundation: Larger Southern African transfrontier conservation NGO with community-development and education components across multiple reserves. Broad incumbent operating in overlapping conservation-education space but at continental rather than single-reserve scale.
• African Wildlife Foundation: Pan-African conservation organization with significant community education and school stewardship programming across multiple countries. Broader regional incumbent in the same African conservation-education category.

Direct peers

• Earthchild Project: South African non-profit providing environmental education, yoga, and life-skills programming to under-resourced schools in Cape Town. Directly comparable as a non-profit delivering holistic, school-based environmental education to disadvantaged learners in South Africa, with similar volunteer-driven and corporate-donor revenue model.
• Wilderness Foundation South Africa: South African conservation non-profit delivering environmental and leadership education programs to youth and communities. Comparable as a South African environmental education organization working through school and community channels with conservation-thematic programming.
• Tusk Trust: UK-registered African conservation charity funding community and education programs across Africa. Comparable for funding channel and conservation-education mission, with overlapping corporate-partnership and donor-engagement models.
• Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Reserve: UNESCO Biosphere Reserve operating in the same Limpopo/Mpumalanga region, running conservation education and community stewardship programs with local schools. Directly comparable for geography, beneficiary base, and education-on-conservation mandate.
• Children in the Wilderness (Wilderness Safaris): Wilderness Safaris' non-profit running environmental education camps for rural African children near safari properties. Most directly comparable peer: same conservation-tourism-parent structure, rural African beneficiary base, and field-based environmental education methodology.

Others

• &Beyond (Philanthropy): Luxury African safari group running community and education programs through partner lodges and reserves. Ecosystem participant rather than direct competitor: same tourism-non-profit flywheel model as Klaserie/Eco Children, and a potential partner or comparable in the safari-CSR space.

Regional players

• Singita Grumeti Fund: Tanzania-based conservation non-profit funded by Singita lodges, running community and education programs around the Grumeti reserve. Comparable peer operating the same 'luxury safari operator → community/education non-profit' structure as Eco Children/Klaserie, but in a different African geography.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/eco-children

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Eco Children