We are a community of businesses and individuals wanting and working towards a fast transition to clean energy, a clean environment, real food and healthful practices, and a peaceful world. The EchoTown team is here to help you or your business progress own the sustainable continuum.
Everyday, we hear the story, "If there was a greener way to do it, we would." The members of EchoTown are collectively connecting the dots to a sustainable environment and resilient local economy. G.I.Y.!!! (Greening It Yourself)
Our Mission
How will EchoTown Help our Community?
The Idea.
The History.
Our Building.
Jobs
EchoTeam Bios.
Our Mission:
EchoTown.net enables communities to affect improvement for the environment, their local economy, and both personal and public health. We do this with a unique combination of tools including an open-source social network, aggregated information, and the GetGreen! Directory and card program. EchoTown believes that people working together can become healthier, happier and more independent through an (un)common sense approach to the economic, environmental, and health crises.
We feel that economic, environmental, and health problems can be solved most quickly through individual support of common practices and common sense. EchoTown's Unique Combination of Tools are designed to support the following:
We have more tools we are testing and deploying all the time. Please suggest ways that we can help you be greener in the Forums!
How will EchoTown Help our Community?
We want San Antonio to be more "sustainable." Besides compiling and offering research, news, and information to "green" San Antonio, we will also undertake specific tasks in the areas of food and energy.
We will use funds produced through EchoTown to build urban gardens. These may be private gardens for restaurants and residents or public gardens for the use of the community. Producing food in local gardens and small farms will drastically reduce our need for foreign oil, provide purpose and income for residents, and help families strengthen their bonds to each other and with the community by working together for the common good.
We have already started building gardens through our company "Garden Start." We want to purchase lots in neighborhoods and provide supplies, education, and rental spaces for residents. We will use grants and donations to jump-start this process. We join with other community groups and organizations, such as neighborhood associations and others, to help make this happen. If you are interested in sponsoring a garden for a less fortunate family, please Contact Us
The Idea:
"Necessity is the Mother of all Invention."
Our Founder had become aware of what was happening to our natural environment and the swift action needed to slow, and eventually stop the destruction of the living Earth. As he researched and tested green building techniques for a Subdivision and for his own home, he read the book, Natural Capitalism.
An important idea that "Natural Capitalism" points out is that trying to solve efficiency issues incrementally usually antagonizes the problem. It calls for "whole systems" thinking and action when dealing with energy efficiency and "greening" business. We chose to apply those lessons to a web application at the community level- and EchoTown was born.
Its seemed right to put all the information about something so important in one place, and give the communication tools and information necessary for people to "green" themselves and their city. While we have created tools for this to happen, we have more we want to deploy, but we need your support to do this. If you can help with money, time, energy or in any way Please Contact Us. We will find something for you to do.
The History:
We've had a bumpy road getting EchoTown off the ground- but now opportunity is around every corner and we are consistently amazed by the results.
In the spring of 2006, two college friends started "GreenGo." The venture was a biofueled trip around the U.S. promoting the "green" economy. Unfortunately, it ran out of gas before the van was purchased, but much was learned and the seeds started to grow.
Revived with a new name and mission, the 2nd incarnation of EchoTown, called Echologica, tried to get going. After some research and a few false starts with various web-developers, We found a local designer with talent and awareness that suited us perfectly and created in a few months "EchoTown." We went "live" in October 11, 2008.
In May 2009, we had our grand opening. It was a music and sustainability festival on the grounds of "the Farm."
In August, 2009 we are redesigning our webpage and have just hired 4 more Staff. Also, we are going to open our first sustainability center in San Antonio!
Our Building:
We office in a Farm House built in 1880 in the Tobin Hill neighborhood near downtown San Antonio. It was built by a music teacher who taught in the room we now use as a recording studio and "listening room." We have a productive organic garden, run our office and Media Studio on 100% CPS Windtricity, and we have implemented many energy and water saving devices on our office grounds (mostly straight conservation-the cheapest way).
Jobs in EchoTown:
We are hiring for the following positions:
Interns: Help EchoTown with various media and marketing projects like: Video Production Assistance(PA's), Arts and Crafts, flyer delivery, attending Green Festivals, gardening, and more. If we find a position open for employment, you will be first in line.
Videographers Film Makers, editor We seek Videographers to help us shoot some Short Videos around San Antonio.
Garden Contractor: We seek a "gardener" to bid, organize and build Organic Vegetable Gardens for our company GardenStart. Some knowledge and experience in Gardening, Contracting, and Sales is required for this job.
Sales: Do you want to help grow the Sustainable movement and make money at the same time? Are you an experienced Sales Person that wants to sell something you can be proud of? EchoTown seeks self-motivated staff to deliver our message and grow our GetGreen! directory.
EchoTeam Bios:
"rickeyp"
is Rickey Pacheo is a San Antonio(and Pleasanton) native who is the lead gardener and proucer of our gardening calendar posts an Blog. Rick is also a musician and recording engineer at Farm Recorders and plays bass in the band EGshan.
Alex Scheel
is our very own Rock Star. Alex can do anything, but for us he designs flyers, our logo, and our Maps. He is also the singer and guitarist for the local(soon to be international) band Pop Pistol.
"GoneGreen"
is Sarah Weeks- the overqualified office Guru. Sarah grew up in San Antonio, was home-schooled, and has degrees in Communication and Neuroscience from Baylor. She handles book-keeping, web-mastering, and dishwashing with ease.
"daniel.sanchez"
is our super-conscious Drupal Designer.
"Widespread Organic" is Zane Cole.
Zane grew up in San Antonio and is helping in Promotions, Sales, and Marketing. He has a degree from UTSA in Marketing. He is the Music Director and on-air talent for "the Live Set" on Trinity's 91.7fm.
"kat" is Kat Swift.
Outreach Coordinator. Bio Coming Soon!
"Matthew"-
Matt Ahern is the owner and director of EchoTown. The website was developed as a way to empower and encourage people and businesses to live more conscious, healthy, and eco-friendly lifestyles. His "handle" in the Echotown Community is "Matthew"
Currently, Matthew also directs the farm. He is a radio personality on the show "the Live Set" Thursdays, 7-9 pm on KRTU's 91.7(jazz) and writes freelance for local publication The San Antonio Food Guide, and other publications concerning Organic food and gardening (Read).
