Women Holding the Line: Kanoatkhon Umurzokova

This Earth Month, SEforALL is spotlighting “Women Holding the Line & Taking Action to Protect the Earth,” including Camille André-Bataille, Dina Rajaobelina, Nicki Becker, and now, Kanoatkhon Umurzokova. 

SEforALL is pleased to celebrate this Earth Day, 22 April 2025, by recognizing the contributions of women to the energy, climate, and development sectors. This year’s Earth Day, themed ‘Our Power, Our Planet,’ highlights the essential role of inclusive leadership and collective action in building a sustainable future. Around the world, women are at the forefront of advancing clean energy solutions, driving climate action, and fostering resilient communities. Their leadership is not only transforming the energy sector but also accelerating progress toward global sustainability and gender equality.

Today, SEforALL spotlights Kanoatkhon Umurzokova, an environmental specialist and entrepreneur from Central Asia. As the founder of Eco Mons Vita LLC, Kanoatkhon’s work exemplifies how women are innovating and empowering others in the circular economy and the waste and renewable energy fields. Her journey reflects the power of women’s leadership in shaping a just and sustainable future for all.

Introduction & Background

My name is Kanoatkhon Umurzokova. I am an environmental specialist and entrepreneur, and the founder of the engineering company Eco Mons Vita LLC. I hold an MSc in Environmental Sciences from Wageningen University in the Netherlands, one of the world’s top 10 ranking universities for Life Sciences. I have worked at the Green Climate Fund in South Korea and the European Food Safety Authority in Italy and contributed to the National Report of Uzbekistan to UNFCCC as a technical expert on greenhouse gas inventory. I am a fellow of the “Empowering Central Asian Women in Renewable Energy” program, led by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Global Women's Network for the Energy Transition (GWNET).

Earth Day 2025: ‘Our Power, Our Planet’

Absolutely every one of us on our planet, as human being, is dependent on the living things around us. If even one heart near us stops beating or a tiny ecosystem is disturbed, we lose balance. We are dependent on the natural energy cycle. At Eco Mons Vita, we help to return the resources back to nature through restoring the circular cycle of waste generated. Our consultancy services include the selection of waste processing technologies, development of work plan for solid waste landfill, experimental research on accumulation and morphological composition of solid waste, and methodological support for training in energy-efficient buildings in Central Asia. 

Empowering Individuals & Communities through Eco Mons Vita

At Eco Mons Vita, we aim to nurture the social brand of private companies in the circularity chain. Therefore, we dedicate part of our projects to empowering companies and individuals in the waste sector. This helps them to improve the quality of their services and products. We have developed Waste Campus as a platform for capacity building that can be accessed here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/waste-campus. We have also developed AI bot named Dewi to ease our digital burden of teaching in remote regions.

In co-partnership with the Indonesian NGO GAWIREA and with the financial support from ifa (Federal Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany), we have conducted an online training on selection and maintenance of solar panel systems, which enhanced confidence in using solar panel systems in remote and energy-deficient regions. Our AI bot, Dewi, has facilitated a free, self-paced vocational education program for more than 120 learners from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Indonesia. Of the enrolled leaners, 47% were women.

Another training we are launching soon is for sanitary cleaning workers, within the framework of our "Empowering Workers in the Circular Economy" project. All interested employees of waste operating companies from Central Asia are welcome to join this training for free and remotely. Another component of the project is dedicated to empowering women in low-skilled jobs in waste sector by improving their career perspectives in this male-dominant sector. The project is made possible through the support of the U.S. Department of State and the US Embassy in Kazakhstan and has been selected for funding through the #TechCamp Central Asia competition.

The Role of Women in Advancing Energy, Climate, and Development Goals by 2030

I believe the future female leaders are among us and are already showing an impact. Last year, we hired interns for Waste Campus, where we also provide mentorship for. One of them was a girl in eighth grade. I was touched when I opened her CV; in her photo, she wore a big white school bow. Two interns, both studying medical sciences (including the one with hair bow), completed internship successfully. These experiences reaffirm my belief that we must create more opportunities to support youth.

I received such support when I joined the first cohort of OSCE-GWNET “Empowering Central Asian women in renewable energy” program. I became acquainted with women from Central Asia who are developing incredible projects in the region on climate finance, hydropower, and hydrogen. After two years, I was able to mentor in second cohort.

As part of the OSCE-GWNET program, we also featured women role models working in the energy sector across Central Asia. We featured one of few female founders of waste operating company in Uzbekistan. This is especially important considering that the waste management sector, like other male dominant sectors like construction and energy, is gender-divided. The limited representation of women, especially in leadership or engineering roles, is limiting the advancement of these sectors.