This is a submission for Weekend Challenge: Earth Day Edition
What I Built
EcoChat is an AI-powered sustainability chatbot that gives practical,
actionable eco-friendly advice tailored to students and residents of
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.
Most sustainability apps are built for Western audiences — tips like
"drive an electric car" don't apply here. EcoChat knows about local
Coimbatore markets, Tamil Nadu government schemes, and campus life at KPRIET.
🌍 Live Demo: https://ecochat-rho.vercel.app
💻 GitHub: https://github.com/sarveshm555/EcoChat
Demo
Try it live at https://ecochat-rho.vercel.app
- Get a free Gemini API key at aistudio.google.com
- Paste it in the bar at the top
- Ask "How do I reduce plastic at home?"
- Upload a photo of any trash item or product label 📷
- Click "I'll commit to this!" and watch the counter go up ✅
Code
GitHub: https://github.com/sarveshm555/EcoChat
Tech Stack:
- React + Vite — frontend
- Google Gemini 2.5 Flash — AI responses + image analysis
- Vercel — deployment
How I Built It
Google Gemini 2.5 Flash — used in 3 ways
1. Text chat with hyper-local context
The secret sauce is the system prompt:
"You are EcoChat, a sustainability advisor for students in Coimbatore,
Tamil Nadu. When relevant, mention local initiatives, Tamil Nadu
government schemes, and campus-specific suggestions."
This makes every response feel genuinely useful rather than generic.
2. Multimodal image analysis
Users can upload a photo of trash or a product label. Gemini identifies
whether it's recyclable, how to dispose of it properly, and mentions
local Coimbatore recycling options.
3. Dynamic Earth Day tip generator
On every page load, a separate Gemini API call generates a fresh,
surprising eco fact relevant to India — so the app always feels alive.
Key Features
- 💬 Multi-turn AI chat with Coimbatore-specific knowledge
- 📷 Image recognition for trash and product labels
- ✅ Commitment tracker — "I'll commit to this!" button with live counter
- 💡 Gemini-generated Earth Day fact on every page load
- 📱 Fully mobile responsive
Why hyper-local?
Generic sustainability advice ignores local context. By telling Gemini
about Coimbatore specifically, the app gives tips like:
- "Many Coimbatore markets accept cloth bags"
- "Collect AC condensate water for plants"
- "Use city buses for regular commutes"
This makes EcoChat genuinely useful for our community.
Prize Categories
Best Use of Google Gemini
I used Gemini 2.5 Flash for three distinct features:
- Multi-turn text chat with a custom hyper-local system prompt
- Multimodal image analysis of trash and product labels
- Dynamic Earth Day tip generation on page load
What I Learned
- Gemini's multimodal API is surprisingly easy — image analysis took less than 20 lines of code
- Hyper-local system prompts dramatically improve response quality
- Small UX details like the commit button transform a passive chatbot into an active accountability tool
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