Act Big.
Live Small.
A movement based on everyday activism, with a special focus on supporting Asian elephant conservation.
Act Big. Live Small. These simple words encapsulate a lifetime’s worth of lessons learned during a bicycle journey across Central and Southeast Asia. It’s about getting more out of our lives by amplifying the impact of our actions - how we spend our time and money - while reducing the impact of our footprints on the world around us.
“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make” -
Jane Goodall.
Founded in 2019, Act Big Live Small has been active since 2020, with two small-scale fundraising projects completed so far. This year (2024), Act Big Live Small became a Charitable Trust, complete with a governing document and three trustees, which include the founders, David and Esther Zimmer.
Scroll down to meet us!
Hello!
We’re David and Esther, hopefully you can tell who’s who in the photos!
At 44, we took a year off to bicycle from Turkey to Thailand. We sought to strip our lives down to its simplest elements: water, food, shelter and turning the pedals.
We wanted to see which of life’s complexities we’d reintroduce once we returned to our lives in London. Surprisingly, we didn’t miss much and realised we didn’t need much. This minimalist mindset stayed with us even after returning home.
Eight months into our journey, David contracted dengue fever in Cambodia. While battling a 40°C (104°F) fever for over ten days, a simple idea emerged and lingered:
Act Big. Live Small.
Our travels had made us acutely aware of our environmental impact. We were shocked to find rubbish even in the most remote landscapes, experienced the suffocating smog from fires lit to clear land for palm oil plantation and witnessed water shortages resulting in economic hardship. The mountains, our logo, symbolise our connection with nature and our responsibility to protect it.
You can read about our journey and the birth of Act Big Live Small in a beautiful essay by David here.
A core philosophy of Act Big Live Small is the belief that everyday activism by individuals can make a difference. But where to begin?
Volunteering at Elephant Nature Park (ENP) in Thailand provided the answer. We were inspired by the elephants and ENP’s founder, Lek Chailert, who shows that leading by example and showing compassion can create remarkable, sustainable change.
We knew we wanted to support Asian elephant conservation, so a first step was becoming UK Ambassadors for Save Elephant Foundation (SEF), Lek’s overarching foundation for the various projects SEF supports, which includes ENP. This felt like a perfect Act Big Live Small alignment because we saw first-hand the positive impact ENP has not only on the elephants and other animals in its care, but on the people, environment and communities around it.
From the simple idea of ‘Act Big Live Small’, a movement based on everyday activism was born. We’re currently working on content to showcase simple examples of everyday activism and how to get more out of our lives, while reducing the impact of our footprints on the world around us. And of course, we continue to support Asian elephant conservation and SEF through our time, money and awareness initiatives.
We hope Act Big Live Small inspires you.