Act Big.
Live Small.
A movement rooted in everyday activism with a focus on supporting Asian elephant conservation.
We encourage individuals to make meaningful change by maximising the positive impact of their actions while minimising their footprint on the world around them..As Jane Goodall said: “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”.
The idea behind Act Big Live Small began in 2019, inspired by a deep desire to support causes close to our hearts, starting with raising awareness and funds for Save Elephant Foundation, a Thai-based charity dedicated to the protection of Asian elephants. What started as a few small, personal projects quickly gained momentum.
In 2024, Act Big Live Small officially became a charitable trust, marking a new chapter in our journey.
Although still in its early days, Act Big Live Small is now guided by a formal governing document and a board of three trustees, including 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 Save Elephant Foundation’s (SEF) 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 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 SEF’s 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 rooted in everyday activism was born. We’re currently working on content to showcase simple examples of everyday activism and and how to make meaningful change.
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.