Celebrate your event with ‘ele-celebration cakes’ and help sustain local farmers in Thailand

Elephants in Northern Thailand are enjoying a new trend in treats — custom-made ele-celebration cakes adorned with messages that acknowledge special milestones such as birthdays and anniversaries, making them a thoughtful gift for people looking to make a much-appreciated contribution to their welfare — and also support the local farmers who are undergoing an epic struggle to survive.

The ele-celebration cakes, which can be purchased in several sizes and from any country, contain a mixture of leafy bamboo, fruit and nutritious fortified rice meal. The cakes are presented to small groups of elephants at Thailand’s famous Elephant Nature Park (ENP).

To provide the recipient with a precious memento, the ENP staff films the entire event and then sends the footage to the celebrant.

Saengduean Lek Chailert (“Lek”), the pioneering founder of both ENP and Save Elephant Foundation, welcomes the fun initiative.

“This has been the toughest year ever. Normally, the funds to feed and care for our 100 elephants come from our daily visitors’ admission fees. Now, without that income, with around 100 elephants to feed and hundreds of other animals, plus our staff and their families, we need to think of novel ways to support them.”

The organization behind the initiative is Gentle Giants, a USA-based non-profit that promotes personalized cakes as a novel, eco-friendly way to honor special anniversaries of loved ones.

Diana Munoz, founder of Gentle Giants, is thrilled with the success of the program. “We receive ‘elephant cake’ orders from many countries. We are so pleased to be able to contribute to the invaluable work of Lek and her team at ENP as well as support local farmers,” says Munoz. She emphasized that 100% of the money received for the cakes goes to the Park.

About Gentle Giants

Gentle Giants is a US-based, non-profit organization committed to elephant conservation. They work with elephant owners and their local communities to find a harmonious and peaceful co-existence and enable mahouts (caretakers) to earn a decent living to support their families.

About Save Elephant Foundation & Elephant Nature Park

Save Elephant Foundation is a Thai non–profit organization dedicated to providing care and help to Thailand’s captive elephant population through a multifaceted approach involving local community outreach, rescue and rehabilitation programs, and educational ecotourism operations. Each of its flagship projects accomplishes that mission. It was founded by Sangduen “Lek” Chailert, who has dedicated her life to the welfare of elephants and other animals.

Images: credit to Gentle Giants

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