Diwali

Laila is delighted to announce a special corporate partnership this year with world-renowned wild animal charity Born Free. We are partnering with Born Free to support its global elephant conservation work to help safeguard the future of the elephant – majestic, gentle giants which have long been a symbol of India. This is a cause close to our hearts due to our company’s South Asian heritage.

Born Free and Surya Foods are working together for a cruelty-free and animal-friendly Diwali!

The Asian elephant is classified as Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

Speaking about the partnership Surya Foods Managing Director Harry Dulai said:

“We were shocked when we found out that worldwide there were over one million elephants a few decades ago and there are now less than half this number. These very concerning statistics inspired our partnership with Born Free.”

This Diwali we are launching a very special promotion to help raise funds for Born Free’s important elephant conservation work- a beautiful, gold, foil-wrapped Laila chocolate elephant.

Diwali, known as the Festival of Lights, is India’s most celebrated festival during which it is traditional to gift sweets, dry fruits and chocolate. The exchange is considered a symbol of love and appreciation for your loved ones.

“We would love to see Diwali celebrated multi culturally in the UK. Children already learn about Diwali in UK schools, as part of the national curriculum, and Diwali is a wonderful story which explores universal themes around love, light and hope.

“Our aim is to build on this campaign year on year so Diwali can become a key time for the UK to focus its attention on the plight of elephants globally, so we can all play a part in making sure these magnificent creatures never become extinct,” Harry Dulai.

So this Diwali, we are asking people across the UK to share a beautiful golden gift with loved ones – which is also a gift to elephants around the world.

Chocolate Elephant

Laila gold, foil-wrapped hollow chocolate elephant (100g). 10% of net profits from the sale of our Diwali chocolate elephants will be donated to Born Free. The funds will be used to support the organisation’s global elephant conservation.

2kg Laila Gift Boxes

Our special promotional rice gift boxes, which
feature a cute Laila elephant plush, will also help promote Born Free’s Adopt an Elephant for those who want to directly support the charity’s work.

Proud to be on our sustainability journey

Our cuddly, Laila elephant plush is made from Eco-friendly 100% Post-Consumer Recycled Polyester. Meanwhile, our Laila Diwali Chocolate Elephant is made from Rainforest Alliance certified cocoa.
As part of the campaign Laila is gifting thousands of its Diwali chocolate elephants and elephant plushes to children’s hospitals and hospices around the country.

ACTIVITIES

The story of Diwali

A illustrated story of Diwali

Diwali facts

Facts about Diwali

Make your own rangoli

Colour in your own rangoli

Make you own elephant mask

Make and wear your own elephant mask

Diwali wordsearch

Complete a Diwali wordsearch

Diwali post-card

Make your own Diwali post-card

Facts and data from bornfree.org.uk

ASIAN ELEPHANTS

ELEPHAS MAXIMUS

All elephants have a number of distinctive physical characteristics, the first being their versatile trunk, adapted to picking up food, greeting other elephants, drawing water, breathing and producing sound. The ears of the Asian elephant are smaller and more rounded than the African elephant, and, whereas both male and female African elephants can have tusks, only some male Asian elephants have large tusks. Females and some males instead have tushes, short tusks that rarely protrude beyond the lower lip.

Many forests in Asia depend on elephants for seed dispersal and creating open spaces through which seedlings can grow. These are forests which sequester carbon and release water and oxygen, thereby playing a key role in global climate control.

Elephants live in herds that are presided over by a dominant female. The matriarch, using information passed on by her mother, guides and protects the family, which consists of her sisters, daughters, female cousins and calves. The matriarch’s knowledge of the home range and traditional water sources is vital to the herd’s survival.

Elephants have a 60-70 year life span and reach maturity at 10-15 years old. Pregnancy lasts 22 months and at birth the mother is often helped by other experienced females in the group. The newborn calf relies on its mother’s milk for up to four years and is watched over by the entire herd.

*International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world’s main authority on the conservation status of species.

IUCN* STATUS

Endangered

POPULATION

48,000-52,000

DIET

Herbivorous – grass, leaves, twigs, buds, fruit, roots and bark

HABITAT

Woodland habitats, from tropical to deciduous forests

LOCATION

India and 12 other countries in Southeast Asia

ISSUES

Populations have declined by at least 50% in the last three generations and Asian elephants face a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future.

The greatest threat to Asian elephants is dramatic habitat loss due to encroachment from expanding infrastructure – agriculture, settlements, roads and railways – and the resultant conflict with humans. Conflict between humans and elephants occurs when elephants eat or trample cultivated crops, destroy buildings and injure or kill people.

Poaching is not as widespread as it is in Africa, but Asian elephants are still killed for ivory, meat and leather.

In addition, they’re taken for the live trade where large numbers of Asian elephants suffer in captivity in zoos, private collections and temples, and when forced to work to entertain tourists or in the timber industry.

BORN FREE

Born Free works to protect elephants and reduce human-wildlife conflict. Born Free opposes wild-caught elephants being kept in captivity for entertainment and campaigns to educate the public about the dangers associated with elephant riding.

You can enjoy a cruelty-free Diwali with Born Free!

‘As a wildlife charity, Born Free encourages everyone to treat animals with compassion and respect, especially at festival time! Elephants are central to Hindu culture and these deeply intelligent, sensitive animals belong in the wild with their family, not exploited in captivity. So Born Free encourages everyone to keep their Diwali celebrations elephant-free. And remember, firework displays and fire-crackers can scare your pet cats and dogs, so please don’t use them, make sure you keep your pets inside and, if possible, stay with them. Have a fantastic Diwali!’

COMPETITION TIME

Rangoli art competition

We are inviting children across the UK to take part in a special rangoli art competition. Check out our fun example below for inspiration.

Create beautiful, symmetrical images to brighten up your playground/play areas and invite Lakshmi, the Goddess of Prosperity, into your school/play centre this Diwali. Whether you opt for swirls or even repeating elephant motifs, please be sure to share your creations with us @LailaFoods or @Laila.foods / lailanaturals for a chance to win Born Free goodies for your school, including an elephant adoption for your school for a year. So go ahead and get creative with playground chalks, paint or even autumn leaves. We can’t wait to see your creations.

Following our fundraising efforts we shall be reporting back on some of the amazing work your money has helped achieve. Keep an eye on our socials for the latest news