The Real Elephant Collective

What The Real Elephant Collective does

The Real Elephant Collective (TREC) is a socio-environmental enterprise founded in 2019 and based in the Nilgiri Biosphere region of South India. It produces life-size elephant sculptures handcrafted from invasive Lantana Camara weed by approximately 150 indigenous artisans from across South India, with each sculpture modeled as an anatomically accurate replica of a specific named wild elephant studied in the field. Its design arm has also begun producing toys and prototypes from invasive Senna spectabilis wood. The core commercial vehicle is The Great Elephant Migration, a touring public exhibition of 100+ life-size sculptures installed in high-profile green spaces, with documented runs in Cochin (2019), London (2021), Bangalore (2024), and a multi-city US tour from July 2024 through June 2025 (Newport, New York City, Miami, Browning, Los Angeles).

The business operates through three monetized streams: large-ticket sculpture sales at exhibitions to corporations, institutions, and high-net-worth individuals; direct-to-consumer e-commerce via the company website, offering art prints at INR 1,200, cards at INR 600, memory cards at INR 600, and a 2025 Coexistence Calendar at INR 800; and exhibition-driven visibility and earned media. The core team comprises 7 people led by co-conceptualizers Ruth Ganesh and Tarsh Thekaekara, designer Shubra Nayar, and Tariq Thekaekara who leads the Senna toy line. Strategic partners include Coexistence Story USA and Elephant Family USA for US exhibition distribution and conservation channeling, and The Shola Trust for the field research that informs sculptural accuracy. Proceeds are routed to the Coexistence Consortium and other conservation NGOs for on-ground human-wildlife coexistence work, making the company a hybrid commercial-social enterprise rather than a traditional retail or art business.

Commercially, TREC is privately held with no disclosed funding rounds, parent company, or revenue figures. It relies heavily on the Great Elephant Migration's exhibition cadence and resulting press coverage (BBC News, The Guardian, Evening Standard, Colossal, Town & Country, Tatler) as the primary demand-generation mechanism, supplemented by its website and partner-led distribution in the United States.

Name

The Real Elephant Collective

Legal name

The Real Elephant Collective

Website

https://therealelephant.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Real Elephant Collective is a socio-environmental enterprise that produces life-size elephant sculptures from invasive Lantana Camara weed by 150 indigenous South Indian artisans, sells them via global public exhibitions and a small e-commerce line, and channels proceeds to conservation NGOs supporting human-wildlife coexistence.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Conservation Art

NAICS

Museums (712110), Art Dealers (459920)

SIC

Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945)

akta.pro primary industry

Art Museums (THAJADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Indigenous & Community Cultural Institutions (THAJADAK), Indigenous, Ethnic & Folk Arts/Heritage Organizations (BPAGAHAI), Museum, Zoo & Attraction Gift Shops (CRALAJAG)

Keywords

• Handcrafted wildlife sculptures
• Conservation art
• Indigenous artisan crafts
• Wildlife exhibition
• Sustainable art products

Headquarters

HQ city

Nilgiri Biosphere

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Elephant Sculpture Sales: Life-size elephant sculptures created from Lantana Camara are sold during exhibitions. Proceeds raised support on-ground conservation work including the Coexistence Consortium and other NGOs worldwide.
2. Art Products (E-commerce): Sale of coexistence-themed merchandise including art prints (₹1,200), cards (₹600), memory cards (₹600), and calendars (₹800). Products celebrate Asian elephants as umbrella species and raise awareness.
3. Exhibition Attendance: Public exhibitions generate awareness and direct sales opportunities. The Great Elephant Migration exhibition invites felt perspective on sharing space with wildlife.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Real Elephant Collective is a socio-environmental enterprise that creates life-size elephant sculptures from invasive Lantana Camara weed using 150 indigenous artisans from South India. The sculptures are exhibited globally through The Great Elephant Migration exhibition to raise awareness about human-elephant coexistence. The collective also produces and sells retail art products including greeting cards, prints, calendars, and toys to consumers.

Product overview

The Real Elephant Collective is a socio-environmental enterprise merging art and conservation. Its core offering is The Great Elephant Migration exhibition program featuring 100+ life-size elephant sculptures crafted from invasive Lantana Camara weed by 150 indigenous South Indian artisans. The products portfolio includes retail items (Memory Cards, Cards, Art Prints, 2025 Coexistence Calendar, Senna Toys) sold through the Coexistence World product line, alongside the Coexistence Collective artisan team and Design Studio. Proceeds from elephant sales and merchandise support on-ground coexistence conservation work.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Coexistence Collective: Skilled artisan collective creating stunning life-size elephant sculptures based on real wild elephants, featuring internationally acclaimed artisans.
• Design Studio
• The Great Elephant Migration
• Lantana Eles

Products and services

• Life-Size Elephant Sculptures Handcrafted, life-size elephant sculptures built from invasive Lantana Camara weed by 150 indigenous artisans from South India, intended for exhibition display, institutional commissions, and large-scale conservation art installations. The sculptures serve as both art pieces and conservation storytelling assets for museums, NGOs, and corporate partners.
• The Great Elephant Migration Exhibition A global traveling exhibition of the collective's life-size elephant sculptures, hosted by museums, institutions, and corporate partners to promote awareness of human-elephant coexistence and wildlife conservation. The exhibition serves both as a public-facing awareness event and as a vehicle for sponsorship, retail, and institutional partnership revenue.
• Greeting Cards Elephant-themed greeting cards sold directly to consumers via the company website and exhibition gift shops, targeted at conservation-minded buyers seeking themed stationery and gifts.
• Art Prints Conservation-themed art prints sold to individual consumers through the company website and exhibition venues, intended for home decor and gifting among art and wildlife enthusiasts.
• Calendars Elephant and conservation-themed calendars sold directly to consumers, designed as annual lifestyle products for art enthusiasts and conservation supporters.
• Toys Elephant-themed toys sold to consumers as part of the retail product line, targeted at families and gift buyers interested in wildlife-themed play products.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100s of life-size elephants migrated across multiple continents (USA, UK, India)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Coexistence Story USAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner in organizing The Great Elephant Migration exhibition in the United States. Together with The Real Elephant Collective and Elephant Family USA, they take herds of life-size elephants to green spaces across the US.
• Elephant Family USAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUS-based partner in the Great Elephant Migration initiative. Proceeds from elephant sales support their conservation work and the Coexistence Consortium.
• The Shola TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner providing extensive on-ground research around elephants, their unique personalities, and the people with whom they share space. Their research informs the anatomically accurate elephant designs.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Wildlife Conservation Society: Large global conservation NGO operating field programs, public awareness campaigns, and membership fundraising; comparable mission and donor base, though vastly larger in scale and scope.
• Explorers Against Extinction: Wildlife conservation organization that uses art exhibitions (e.g., the Sketch for Survival initiative) to raise awareness and funds; similar art-as-fundraising mechanism and conservation-mission positioning.
• The David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation: Long-established wildlife conservation charity founded by the late wildlife artist David Shepherd; comparable in combining art and conservation fundraising, but with a much broader species and geographic scope.
• Tusk Trust: African wildlife charity that monetizes celebrity art and high-profile events to fund conservation; comparable reliance on premium art-driven events and HNW donor networks for fundraising.
• World Land Trust: International conservation charity that combines direct conservation funding with public-facing campaigns and merchandise; shares the model of converting donor engagement into both awareness and tangible on-the-ground conservation outcomes.

Others

• Colossal (art/creativity media): Art and creativity publication that has featured TREC; serves as a comparable media channel that surfaces conservation-themed art to engaged global audiences, useful as an indirect marketing peer.

Direct peers

• The Shola Trust: India-based conservation research partner of TREC, focused on the Nilgiri Biosphere and Asian elephant research; closely aligned mission, geography, and research-driven conservation approach.
• Elephant Family: UK-based conservation charity that co-organizes The Great Elephant Migration exhibitions with The Real Elephant Collective; both use high-profile art installations to fundraise for Asian elephant conservation and overlap directly on mission, geography, and donor base.
• Coexistence Story: US-based nonprofit partner that collaborates on The Great Elephant Migration; shares the same coexistence-themed, art-driven fundraising model targeting American HNW donors and corporate sponsors.
• Wild in Art: Produces large-scale public art trails and sculpture exhibitions in cities around the world, often for charity partners; comparable event-driven, exhibition-first GTM and use of public installations as marketing and fundraising vehicles.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-real-elephant-collective

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Real Elephant Collective