#36 Elephant Friendly Tea: A Win-Win for Elephants and Communities

Stephanie Manka

Stephanie Manka, Ph.D. is a wildlife biologist with 20 years of experience in mammal ecology and conservation, education, and outreach. Read her story to find out how she went from the daughter of a jeweler to a Ph.D. in wildlife biology.

posted on
December 7, 2020

This week on the Fancy Scientist podcast, I talk to my friend, colleague, and founder of the amazing company Elephant Origins. Lisa Mills founded this elephant-friendly tea company to help the conservation of Asian elephants.

The biggest challenge that Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) face is the loss of habitat from human development. For centuries, some of this habitat conversion has been for tea plantations. Farmers grow tea leaves, which then end up in our drinks.

The mission of Elephant Origins is to provide a high quality tea product that supports local farmer while still providing land for Asian elephants to roam on. Lisa and I talk about how she founded Elephant Origins and why it is so important that we work with corporations towards solutions that benefit wildlife and people while still accommodating economic needs.

Specifically we talk about:

The conservation challenges that Asian elephants face and why they are declining
Why and how tea farms affect Asian elephant populations
What is elephant-friendly tea and how do farmers become certified
How did Elephant Origins come about and how do they use science to inform conservation practices
What elephant-friendly tea takes like and where you can buy it from
Why it’s important to support local communities for the conservation of wildlife
and MORE!