Elephant Volunteer Project, Thailand

I spent two weeks at the sanctuary with my girlfriend. If you want to help elephants an ethical way, explore a more local North Thailand and have lots of fun this project will not disappoint you. Emily, Burm and the whole crew are professional and do everything they can to help the elephants the best possible way. We will definitely come back!

My time at the sanctuary in Thailand was really amazing, maybe the highlight of my trip in the country (before I arrived there, I did the usual tourist trail). I loved the commitment of Emily and Burm, their story is really inspiring and you can see they really want the best for the creatures they take care of, either elephants, dogs or cats. I particularly appreciated the hands off policy, which in my opinion makes so that only people that are really interested in doing the best for the elephants’ welfare will participate in the project. The best part was the sense that with supporting the project, you actually support a whole community, either helping the students of the local school or financially sustaining local farmers through the sanctuary, and so on.

I cannot put into words my feelings when I first saw the elephants, I almost cried. It was something I always wanted to do, get to know those beautiful creatures.

Our time at the sanctuary was amazing, animals all around. We hiked in the jungles, fed the elephants, cut corn for them and peeled bananas, bathed Thong Dee in the river. We also loved having dogs and cats around us all the time. They were so lovely, I already miss them so much. We met beautiful people. They were so friendly and very helpful with everything. The room was actually in very good condition. Very clean and neat. Bathrooms as well. Also the food they made for us was so good.

All in all my experience was amazing! It was the perfect jungle life I always wanted to experience. I wish I could’ve stayed longer. I miss every minute of it. I even got the perfect proposal that my fiancé had planned with Emily. It was just so beautiful.

My purpose in life is to give animals the best I can, because I believe they deserve so much more. I’m so glad I found your website and made my dream come true. To many more! Activities were very well organized and I had an amazing experience overall!

We were only for 1 week there and it was the best ever we did. Every day we did exciting jobs like cutting Banana trees or Corn with a machete, plant Bamboo, prepare Watermelon, Bananas and riceballs, prepared elephant salad. We walked into the forest. Burm and his team showed us many plants and animals in the forest and we observed the elephants. We had lunch in a hut next to a rice field. We were very impressed of all of them – it was so fine, unbelievable. Every day was eventful and very fulfilling. The Camp is in a wonderful landscape with great waterfalls and rivers. Burm showed us special places, like a spirit house with healing spring, a temple, local textile weaving and market, and he told us a lot about local culture and tradition. We miss the good food and the animals – cats and dogs. We enjoyed the fun and relaxing together with Burm (playing Guitar) and the team. I was very impressed about the dignified and respectful handling of the elephants.

No matter how big or small something is, one should always respect the other. During the trip to Thailand, we have opened our eyes and developed many skills ranging from how to treat animals fairly -meaning giving them the chance to live in the wild – to understanding and cherishing new culture. On our hike in the jungle, we learnt that elephants eat 10% of their body weight- around 250kg. That means that a whole bucket full of bananas is merely a snack. Planting bananas was therefore beneficial to the elephants and the sustainability of the sanctuary which we helped fund. By cutting, transporting, and planting the banana trees we learnt the hard work and effort put into producing even the most basic of products. Today and onward we need to be more mindful in our consumption of them.

I stayed for two weeks which I consider the minimum time necessary in order to have a full experience. The staff was always nice and teach me a lot about their culture as well as the founders Emily and Burm. We used to do different activities such as cutting corn, picking up bananas, cleaning, learning Thai cuisine, bath and walk with the elephant. We were also able to visit some temples and they took us to a strawberry farm! The sanctuary was clean and nice. I strongly recommend this project and I wish I could do another one in the future. My experience with working abroad was very good as well, the staff answered all my questions. Thank you!