Programme Details
During the week you will be volunteering in Tha Thum, 1 hour North of Surin. Tha Thum is the most northern district of Surin Province on the border with Roi Et Province. It is a very rural location though it does have a few local amenities including a shop.
Tha Thum is Surin’s ‘District of Elephants’. There is believed to be approx 250 elephants living in Tha Thum. Historically elephants worked in 'logging' (removing trees from forests) creating an income for their owners. Logging has now been banned in Thailand for many years. Domesticated elephants are now used in tourism to recompense the owners for the cost of their upkeep. Many rural people take their elephants into cities to generate income. This is bad for two reasons; firstly many elephants are involved in traffic accidents while working in the cities and secondly elephants are grazers and need to be constantly eating to maintain their weight and health. This is obviously not possible while living in the cities. The aim of this project is to generate income for the families ensuring the elephants can remain in the rural areas. The elephants are well treated in this region and their handlers are proud of their standard of care.
Volunteer Role
You can actively get involved by helping the communities that look after the elephants in Tha Thum. Your duties may include; planting bamboo, wild grass and other crops to help feed the elephants during the dry season. Adult elephants can eat an incredible 250kgs of food in one day, so you can understand the importance of providing enough food for them. The project work also extends to supporting the local community with a number of development projects planned every year. These include helping local schools, poor families and planting and harvesting crops amongst others. You may also have the opportunity to learn traditional Thai fishing methods and kayak on the local river.
You will volunteer in the mornings leaving your afternoons with the opportunity to learn to control these magnificent creatures under the supervision of the elephant's handler (also known as a mahout). Most afternoons you will take your elephant down to the river for a swim. After the heat of the day elephants love to cool off and roll in the river. This will be an amazing experience and one of which we are sure you are unlikely to forget! Your weekends will be spent close to the town of Surin.
Why not do our exciting 4 week Thailand Experience programme before your volunteering to receive a discount on your community and elephant project?
What's Included
- Airport meet and greet
- Arrival airport transfer
- 1 night arrival night in Bangkok
- Transfer from accommodation in Bangkok to project
- Accommodation during project
- Food whilst in Tha Thum on project
- Project Coordinator
What's Not Included
- Flights
- Travel insurance
- Food whilst in Surin at the weekends
- Return transfer from Surin to Bangkok
Prices and Durations
Thailand Community and Elephant Volunteers - 1 week
$799
Thailand Community and Elephant Volunteers - 2 weeks
$1,279
Thailand Experience Elephant Project Extra Weeks - 1 week
$639
Thailand Experience Elephant Project Extra Weeks - 2 weeks
$959
