Karen Hill Tribe & Ethical Elephant Experience, Thailand

“If you want to experience elephants in their natural habitat (the way it should be) and spend time in a local Thai village, this is the perfect opportunity for you. A small yet powerful project! The experience was unique and once in a lifetime. I loved watching the elephants enjoy their freedom as well as eating the yummy local food. Everyone I met was so friendly and I  felt at home. The whole experience was well organised. I could only stay for a week due to other commitments but I wish it could have been longer. Whether you have a few days or a few months I highly recommend visiting this project. It definitely holds  a place in my heart!”

“Enabling elephants to retire in their native habitat while providing alternative income to the elephant owners and the villagers. You can see how ethical tourism promotes the health and well-being of not just the elephants but also the native people who have cared for and depended on them for generations.”

“My time with this project has been one of the most unique and rewarding experiences of my life. I stayed with the foundation for one week, but I would advise everyone to stay longer because you are 100% going to miss this place. During your volunteering, you will stay with a family of the local Karen tribe, some of the kindest people I have ever seen. The village is so beautiful, with so many animals walking around, and all the people love speaking to you. Since most of them can’t speak English, and they have their own language (not Thai), this might be difficult at times, but the members of the project will teach you some words in the local language, so you could communicate a bit. Then, the best part was the elephants. Every morning we would hike through the jungle to find the elephants, which was exhausting at times but made it so rewarding to finally find them. We have learned so much about the elephants, also in comparison to the many elephant camps in Thailand, which has changed our perspective massively. Observing their behaviour and also learning about what these behaviours mean is something you’ll probably not find in many other activities since the group was small and therefore the contact with the mahouts was very personal. I could write a whole book about this experience and what I loved about it, but I suggest that others should just see it for themselves. To everybody there, thanks for the wonderful experience. You have started a truly unique foundation!”

“Honestly this experience is amazing, it’s incredible to see the elephants out in their natural habitat doing what they were meant to do, and you can really tell they’re happy out there too! The locals in the village are all super friendly and more than willing to help teach us the local language and help in any way possible. Everyone has been so accommodating and  welcoming and it has been so enjoyable to be involved in such a great project.”

“What an incredible experience! In such awe of getting to watch the beautiful girls wander through their own natural environment. Not to mention the incredible scenes you see walking through the jungle on the hunt to find the elephants and see them in their glory. We got to whiteness the mahouts and the beautiful relationship they have with the elephants. We were cooked a delicious meal which was amazing to watch come together with bamboo bowls and fire. Will definitely make  a return visit on our next trip to Thailand.”

“These elephants are living their best life here! We trekked with the mahouts into see bua Chan and Sri Chan, once we met the two beauties in the thick forest we were treated to a jungle-prepared meal consisting of pork and noodles and fresh fruits the preparation was amazing to watch with the mahouts constructing fire and cooking devices with bamboo shoots.  We then left the area and continued walking through the dense jungle terrain with the elephants. What an amazing experience all around.”