CHOOSING A VOLUNTEER PROJECT IN THAILAND
Join one of the volunteer programs whilst travelling in Thailand. Choose from building projects, teaching and childcare projects, and elephant camps.
- THAILAND
- Volunteer Abroad
Combines the best of Thailand – Elephants in Surin, Building in Sangkhlaburi and then KohPhangan for blue seas, beaches and Full Moon Parties!
Combines the best of Thailand – Elephants in Surin (the north east which is the heartland of the country), Building in Sangkhlaburi (a stunning town surrounded by hills and forest on the Burmese border) and then KohPhangan for blue seas, beaches and Full Moon Parties!
Not only ‘seeing’ some of the best of Thailand but also putting something back through the Building element – renovation of schools/day care centres and the building on a rural educational / dormitory facility.
The programme works alongside a traditional ‘elephant village’ in rural Surin – a province famous for being the ‘home’ of the Thai Elephant. Through sharing their lives with visitors, the mahouts are now able to support their elephants and families without ‘begging’ in urban areas – meaning not only a better family / community life for the mahouts but also a much higher quality of life for the elephants. The elephants live very much as part of the family – overnighting under or next to the mahout’s houses and all days are spent either caring for the elephants, bathing them and feeding them. The programme also enables volunteers to work alongside the mahout harvesting / planting (depending on the season) crops for the elephants giving an incredible insight into the lives of the village.
The host village is 45-60 minutes outside Surin town and is a typical rural Thai village. Houses alongside a quiet dusty road, a couple of local stores and all inhabitants either being mahouts or farmers. It’s very warm and friendly, definitely not on the ‘tourist’ trail and a great experience all round
In addition to the work with elephants, all volunteers get the opportunity to:
The building part of the tour takes place in Sangkhlaburi, a small town in Northern Kanchanaburi province around 5-6 hours North West of Bangkok. Set on the banks of a 60km+ long reservoir, surrounded by hills and forest and made up of a great mix of Thai, Karen and Mon people and cultures this is a fascinating town and somewhere that’s a real privilege to spend time.
The building work itself varies (depending on the time of year and progress of a number of on-going projects) but will usually consist of:
Most of the building takes place in a 30 minute radius of Sangkhlaburi town itself where communities are very rural and most people are subsistence farmers. There are a large number of displaced / stateless people in the area (Mon, Karen) and life is pretty tough for these communities but they are very welcoming to visitors and volunteers.
NOTE: Parts of this trip are ‘unguided’. Arrival and the elephant village are guided, transfer from Surin to Bangkok is unguided, time in Sangkhlaburi and building is guided, transfer to Bangkok and then to KohPhangan is unguided, however, all customers are able to utilise our 24/7 emergency phone contact and support
Without this programme the mahouts and elephants would need to beg in urban areas (not good for the mahout and terrible for the elephant) – thanks to this programme the village and mahouts receive good income to support and develop their families and create a better future for themselves
In addition, this is a real two way learning experience – the volunteers get the opportunity to really learn about the real life of elephants and communities in Thailand, something that is very difficult to do elsewhere.
Being a part on on-going renovation and construction of community facilities that otherwise would not be developed. All aimed at the rural communities (those most in need) and with a particular emphasis on education and young people.
Suitable for all 18+ BUT customers do need to be quite independent. There are some transfers that are not guided (although instructions in English and Thai are given and all have access to our 24/7 emergency number) and whilst the transfers are easy, it won’t suit those who are very nervous travellers.
A fantastic way to experience real village life with elephants, make a contribution to very poor communities in the North West of the country and then to see one of SE Asia’s most famous islands. Perfect for anyone wanting this great mix of what Thailand has to offer.
It’s a sad night in Bangkok tonight; it’s the last night of our Thai adventure. I’ve met the best people ever and I’ll treasure all the memories we have together. Good luck to you all and thank you for making the last month amazing.
To make a booking you will need to pay a deposit (which includes an administration charge) at the time of booking which is 250€ (or equivalent in other currencies).
You must pay 100% of the costs of your travel arrangements at least 90 days before the start date of your programme(s). If the deposit and/or balance are not paid in time we will cancel your travel arrangements. If the balance is not paid in time, we shall retain your deposit.
You may cancel your booking at any time. Notice of cancellation will be effective upon receipt of your written communication.
As we start to incur costs from the time the contract is confirmed we will retain your deposit and in addition will apply other cancellation charges as shown below. Where written notification of the cancellation is received: - 90 days or more prior to the start date of your programme: loss of deposit plus a charge of 10% of the total value of the programme cost.
- less than 90 days prior to the start date of your programme (or failure to join the programme): 100% of the cost of your travel arrangements
We work with an organisation that supports community-based projects in Asia to maximise improvements to human and environmental issues. The 45 organisation staff has guided almost 3,000 volunteers since its creation in 2002. The aims of its volunteering programme are to change the needs of the communities, provide education and knowledge to the local communities and provide volunteer and financial help in tandem to ensure demonstrable, lasting change. Our local Foundation is dedicated to improving health, safety and hygiene at schools throughout Asia, as well as making it possible for people like you to make a difference. From building projects like demolishing unhygenic toilets and rebuilding clean facilites, brightly coloured school buildings and fun, ongoing community projects such as allotments and farms, the work in Asia that it is able to do is very varied. It can also place volunteers who are keen on teaching english to children or working in an elephant camp in Thailand. Development and sense of community are two areas that it focuses on in its projects, and this is definitely reflected in the success that it has acheived throughout Asia.
EUR1,250.00 |
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