GVI, Ethical Impact. Volunteer in Thailand

I've visited lots of places across the world but this village was my favourite thanks to the amazing time I had there with GVI. I dont think anything can top hiking through the jungle with amazing people to see a semi wild and happy heard of beautiful Asian elephants. Then to come home and chill at base with such a stunning view.

Every day brings something different; exploring a new part of the forest, seeing a new creature, giving a health check or feeding one of the elephants, learning a new phrase in the Karen language, bonding with the villagers, you name it. Every day is special out there.

GVI don't allow cruel abuse of their elephants such as riding by tourists, excess and inexperienced use of the bull hook, use of any weapon on the elephants, or excess feeding of unnatural foods such as fruit. I would definitely recommend volunteering with this company.

I would highly recommend GVI and their rescued Elephant reintroduction project in the protected forests of Chiang Mai. Enjoy hiking up corn fields to find the beautiful animals. Stay with them and track their behaviours throughout the day. Passionate staff, an amazing village and culture. If you want a life changing experience, then sign up today! 2 weeks was ok but stay longer if you can, to get even more out of the experience.

Being an intern on this project was amazing, you had the time to be fully submerged in the village, language and cultures. Not only that you got to trek through beautiful forests and had the most amazing views of the land. The elephants were just incredible, they are so beautiful and intelligent and just being around them was a dream. I am so glad I got to be a part of their conservation and am so thankful there are projects like this to help elephants.

Joining the GVI team in Thailand was the most incredible experience of my life. Upon my arrival to the village of Huay Pakoot I was a little nervous. I had already been greeted and briefed on the project by some staff but now was the time that I got to meet my family. The family I stayed made my stay. We were always having conversations (usually hang motions and little words), laughing, hanging out together, and teaching each other our own native language. Over my first few days I learned my way around the village and acquainted myself with the other staff and volunteers. This was not too hard because the first night I arrived we all had a potluck dinner together where we introduced ourselves. After a while this became part of my normal routine, we had potlucks once a week. During the week days we had elephant hikes, bio-diversity hikes, nursery, school teaching, and an assortment of many other things. Im sure you want to know about the elephants though, it is only reasonable considering they are the reason were all there. Well they are amazing! Each elephant seems so happy being back in the forest where they should be. They also have an obvious love for their Mahouts. There are three herds of elephants on this project all in different areas of the forest. This makes for quite the diversity of hikes. The hikes are the most physically demanding part, hard but doable! They are amazing, the views never get old and there are always new ones to be found. The elephants move around the forest so the hikes with them change as the elephants location changes. After hikes we usually have lunch weather it be in the forest or back in the village. Aside from the elephants and the people the food was probably one of my favorite parts. I mean three regular meals a day, all with rice, and lots of veggies! This all is really just a start to telling how my amazing experience went while I was away. I could type for days about it all while having a ear to ear smile on my face. Going I had several questions, so if you have ANY I would be happy to try and answer!

This program was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.The description of the program on the GVI website is a bit vague. But let me tell you that if you go on this program you will be in for treat. Being on this program you learn a lot about elephants of course, but you also learn about yourself and the world around you. It teaches you to see things in a different way. Life in the village is so different from life in the Western World. The people there are much more appreciative and relaxed. It is the simple things in life that bring the most joy. Be prepared to hike. A LOT. Everyday. It can be hard at times, but it is always worth the physical labor. You record social data and feeding behaviors of the elephants which is super interesting. Watching elephants is like people watching. They are always doing something. The food is so yummy, but still make sure to bring some snacks from home like peanut butter!

Overall this two weeks of volunteering was a fantastic experience. Being able to live in a small (300 people) village in the mountains in Northern Thailand was amazing. Although most of the villagers spoke little English, it was very interesting to find out how they lived, and staying in a homestay meant that we were able to experience the food and customs. Working with the elephants was a great privilege: we followed them into the forest, and twice a week did health checks which allowed us to touch the elephants and get close to them. We were assigned one elephant during our stay, and I felt very close to mine by the time I left. The staff on the project were extremely professional, with attention to safety and a thorough training programme. The interactions with the local villagers were always respectful and our impact on the village was always carefully considered. Top memories for me include watching the baby elephants playing with each other, teaching the Mahouts English, talking in a broken mixture of English and the local language to my homestay family, and meeting other wonderful volunteers and staff. The project wasn't too physical, but the village is located on a steep hill, and the hot climate makes activity draining at times. I learned a lot about the plight of the Asian elephant during my stay, and I really felt that I made a difference to the lives of the elephants, and the villagers, by volunteering on this project.

The month I spent in Huay Pakoot was by far the best in my life. This program is a truly amazing experience for anyone who like animals or likes experiencing other cultures.

On arrival in Huay Pakoot, a tiny, beautiful village nestled deep in the mountains of Northern Thailand, each volunteer is assigned an elephant with whom they will be working closely with for the time they are there. Each day, volunteers go on hikes with the elephants. Three times a week, these hikes involve collecting data on how the elephants are eating and socialising (to determine whether or not they were adapting to their new life), and the other two days a week hikes finish with a general health check on the elephants. It is during this time that you get to go up close and personal with your elephant, and learn about her personality, behaviour and needs. It was really humbling to be so close to such a magnificent animal, and getting to know your elephant is really cool. I really enjoyed the health checks for this reason.

Watching the elephants foraging in the forest and behaving like elephants should naturally was a really good experience too. Knowing that these elephants have had a tough past (having worked in tourist camps and logging) and then seeing them happy and healthy in their native environment was heartwarming. It was when you could see that this program was making a difference to their lives.

Staff were very safety conscious when we were around the elephants which was comforting, though at times I almost felt like this was taken a little too far and it occasionally limited our hikes or time with the elephants. I also always felt very safe in the village at all times.

Other day-to-day activities included English teaching, running events at the school, participating in anything that was happening in the village, going grass-cutting, Friday night parties, optional weekend trips and much more. I really liked the variety that this program offered - you could participate in as much or as little as you liked. For example, I really enjoyed teaching English to the children and the mahouts, however I know some other volunteers weren't as into this, so it was totally up to them whether they got involved.

The villagers were such beautiful people. It was great getting to know them, especially the mahouts and my homestay family. Each volunteer stays with a homestay family, and I got really close with mine. Saying goodbye to my homestay family was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. The village is a Karen hill tribe village and thus the language (called 'Pakinyoh') is completely separate from Thai, so we were encouraged to try to learn some basic Pakinyoh and try it out on the villagers. They always loved hearing us try to speak it!

Life in the village is very laid-back, we had a lot of free time to sit back and relax if we so chose. Though living conditions were basic (matresses on the floor, squat toilets and cold bucket showers), I felt it was all part of the experience and it didn't make me enjoy my time there any less. Also, the food was absolutely amazing. Every lunch and dinner was prepared by your homestay family, and was always delicious. They also easily cater for vegetarians.

Value for money was very good in that it includes all food and accommodation, so you really don't need much money at all while you are on the project.
GVI were extremely helpful during the application process. They contacted you directly via phone shortly after booking to satisfy any queries and fill you in on project details, and were very thorough with sending checklists of what you needed to prepare for a bring.

The only negative point I really have is that the program is so good that it makes it impossible to leave without crying your eyes out! I still miss the village and the elephants every single day. I would definitely recommend this program to all of my friends, and hope I can go back myself some day!

The early morning wakeups, I thought, would be a hassle. Yet with the scenery, and the somewhat vocal roosters, it was a joy to wake up to the beautiful village with a warm breakfast not too far away. After breakfast in the peaceful village, depending on the day; Ele Grass Cutting and other events (e.g. Basket Weaving, English Teaching and base duties), or casually trekking through the forest with 5 wonderful elephants and their mahouts would occur at 8am.

What may seem like a barrier to an outsider, the language (Packinyo) proves an excellent tool to get well acquainted to your host family- even if there are a few miss communications every once and a while. This, however, would have been my favourite experience within my time spent on the program. Being at the forefront of learning and developing a handbook to learn a new language is phenomenal, and sharing this experience with a bunch of diverse individuals only inspired us even more!

Not to neglect the elephants, though as they are, of course, wonderful. From your first day feeding your elephant bananas, to health checks every second day, it seems as if there is an instant connection. The beauty of walking with them comes not only from Tong Dees’ ridiculously slow pace, but the time that you then get to spend with the other volunteers and their somewhat distressing Elephant Baby Voices. Hiking, personally, was a breeze. If you are a little unfit, it may be a struggle, however no one (in my time) couldn’t finish a hike. They generally span for 2-3 and half hours, with every second day being data collection. This would involve, observing their behaviour in terms of trunk touching from one Ele to another, eating, defecating (always exciting to prod poo!) and who they spend most of their time with while foraging naturally.

While the Ele’s favourite meal seems to be musah-toh (pounded chili)- from the Mahouts perspective; as a volunteer you start developing an understanding of the plant biology to really double think when that answer is given. Rather, you quickly find that Va Su (Bamboo) and Boo Kay Sah (Corn) is on the menu. Luckily, this information has been offered to be analysed by a behavioural analyst, and along with our own interpretations- we are able to determine whether one Elephant is spending more time alone or with a particular Elephant instead.

In between data collection, there is a lot of free time where you can choose to visit top shop to buy 2 baht cookies and other food, or rather spend time with your host family and help them cook: it’s really up to you!

My time spent in Huay Pakoot was unforgettable, unimaginably rewarding and overall one thing I would definitely tell others to do. It’s easy to leave a footprint on such a recently developed program, are you ready to leave yours?