PROGRAM LENGTH:                                  2 weeks – 6 months

PROJECT LAUNCH DATES:                      The 1^st and 3^rd Monday of every month.

ARRIVAL DATE:                                         3 days prior to your Start Date (Friday)

THOSE WELCOMED:                                  Men or Women over 18.

SLEEPING:                                                    You will have private accommodation at the camp Monday - Friday.  Rooms at the camp are new, nicely designed, but basic.  All rooms have an attached bathroom with western style toilet and a hot water shower.  Weekends are free time for the volunteers.  Volunteers are welcome to stay at the Friends For Asia House if space is available.  If room is not available at the Friends For Asia House during a weekend, volunteers will have to cover the cost of their own accommodation for those two days.  Friends For Asia will be more than happy to provide volunteers with contact information for all types of hotels and guesthouses in the Chiang Mai area. 

EATING:                                                        Three meals a day will be provided during service at the elephant Camp.  Breakfast and lunch will be provided during the two day pre-service orientation.  Volunteers will not have meals provided for them on Saturday and Sunday during their service.

PICK-UP INFO:                                             A Friends For Asia representative will be waiting for you at your arrival point and guide you to your accommodation and project location.

TIMETABLE:                                                  Volunteers will be working from 7:00am – 4:00pm Monday through Friday.  Volunteers may occasionally be asked to work on the weekends and in the evenings during special occasions and activities. 

FEES:                                                              Participation in the Elephant Camp Volunteer Project starts at $995 for two weeks.  Each additional week is $250.

FEE INCLUDES:                                            Airport pick up, accommodation during orientation and every night spent at the Elephant Camp (Monday – Friday of each week), all meals while at the Elephant Camp, Transportation to and from Chiang Mai and the Elephant Camp, 2 day orientation, half day city tour, cultural dinner and show, onsite coordinator and 24 hour emergency assistance.

FEE DOES NOT INCLUDE:                          Plane tickets, travel insurance, ride to the airport after service, meals on Saturdays and Sundays.  Volunteers are welcomed to stay in the Friends For Asia Volunteer House on weekends if there is space available.  If the Volunteer House does not have available space, volunteers will need to cover the cost of their accommodation on Saturdays and Sundays.

The day starts early at the Elephant Camp. Six o’clock is elephant bath time, followed by breakfast for the elephants. Once the elephants are fed and before day visitors make their arrival is when volunteers and other staff can sit down, have breakfast and enjoy a cup of northern Thai coffee with the backdrop of the rolling mountains of northern Thailand. Volunteers may help with direction and safety procedures with day tourists upon their arrival.

Later in the afternoon volunteers will be broken up into different tasks. The elephant camp is big and has a very large staff. It’s almost a community of its own. Everyone living in the surrounding village is either staff or a family member of a staff person at the Camp. Therefore volunteers will be asked to help out and work with the families and children of the Camp’s workers. Some volunteers will teach an hour or two of English at the local hill tribe school. Other volunteers will stay at the Camp and teach English to the elephant trainers and other staff. Volunteers may be asked to help out with other areas of the elephant camp during their volunteer service. These additional things could be anything from taking care of one of the baby elephants to moving equipment. Any little bit helps in the development of the camp. Late in the afternoon/early evening, volunteers will be able to spend more time with the elephants and elephant trainers. This is when volunteers will really begin to bond with these lovely creatures and learn how to best care for them.

The camp is roughly 40 miles (65 kilometers) from the city of Chiang Mai, is surrounded by mountains and is divided down the middle with a stream. Volunteers assist and work alongside elephant trainers and other Camp staff from 7:00 am – 5:00 pm (Monday – Friday). The Camp has been open for 20 years, has over 70 elephants and roughly 250 workers. Many of the workers are of minority, ethnic, hill tribe decent. The camp has many day visitors. Once a volunteer has spent a decent amount of time at the Camp, the volunteer may be asked to help present the different safety precautions the Camp has for its day visitors.

Before working directly with the elephants, all volunteers will go through a three day safety course at the Camp. During those three days, volunteers may take part in some of the teaching and other roles that they may be involved with later. Elephants are gentle creatures, but are incredibly big and strong. Safety is of the utmost importance, to insure nobody gets hurt during their volunteer service.

Volunteers do not need any specific qualifications, but should be able-bodied, enjoy working outside and with animals. As in any cross-cultural context, those involved are asked to be flexible and be open to other customs and traditions.