Wildlife Conservation Thailand Project #6539

Save and Rescue an Asian Elephant Today

by Action Change (Formerly GVI Trust)

Project Report | Nov 8, 2012
Huay Pakoot Community Conservation Group

By Sophie Birkett | Charitable Trust team

Sa Cha and Mario

Due to the generosity of our donors, we have been supporting two elephants living in the forest for 6 months and have begun the setup of a community based tourism initiative.

Every single day for the next six months, Sa Cha and her young calf Mario will be roaming freely in the forests surrounding the village of Huay Pakoot. Asian elephants are an endangered species (IUCN) and with less than 1000 wild elephants left in Thailand, the future of the captive elephant population is of critical importance. This project focuses on the wellbeing of the elephants by bringing them out of work in the tourist camps to a natural life in the forest.

Sa Cha is 36 years old. She started working in the fields at the age of 15 years old. More recently she has been working in tourist camps in and around Chiang Mai. Sa Cha became pregnant with Mario (2 years 8 months) in an elephant camp where he was born. The mother and son are now back in Huay Pakoot enjoying daily foraging in the forests where their job is to “just be elephants”!

This group is run by a committee of 10 villagers who, thanks to this donation, are now able to begin setting up their own “grass roots”, community based tourism operation. This venture has firm foundations in ethical elephant treatment, sustainability and conservation education, protection and promotion of the cultural heritage and traditions of this Karen village. By the village - for the village, the elephants and the future!

Thank you again for your support!

Links:

GVI Charitable Trust website

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Oct 16, 2012
Two More Rescued Elephants!

By Alice Hawkes | GVI Charitable Trust Team

Since GVI’s elephant forest reintroduction started in the village of Huay Pakoot 2 years ago, volunteers, staff and elephant lovers everywhere have been working hard to raise money through charitable donations to bring more elephants back to the forest. GVI sponsors 5 elephants directly through volunteer fees but with a village of approximately 60 elephants in total, 5 elephants is only a small chunk of the elephants still remaining in tourist camps around Chiang Mai and northern Thailand. The community is committed to bringing more elephants back to the forest but funding is required to provide work and salaries for elephant owners and mahouts. Through online fundraising, volunteer donations and the 2011 marathon in Chiang Mai the GVI team has raised thousands of dollars towards this mission. And we are proud to say that the number of rescued elephants is finally increasing!

In May 2012, the community of Huay Pakoot officially registered as a community conservation group with the Mae Chaem district office. Through this registration they have committed to working towards bringing elephants back to the forest and utilizing community based tourist projects based around the reintroduced elephants to further increase funding. Tourist activities include home stays with traditional Karen families, learning about culture and food and hiking in surrounding forests to see these elephants foraging, wandering and just basically being elephants in a natural setting.

In August 2012, GVI signed a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the Huay Pakoot Community Conservation group, a document which symbolizes their partnership moving forward to develop sustainable tourism and bringing in more rescued elephants.

Beginning 15 September 2012, GVI has committed to an initial 6 months of funding towards the community conservation group, a total of US$2,000. This funding should cover the costs of keeping Sa Cha and her son Mario in the forest of Huay Pakoot as well as provide extra funds to be used for any necessary medical treatment or other costs the conservation group need to move things forward. We currently have funds to sponsor these elephants for the first couple of years but still need more to bring in more elephants!

Sa Cha is 36 years old. She started working in the fields at the age of 15 years old. More recently she has been working in tourist camps in and around Chiang Mai. Sa Cha became pregnant with Mario in an elephant camp where he was born. Mario is 2 years 8 months and the mother and son are back in Huay Pakoot enjoying daily foraging in the forests and enjoying some time just being elephants without having to work!

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Sep 19, 2012
Mahout English Classes are Cranking

By Alice Hawkes | Charitable Trust Team

Since 2010, GVI volunteers have been supporting a traditional elephant-keeping community’s efforts to bring their elephants out of tourist camps and have them return to live in the forest.

In addition to the work directly with elephants, GVI supports the community of Huay Pakoot in a number of other ways. These initiatives such as new small business creation, advice and financial support for an ethical ecotourism venture and community English classes, give both immediate benefits and lay the foundation for a sustainable future that is not reliant on the exploitation of elephants.

Through this partnership with GVI, the elephant keepers of Huay Pakoot are setting a fresh example that prioritizes the needs of elephants and sets a wonderful, sustainable example of alternatives in elephant management.

GVI staff and volunteers provide access to free English tuition at the request of the community. This tuition, both formal and informal, reaches a wide range of people. It includes English language games at the preschool, classes at the primary school, one on one’s with adults and an evening class twice per week with the mahouts (elephant handlers).

This ‘mahout English’ class is going really well at the moment. It is held after dinner at the home of Pattie Saiee, our most experienced mahout. It typically involves 5-6 official attendees who are learning practical, conversational phrases that help them communicate in the field. However, in the background of this class (the doorways, the kitchen, and the house next door...) there are other friends and family members listening, watching, laughing, and throwing in some phrases of their own. The atmosphere is very supportive for these mahouts, young and old, who are learning transferable skills in the language of tourism that will help them and their community engage on their own terms into the future.

Despite being highly endangered, around 3000 Asian elephants in Thailand are captive and live out their lives working in tourist camps: giving rides and performing in circus shows. Generally the management strategies of these camps focus on providing maximum enjoyment for tourists thereby maximizing profit, however it is the elephants’ social needs and natural foraging behaviour that bear the cost. GVI continues to forge sustainable, ethical alternatives to current management practices and increase the odds of survival for the Asian elephant.

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