Changing Our Ways
When we established the Thai Elephant Home in 2005, we did so in the belief that the old ways of working with elephants were not sustainable nor desirable. Elephant camps were selling short tours riding on a chair on the back of an elephant and the market was engaged in a race to the bottom on both prices and quality. This left hundreds of elephants overworked and thousands of tourists with unfulfilling experiences. Furthermore, all these elephants were having a serious impact on the local environment, grazing elephants were destroying local community forests.
Our Founders
The founders of the Thai Elephant Home, Nayok Satiyen and Joe wanted to provide a different experience, one where customers could really connect with the elephants and learn about the lifestyles of the community and where elephants were treated as members of the family to be respected and cared for with love. With this in mind they started the Thai Elephant Home in 2005. Since then they have focused on providing a holistic, sustainable program, that looks after both the elephants and the visitors.
Investing in Good Causes
Furthermore, profits are reinvested in reforesting and restoring local land degraded by tourism and increased development. Thai Elephant Home works in partnership with ProWorld Thailand to restore and maintain more than 80 acres of local forest and this area is growing all the time.
Thai Elephant Home also hosts a year Mahout training program for mahouts throughout the area to learn how to better look after their elephants.
We also provides temporary shelter to Elephants and owners who are out of work, sick or pregnant. Providing a safe habor for these animals and these owners while they get back on their feet.
Thai Elephant Home also provides opportunities for young rural hill tribe students to go to university in Chiang Mai while living and working here. We believe in investing in our community members who will in turn be able to give back using their educations.
To Donate or Learn More: Read more about how you can help with our special projects here.
