Volunteer Cambodia Elephant Forest Conservation
| Duration | 1 to 4 weeks |
| Hours | 5 days per week |
| Activities | Walking the elephants into the jungle. Feeding and bathing the elephants. Conservation of protected jungle. |
| Location | Real jungle experience, near small town. |
| Accommodation | Hill tribe style house with western interior. |
| Requirements | Aged 18+ |
| Start dates | Any Saturday arrival |
| Donation | From £500 / US$800 |
The Volunteer Elephant Forest Conservation Project is located in Mondulkiri province, Cambodia. The project is dedicated to helping the domestic elephant population and conserving their habitat.
Globalteer is UK registered charity providing volunteer placements working in conservation in Asia. The project primarily works with the tribal Bunong peoples to help them, help their elephants. The end goal is the improvement of the welfare and living conditions of the elephants and to provide a sustainable income for the Mahouts (elephant keepers) and their families.
The project intends to promote the development of a new legal classification of forest - "Elephant Forest" - forest that is primarily for the use of a village’s domestic elephants. These managed forests will be of a suitable area, contain enough foodstuffs, forest cover and sufficient water to cope with the needs of a village's domestic elephant population and give the elephants daily time away from human activity.
The project provides an alternative lifestyle for the domesticated working elephants closer to their natural living conditions in the forest. The elephant keepers are provided with an alternative income and the elephants are provided a sanctuary with veterinary care and no longer work long hours.
The Elephants of Cambodia
There are approximately 59 domestic elephants in Mondulkiri, roughly half of the Cambodian domestic elephant population. They are threatened by a broad array of factors that range from physical abuse and misuse to sale to neighbouring provinces and countries.
Elephants don’t belong in captivity, they belong in the wild. However when an elephant becomes a part of a peoples culture and belief system it causes just as many problems to remove it from that culture. A released elephant will have little fear of people and will start to raid crops endangering its life as people retaliate with guns and traps.
We don’t support the capture of wild elephants and the Bunong don’t support the breeding of elephants. Therefore the current domestic elephant population will probably be the last Mondulkiri has, the aim is to ensure that this last generation is able to live out its life with as much dignity as possible.
The wild population of elephants in Cambodia is hugely threatened by loss of habitat. The project protects an area of forest from destruction to ensure that the Bunong people, elephants and the huge variety of other creatures in the forest have a habitat for the future.
About the Elephants
The project has seven elephants at the moment, each with their own stories and personalities.
Genial (Gee Neowl - French for Great, Bunong for Ganesh)
Genial escaped her Mahout's control one day and innocently destroyed a farm. The mahout could not afford to pay the compensation to the farmer, so the project picked up the bill on the condition they could rehabilitate her from a working Elephant to a carefree Elephant. She is great friends with Easy Rider who looks out for Genial.
Easy Rider (Ride Easy in Khmer)
Easy Rider is easy to work with. Her Mahout was too busy to maintain Easy Rider's upkeep so he bought Easy to the project. After three days at the project, the scarred and nervous Easy Rider visibly relaxed and started behaving like a happy elephant again. Since she arrived she has changed ownership but her current owner is happy for her to stay.
Happy Lucky
Happy Lucky has a great sense of humour. She came to the project as a patient with abscesses, dehydration and mal nourishment. After careful treatment she regained her health and she is acting like a normal elephant again. (Watch out for Happy throwing soil onto you).
Buffet
Buffet was used for hunting and logging. She was also abused and traumatized. Since coming to the project she is quickly regaining her sense of freedom in the forest and remembering what it was like to be an elephant again. She is called Buffet because she eats everything - Buffet the banana slayer.
Milot
Milot came from a village where she was used to carry tourists and haul wood. Also heavily abused she is blind in one eye (you must always walk on her left) and covered in old scars and abscesses from her previous job. While she settled into the project quicker than most elephants she is still quite nervous and untrusting.
Onion
Is the youngest member of the herd and the most energetic. She is still showing the mental scars of her logging past but has made fast friends with Bob and is the best hope for having a baby elephant in the future. She is the only elephant who carries a chain as she can sometimes bolt rather far and fast. Her favourite food is a bananas, bananas and some more bananas.
Bob
Last but not least is Bob the only male member of the herd. Bob was rescued after he was found tied to a house, dehydrated and starving. It took months to calm him down and for safety reasons he is the only elephant with two mahouts. We have great hopes for the future with Bob and hope that he will one day father the first domestically bred elephant in Cambodia for fifty years.
The Location
The project is based near the town of Sen Monoron in Mondulkiri province, eastern Cambodia, near the border of Vietnam. The elephant forest conservation project is located a few kilometres from the town in a protected area of forest. This area of Cambodia is one of the least impacted by tourism and gives volunteers a unique insight into rural Cambodian life and the tribal Bunong people.
The location provides a safe area away from the villages to treat sick and injured elephants while providing a hands on approach to education and welfare improvement. The Elephant Valley is a series of interlaced rented farms that simulates the same environs that mahouts (elephant keepers) look after and care for their elephants while providing a large area of forest to allow elephants to escape human activity for the longest period of time possible.
The location includes:
• Rest and recuperation centre, elephant house and feeding ground.
• An active rice farm.
• Habitation of employees and villagers that live on site.
• Guesthouse and feeding ground.
• Schooling area.
• Volunteer accommodation.
Volunteer Schedule
Volunteers work a 5 day week. You will work closely with the Mahouts who always accompany the elephants. Each volunteer will be assigned their own elephant for the duration of their stay, unless volunteers are travelling as a couple.
A typical week:
Saturday: Meet and greet in Phnom Penh, overnight in guesthouse.
Sunday: Travel to the project by taxi through various small Cambodian villages.
Monday to Friday:
• Learning about the project and the elephants.
• Learning how to interact and control the elephant.
• Early morning walk to collect the elephants from their overnight location in the forest.
• Walking the elephants into the forest to forage and ensure that nobody encroaches on the protected land to illegally log the trees.
• Bathing and cleaning the elephants.
• Collecting rare orchids from recently logged areas before the land is burnt and the orchids are lost.
• Working with the local Bunong staff to improve the living conditions of the elephants.
For those staying at the project, Saturday and Sunday are free time which will be spent in the nearby town of Sen Monoron. This time can be used to further explore the forest and it’s amazing variety of creatures, explore the local markets and catch up on internet. Many waterfalls are close by some being amongst the largest in Cambodia.
For those leaving the project, Saturday is for transfer back to Phnom Penh.
Please be aware that this is a dynamic project and this is just an example of a typical week, volunteering duties may change slightly during your placement.
The Accommodation
The first night’s accommodation is in Phnom Penh on Saturday night where you will be able to meet other volunteers. The rooms are clean, comfortable with private bathroom. Air-con upgrade can be arranged locally.
At the project volunteers stay in large individual lodges constructed in the traditional Bunong style with high quality western interiors, including toilet and solar powered shower. Each lodge contains a large double bed with mosquito net provided, clothes storage, seating, mirror, laundry basket and bedside tables. The lodges are located on the slopes of the elephant valley affording stunning views over the surrounding forest where many varieties of birds can be seen from eagles to hornbills.
The main project buildings are made from mostly recycled and salvaged materials.
Three meals per day are provided for this project. The chef provides high quality local and international meals. Vegans can be accommodated and the variety and quality of food will suit all tastes. Volunteers dine in the main complex overlooking the elephant valley. Sunset can be spent unwinding at the bar in front of an open fire enjoying the amazing sounds of the nocturnal forest creatures and the gibbons calling as they prepare to sleep. Weekends are spent in the local town reconecting with the outside world where volunteers stay in a hotel with hot showers and cable TV.
Why We Need Volunteers
The elephants of Cambodia need help, there is little education on the care of domesticated elephants and few possibilities of veterinary assistance when required. The project provides vital jobs for the local population and care for their elephants. Modulkiri is being rapidly deforested and the project protects an area of "elephant forest" for the local population and the creatures that inhabit the area. The basic fact is - the more funding that can be raised, the more forest can be protected for the future.
The Elephant Valley Project is much about people as it is about elephants. Without secure employment for an elephants mahout, an elephant is essentially at risk. Only a few years ago there was enough forest in Mondulkiri for a mahout to just let his elephant wander around, with little more than a leg binding or a drag chain, but this is not the case anymore. A mahout now has to tend to his elephant regulary to stop damage to a neighbours crops or injury from a criminal or poacher. Without regular employment and income there is little incentive for proper and correct care in the modern Cambodia.
Increasingly we are seeing human/elephant conflict within the small local population. The Elephant Valley Project while young is a place where mahouts can go to work, earn and income and look after their elephants correctly. To pay for this we take you on as a volunteer and show you an amazing time letting you immerse yourself in the simple yet amazing daily routine of our elephants and mahouts. However after you leave, we are still here and thanks to your visit we can continue paying wages, buying rice and foodstuffs, fuel and bananas and letting our lovely elephants rest in forest that is dedicated solely to their use.
Required Donation
The required donation to the project is stated in UK £pounds and US $dollars.
Why is a donation required to volunteer?
| 1 week will be | £500 | $800 |
| 2 weeks will be | £815 | $1300 |
| 3 weeks will be | £1065 | $1700 |
| 4 weeks will be | £1250 | $2000 |
| Extra weeks | £190 | $300 |
The donation includes:
Airport pick up from Phnom Penh international airport.
First night accommodation in Phnom Penh and then at the beautifully styled volunteer houses at the project.
Sunday Transfer to the remote province of Mondulkiri.
All main meals except at weekends when volunteers are staying in the local town.
Training to interact and control your elephant.
Full in country support from the project staff.
Comprehensive information brochure.
Assistance and advise for travelling to Cambodia.
Saturday transfer back to Phnom Penh.
The donation does not include flights, visas or insurance although we can provide information as required.
More Information
Click on the links below for further reading…
Cambodia and project Fact File
Asian Elephant Information
Gallery
Contact us with any Questions
Application Process & Requirements
The minimum age for volunteers is 18 years old. No previous experience or qualifications are necessary but we do require volunteers to be respectful and open minded to the cultural differences they will encounter in Cambodia. Volunteers must be reasonably fit as the work can be demanding in the tropical heat. You must be able to speak English. Volunteers must have a similar ideology to the mission of the project, wildlife trainers and those who exploit wildlife for the benefit of people are not suitable for this project.
- Click on the link below to fill out an application form.
- Add "@globalteer.org" to your E-mail safe list to ensure that you receive a response.
- Your application will be reviewed and if accepted you will be notified via E-mail within one week.
- Pay your deposit to secure your placement within one week of acceptance.
- Research your destination, book your flight, inoculations and ask us any questions you may have.
- Full amount is to be paid 10 weeks before the start of your project.
- A comprehensive information folder will be sent to you with all information including a packing list, Cambodia cultural differences, Buddhist Monk etiquette, useful Khmer language phrases, project rules, useful phone contacts and full project information.