volunteer program
The Volunteer program was designed to cover all that one might want while volunteering in Thailand.
To start, we are situated 3 hours South of Bangkok in the picturesque coastal town of Hua Hin. Hua Hin has all the comforts of a big city in a small town. We have incredible tourists sites, forests and of course, lovely beaches. The infrastructure allows for strolls through the old part of town by day and for the more adventurous, we have a night-time bar district. Hua Hin has two big malls for the shoppers as well as authentic and touristy markets. For the golfer, this is paradise as we have a great selection of courses. The volunteer program will also cover more highlights for a working holiday experience. You will be able to take care of your body, mind and spirit while volunteering your time working with our elephant family.
The most hands-on program available in Thailand
Our elephant family consists of only five elephants, for this reason we will only bring on six volunteers at a time. This will allow you to spend most of your time building personal relationships with our elephant family. When you are not actively busy with the elephants you will be:
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cleaning their enclosures,
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preparing their food and water,
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taking them on walks,
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giving them their bath and
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even giving them their occasional foot scrub.
This will be done on a buddy system with our local volunteers. We will have a rotation system with a daily task list. We will set up schedules to assure that all the daily tasks are covered and to give you an opportunity to participate in all the tasks at the foundation.
Thai language and culture
We will teach you the basics for greetings and cover much needed vocabulary to navigate your dining experience. One of our activities will be to give you the names of ingredients for a Thai dish. You will then go and buy these ingredients at our authentic, local, Thai market. The next day we will do a cooking class for that Thai dish using the ingredients you bought. Our volunteer accommodation is situated immediately adjacent to the foundation. Here we cover yet another major tourist interest. Muay Thai or Thai kickboxing. Your program will include 10 hours of training with the option to buy more hours should you wish. If you are not up for Muay Thai, there is a full gym for you to enjoy. Yes, there is also a pool on site for a splash on those hot Thai afternoons. Religion is a very big topic in Thailand. Buddhism is widely and during your orientation we will take you to a Thai temple for a blessing by a monk. If you feel that this will clash with your religious beliefs, you may opt out. Please know that Buddhism is not so much a religion as it is a lifestyle. No matter what your faith, Buddhists are welcoming to all.
Educational talks
When you are not busy with the above, you will be participating in education talks. These talks will be done onsite and at schools and an orphanage. Part of your program will include a tutorial on how to teach at a Thai school. You will be guided in lesson planning by our onsite trainer. We will arrange for you to go and teach at a local school and orphanage.
Accommodation
What to expect...
There will be ample time during your program to visit different sites and we will arrange transportation should you wish to explore. As you can see our program caters for all that want to genuinely experience a working holiday while at the same time making an incredible difference in the lives of our elephant family. We are transparent and can assure you that your fee minus expenses will be used for which ever project we are currently busy with. Our immediate need is more land. There is a lovely property next to the foundation that we would like to purchase. The reason we want to purchase this land is to allow our elephant family to be able to roam freely. Next up we want to build a pool and a mud bath. At Hutsadin Elephant Foundation you are assured to have a direct impact on our elephant family while taking care of your body mind and spirit.