Overview
Explore this beautiful country to its fullest as you immerse yourself into the local culture and scenery of the Andaman region and the beautiful forests of Northern Thailand. Contribute to valuable conservation projects and make a lasting impact during your time in the country.
In the stunning coastal province of Phang Nga, you will join a team committed to the conservation of the regions coastal and marine ecosystems. Your time on this project will give you a holistic and well-rounded insight into the conservation issues facing the regions and the measures GVI teams are taking in response. Besides hands-on conservation activities, you will also be promoting various environmental education initiatives and delivering English
programmes to the local community.
Please note our conservation efforts in this region are seasonal, so projects will vary throughout the course of the year.
While volunteering in the lush mountain forests of Chiang Mai, you will be working closely with local Mahouts (elephant keepers) as you assist with the rehabilitation of captive elephants back into their natural environment. During your time on the project, you will have the opportunity to learn about elephant history,
behaviour, training, biology, social kills and more, drawing on generations of tribal knowledge from the Mahouts.
Although both projects have different goals, both are committed to conserving the various ecosystems in Thailand for the continuous survival of the different species that call these regions home.
Highlights
Experience a unique adventure in this amazing South East Asia country; experience living and volunteering in Thailand; immerse yourself in the local culture; try exotic local dishes; participate in one of the many optional side trips on the weekends; explore beautiful coral reefs and limestone cliffs; get up close and personal with Thailand’s unique biodiversity; contribute to the long-term conservation of the endangered ecosystems; develop a well-rounded education on sustainable conservation, environmental conservation and community development; contribute to the rehabilitation of Asia’s endangered elephant and feel safe with the knowledge that you are making an important impact on the lives of these amazing creatures, the local community and the environment.
Program Details
Project Life
Phang Nga
Throughout your stay in Thailand, the various projects you participate in will very much depend on the needs on the ground and the time of the year. From November to March, you may be involved in sea turtle research and conservation. The rainy season of May to October sees more terrestrial and community work such as mangrove research and planting, biodiversity surveying in nearby National Parks and environmental education.
Volunteers may also have the chance to take part in various environmental education workshops with the local community. Projects can vary from environmental education with the general community, schools, hotels and tour operators to English language teaching.
Accommodation will be small but comfortable with shared facilities, with enough space for people to relax together or in private. If you would prefer to stay in private accommodation while in Thailand, this location does offer upgrades. Contact us for more information, or mention to your Country Expert who will be able to assist you.
Chiang Mai
Your elephant adventure in Chiang Mai begins when the sun rises, with early mornings and long days spent in the field. After breakfast the local mahouts will lead groups of volunteers and staff out to where the elephants have stayed overnight.
Occasionally you will the opportunity to assist with a quick but thorough health inspection of the elephants, providing a few minutes of close contact time. The rest of your hike will be spent following the elephants as they move through the forest, socialising and foraging. During our time observing the elephants, you may help collect data on their social interactions, what food sources they are utilising and survey forest biodiversity.
Afternoons will see you returning to base where you will have the opportunity to immerse yourself in the local community by helping to teach English, weave baskets, play football with the Mahouts and cook with your homestay family.
Weekends will be yours to relax, explore the nearby area or travel back to Chiang Mai for some sightseeing. Accommodation will be very basic, so you should be prepared to adapt and appreciate the living conditions that are sure to be very different from your home.
Project Details
Our aim in Phang Nga, Thailand is to better understand the effect of changing environmental climates in conjunction with the local communities. Our goal is to sustain the long-term conservation of the area and aid in the preservation of the natural environment.
The population of Asian elephants and their habitat is rapidly declining. With less than 1,000 left in the wild in Thailand, but around 3,000 in captivity, we are one of the few viable alternatives to the reality of their domesticated future within detrimental tourist camps. Your contribution to this project will help keep these elephants in protected forests and provide funding to keep the project running and offer alternative livelihoods to the local community. The goal of this project is to have semi-wild herds of elephants living, socialising and foraging in their natural habitat.
Please note, this is an ethical volunteer program and we do not partake in riding elephants, demonstrating unnatural skills, or interacting hands-on with the elephants more than necessary.
Chiang Mai and Phang Nga’s short, mid, and long-term objectives:
All of our programs have short, mid and long-term objectives that fit with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This enables us to report on our collaborative impact across the world in a streamlined manner, measuring which UN SDGs we are making a substantial contribution to. Furthermore, this will help our local partners and communities measure and visualize their contribution to the UN SDGs.
Upon arrival to base, you will be educated about the history of the UN SDGs. You will learn about the specific goals of your location, the long-, mid- and short-term objectives, and also clarification of how your personal, shorter-term involvement contributes to these goals on a global level.
Our aim is to educate you on local and global issues, so that you continue to act as active global citizens after your program, helping to fulfill our mission of building a global network of people united by their passion to make a difference.
Learn about the long-term objectives you will be contributing to:
In Chiang Mai:
1. Increase and promote elephant ethical treatment
2. Create a viable selfsustaing eco-tourism program for the village. As well as supporting a stable herd of elephants living naturally in the forested area of the village.
3. Improve standards of living and job opportunities for people in the Huay Pakoot village
4. Improve sustainable natural resource management in the Huay Pakoot area
In Phang Nga:
1. Increase awareness of local populations to environmental issues and facilitate change towards sustainability through scientific studies
2. To assist and develop local coastal conservation efforts through providing practical support to project partners, data collection, awareness raising and habitat restoration
How this project makes a difference
Your presence as a volunteer in Phang Nga will help protect some of the world’s most beautiful beaches and coral reef systems. By adopting a holistic conservation approach, we are educating the community on local environmental issues, dealing with the social and economic pressures that leading to the destruction of reefs, fish, coral and turtle populations and aim to end unsustainable food systems and development.
In Chiang Mai, elephants can be very expensive to care for, and are viewed as private property and a means of generating income for the local communities. The elephants are often forced into camps or street begging to make money through tourism in Thailand. The lack of viable alternatives for income from elephants is detrimental to their health and well-being.
As an unregulated industry, elephant tourism can be an ugly business. Elephants require a specific environment that provides them with social, mental, and physical stimulation to thrive. With a huge increase in the demand for tourist camps, elephants are deprived of their imperative self-medicating diet, migratory urges to move, complex social interactions, and brain stimulation, leading to shocking repercussions in the health of the elephant.
Our volunteer project aims to provide an alternative way for the elephants to bring in money for the local village while continuing to lead healthy lives that will ensure their long term conservation and survival.
*During national holidays and festival periods participants will have the opportunity to get involved with community celebrations and activities.
Our Ethics
Below is a list of core ethics and best practices we believe are essential to the operation of high quality, ethical volunteer and sustainable development programs. We believe that all responsible volunteer and sustainable development operations should focus upon these principles. If you are considering volunteering, these are some of the key considerations you should question, to ensure that your time and money contributes towards positive change.
Our 10 Ethical Commitments
Locally Driven, Collaborative Projects
We aim to design all our projects in collaboration with local organizations and communities and ensure that they are locally driven.
Clear Objectives & Sustainable Outcomes
We aim to clearly define short-, mid-, and long-term objectives with sustainable outcomes for all our projects.
Impact Reporting
We aim to track, record, and publish the impact of each of our projects.
Working Against Dependency
We aim to build in-country capacity by assisting local organizations in becoming self-sustaining.
Responsible Exit Strategies
For each local organization we work with, we aim to have a plan in place for withdrawing support responsibly.
Clear Roles & Specialized Training
We aim to ensure that ever participant is assigned a clear role and that they are fully trained and supported to carry out their work by specialized staff.
Respect for all
In all our actions we aim to respect the skills and efforts of all and seek to protect the rights, culture and dignity of everyone who engages with GVI.
Local Ownership
We work to ensure that credit for the results of any project, along with any data collected, research conduct, or Intellectual Property developed, remains the property of local organizations.
Transitioning from the Orphanage Model
We do not condone and aim to withdraw support of orphanages and residential care centers.
Child and Vulnerable adult policies
We will live by our Child Protection and Vulnerable Adult policies.
Continual Development
As an organization, GVI is committed to striving toward best practice, and to educating both our potential participants, our partners, and the world at large about them. Both the volunteering and sustainable development sectors are increasingly, and rightly, under scrutiny. Many recent local and global articles highlight poor practices and questionable ethics GVI is widely recognized for striving to apply global best practice in the volunteering, education and sustainable development sectors throughout our operations by reputable organizations such as ChildSafe.
However, global best practice is always evolving and we dedicate both time and resources to engage with internationally respected experts and learn from the latest research to ensure our programs both fulfil their potential to create maximum positive impact, and minimise their potential to create unintentional negative impact. Along with and as part of the sustainable development and volunteering community, we are constantly learning and applying this learning to practice. We do not always get everything right, but we seek feedback from our community members, partners, participants and our staff, and react accordingly. We know are already doing a great job, and feedback we have received confirms this, but we aim to do even better and are continuously refining our operations to improve upon our already excellent reputation.
What's Included
What's Not Included
Exploration
Volunteering with GVI not only allows you to participate on programs assisting disadvantaged communities or endangered ecosystems, but it also offers wonderful opportunities to travel in the local area in your down time or further afield, either before or after your program. Below is some information on trips and travel options in Thailand.
Included Side Trips
The location of our Chiang Mai base is remote. Leaving Chiang Mai city you embark on a 5 hour journey into the mountains. On the way, we pass through Doi Inthanon National Park (Thailand’s highest peak) and usually stop for a walk in one of the spectacular waterfalls.
Optional Side Trips
The Phang Nga province offers a myriad of amazing sites and scenery to discover! Explore the amazing Khao Sok National Park, including the stunning Cheow Larn Lake and 740km² of rainforest and which is home to elephants, leopards, tigers, deer, monkeys, lizards, birds, and the Rafflesia – the largest flowers in the world, 90cm across with a unique aroma… of rotting flesh! Take a day trip for a quick sample of the park’s delights or stay overnight and discover even more – perhaps in one of the jungle tree houses, or even on a bungalow that floats on the lake. Trek through the jungle, kayak around Cheow Larn lake visiting spectacular limestone caves, swim in idyllic waterfalls or just relax and see what you can spot!
Khao Lak is a very popular tourist spot close by, with beautiful, seemingly endless beaches, so many dining options you’ll be spoilt for choice and hundreds of spas offering massages and treatments at reasonable rates. With a wide range of accommodation options, from luxury resorts to hostels, Khao Lak offers you the chance to spoil yourself for a few days, whether you’re on a budget or looking to splurge a little.
The Similan and Surin Island groups, both under the protection of their Marine National Park status, are home to some of the best diving and snorkelling spots in the region. You can take a day trip, stay on a live aboard boat or even stay overnight on the islands themselves.
Phuket Island, about 90mins south of Khao Lak and renowned for its colourful nightlife is also a great stop-off for divers and snorkelers, but if you’re not the diving type you can explore Phang Nga Bay by speed-boat or sea kayak, stopping off at James Bond Island, made famous by the 1974 film ‘The Man With the Golden Gun’ before visiting the floating Sea Gypsy village. Phuket is also very popular with surfers, playing host to annual surfing competitions, though there is a great ‘secret spot’ near Khao Lak… if you’re interested GVI staff will show you the way!
Neighbouring Krabi Province is a treasure trove for intrepid travellers; from the crystal clear Emerald Pond to the epic 1,237-step climb up to the Buddha image and stunning views at the Tiger Temple Cave to the enchanted scenery and pools of Than Bok Khoranee National Park to the shopping and late night bars of Ao Nang to the chilled out beaches of Koh Lanta Island to the parties of Phi, where ‘The Beach’ was filmed – the options are truly endless!
While at the Chiang Mai base, there is ample time for you to plan side trips and organise transportation. These are not part of the program and are best taken as a weekend trip or as an activity before or after joining the program. We are always ready to assist, provide recommendations and up-to-date information. Locally, trips can be arranged to neighbouring villages and town like Mae Chaem and Mae Hong Son. These are great places to wind down, get a traditional Thai massage or explore the temples.
Though we are well off the main tourist route, opportunities exist, before or after the program, for you to go bamboo river rafting, rock climbing, visit Doi Inthanon National Park, relax at a local resort/spa, and take advantage of everything that the Chiang Mai Province has to offer!
Further Travelling Opportunities
Thailand is a country with a massive range of fantastic places that you could visit. If you have the time and budget, you could consider going to see the following; the waterfalls of the picturesque Khao Yai National Park, the local tribes of Nam Province, the beaches of Ko Tao and Mu Ko Chang Marine National Park, the golden kingdom of Ayuthaya, the temples and nightlife of Bangkok, just to name a few!
The Team
Molly Plexico
Country Director
Meet Molly, our hard working country director for both Thailand and Laos. Over seeing operations in two countries is no easy task but Molly is more than capable.
She started volunteering and travelling at a young age, working in soup kitchens, with AmeriCorps, at animal shelters, as a Big Sister with Big Brother Big Sisters of America and as a Guardian ad Litem. She studied family development and psychology and loves to dance.
Her goal is to visit one country for every year she is alive. The most unusual place she has travelled to is Uzbekistan, on a trip beginning in Europe and ending in Southeast Asia. This is where she fell in love with Laos which began her journey with GVI. She started working for GVI back in 2012 and she is now based in Thailand. GVI has hubs all around the world and she has been lucky enough to visit the hubs in Nepal, Thailand, Laos and the office in South Africa.
Kathryn Woodroffe
Conservation project coordinator
Meet Katie, our brilliant conservation project coordinator in Phang Nga, Thailand. She is experienced in environmental education, working within zoos and outreach programmes in the UK, teaching a huge range, from pre-school children through to university students.
From a young age she travelled to many unique and culturally diverse places with her family.
During her short term internship with GVI, at Jalova Biological Research Station, she developed and advanced her surveying, research and project development skills whilst working in one of the most biodiverse regions in the world.
Her must bring travel item is her trusty camera; "There is not a day that goes by where I don't encounter a moment that I want to capture, especially when exploring the worlds natural beauty."
Dora Szabados
Base Manager
Meet Dora, our insightful base manager in Phang Nga, Thailand. She has spent much of her life traveling, studying and volunteering all over the world. She grew up in China but felt the need to explore the world. She's lived in many different countries such as Egypt, Japan and the Phillippines,saying that she's not one to stay in one place for very long. She's also explored most of Europe an the west of the USA.
She has a BA in international relations focusing on the continents of Africa and Asia. She's also a certified, open water NAU diver.
Her favourite thing about working for GVI is how every day is different and how meeting so many new people has taught her so much about herself. She's a real life traveller and we're lucky to have her on board.
Shayle Havemann
Director of Programs
Meet Shayle, our innovative and driven director for all our projects around the world. She has two honours degrees, one in Industrial and Organisational Psycology, and another in Developmental and Education Psycology. Shayle also has over 10 years experience in setting up, managing and evaluating environmental and community programs across Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America.
She is well-practiced in facilitating meaningful and effective intercultural engagement and this makes her the perfect person for overseeing our operations in the multicultural country of South Africa.
When not attending meetings or planning her next endeavour, Shayle can be found spending time with her family or taking part in some or other exciting outdoors activity!
Caroline Van Der Does De Willebois
Service Learning Manager Thailand
A conservationist and adventurer at heart with a passion for sustainable development and marine conservation. Caroline has a Master's degree in International Development and past experience working with the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, educational marine conservation with the Marine Megafauna Foundation in Mozambique, and dive instructing in Thailand.
Caroline believes that GVI's combination of conservation and community development projects helps us to reach a true and sustainable impact in the field.
Her travels have taken her all over the world, but she is grateful to have returned to Thailand to join the GVI family and support and train others to have the best possible Service Learning experience!
Jill Walker
Assistant Director of Programs
Meet Jill, our Assistant Director of Programs and line manager for Thailand, Laos, India, Nepal, Australia and Kenya programs. ‘Manow’ (lime), as she’s locally known in Thailand where she's based, taught English, environmental education and art in the USA and Thailand before joining us to set up a TEFL and Community Development Expedition. “I haven’t looked back since!”
When Jill isn’t working, she likes reading or doing just about anything energetic. “I devour books, love cooking and enjoy finding some time to get some exercise – yoga, dancing and aerobics are some of my faves.”
What does Jill like most about her job? “It’s great to see volunteers rising above the cultural and language barriers between themselves and the communities. That, and every day is completely different, which is the way I like it- it keeps me from getting bored.” Being ‘allergic’ to being bored has led to Manow doing some pretty amazing things. “I once ended up spending a week living in a cave with some Buddhist monks while I helped them build a small adobe monk hut.”
