Elephant Valley Project in Cambodia is an Ethical and Great Volunteering Experience!
By: Jane Connor
Location: Mondulkiri, Cambodia (There’s also a location in Thailand)
Price: $450 per person for 5 days and 5 nights. $500 per person for private room
Elephant Valley Project is a small organization that works with the local community to give elephants as close to normal lives as possible. They are up front about how your money is used too. I spent a week at their place in Cambodia and would recommend it. I loved that the only interactions volunteers had with elephants were instigated by the elephants – this is truly a place where the animal’s needs are put above the volunteers wants.
Elephant Valley Project in Cambodia
Photo By: Jane Connor
In saying that, volunteers work for half a day and the other half a day is spent observing the elephants – it was a great way to spend a week and I learnt a lot. I was with a small group of people some who were there for six weeks and others like me who were there for only one.
The volunteering included gardening, building fences or other structures and giving the elephants health checks with the guides. Observing the elephants was the other half day – it was often like bushwalking with elephants.
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All of the volunteer work is supervised – and you’re not up front and center with the health checks – which aren’t detailed – you measure the elephants to ensure they are not losing condition and a couple of other things . You’re not doing anything a vet or something with a medical background should do. Our guide was a vet nurse, but not all guides are qualified in the same way.
Elephant Valley Project in Cambodia
Photo By: Jane Connor
I looked at a number of options and spoke to lots of people and in my opinion this was the place that the elephants were least likely to be impacted by my interest in them. I’ve described it as a retirement village for elephants to my friends.
The other really good thing about EVP is the relationships they have established with the local communities and that they will employ local people (apart from mahouts who are already bonded to the elephants).
Elephant Valley Project in Cambodia
Photo By: Jane Connor
Spending time here] is a brilliant way of supporting this organizations great work. I only went for a week and have great memories from my time there.