Read about my experience volunteering at an ethical refuge centre for elephants in Thailand.
I chose to volunteer for two weeks with The Mighty Roar at their elephant sanctuary in Thailand. I wanted to spend some time working closely with elephants as part of my time travelling around South-East Asia. After carrying out extensive research into ethical sanctuaries, I decided on The Mighty Roar, and I’m so glad that I did! My time there was amazing and it feels so rewarding to know that I have helped these animals in some way.
The pre-departure support from The Mighty Roar was excellent, and certainly took the stress out of my preparations. They provided lots of information on the programme and requirements, gave guidance on organising visas and booking travel insurance, and they were always quick to reply to any emails I sent. I felt very well prepared for the volunteer programme, which meant that it met all of my expectations.
"The whole programme was organised seamlessly from start to finish and I enjoyed every minute of my time there."
A free transfer service was provided, which picked me up from a hotel in Bangkok and drove me to the sanctuary - the journey was enjoyable and took around three hours. On arrival, I was greeted by the friendly staff, shown around the accommodation area, and introduced to the other volunteers.
At 29, I was worried I would be one of the oldest volunteers but I was pleasantly surprised that there was such a variety of people volunteering - all different ages, and from different backgrounds and countries. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly and I’ve left with many new friends from across the globe.
In terms of the volunteering, the project was split into different zones and every week a new rota would be handed out. This meant I got to work with different people each day, so I quickly got to know everyone on the programme. Daily volunteering activities involved feeding the elephants, cleaning out their enclosures, washing the elephants and also making ‘enrichments’ for them - these were puzzles/toys for them to solve and pull apart which had fruit hidden inside. Every other day or so there was also a ‘harvest day’, where we would go to a nearby field and help to harvest bananas trees for the elephants to eat. This was always lots of fun - we would have the music playing to help motivate us and we usually had time to go for a swim in the river on the way back.
The work could be quite hard in the heat and the hours were fairly long (6:30am - 5pm with breaks for breakfast and lunch) but honestly I had so much fun! The morale of the team, as well as the support from the amazing elephant coordinators, got me through each day with a smile on my face.
After my first week, I was also able to make requests for the following week’s rota, which I thought was a really nice touch (for example, I requested to have the same day off as my friends and to be put on my favourite zone).
Without doubt my favourite activity was taking some of the elephants on their daily walks. It was a great opportunity to get to know the elephants and I couldn’t believe how different they all were - they each have very different characteristics and personalities! My favourite was Boon Dee as she was very cheeky and stubborn, and definitely had a mind of her own. There were lots of stories about how she would misbehave on her walks. One day, as I was walking her, she decided to take herself off towards some nicely planted trees and tore one down!
During my free time, I would usually hang out with the other volunteers at the communal area known as ‘Elephant Kitchen’. Most evenings, there was a group of us who would walk the fifteen or so minutes to the nearby town, for a smoothie or ice cream or other general supplies from 7Eleven (a popular convenience store found across Asia). It was a lovely way to end the day and an opportunity to share stories about what we had been up to. The volunteering centre also organised weekly trips to the local mall and night market and these were a great experience.
I got one day off each week, and on both occasions I chose to spend it relaxing at the nearby lodge - it had a swimming pool, restaurant and gorgeous views of the elephants roaming in the field. It was the rest and recuperation I needed before another week of volunteering.
The accommodation on site was simple but had everything I needed. I shared a room with two other people - we had a shared bathroom but each had our own fan, side table and somewhere to hang our clothes. Breakfast, lunch and dinner was also provided each day. The food followed a set menu which would repeat each week - it was a mixture of Thai and Western food and was much tastier than I was initially expecting it to be. Every so often there would also be little treats like coconut ice cream, which we all got very excited about and it gave everyone a big boost!
I honestly couldn’t recommend The Mighty Roar more. The whole programme was organised seamlessly from start to finish and I enjoyed every minute of my time there. I’ve already recommended them to everyone I’ve met on my travels and I hope to be back there myself very soon too. Get yourself signed up now, you’ll not regret it.
