Volunteering trip 2023

June 2023 - Chiang Mai, Thailand

Yet another trip to support the elephants, the people and the environment with a young family including a 4 year old child! We spent one week in the Northern part of Thailand, in the area around Chiang Mai working at Elephant Nature Park where 120 injured elephants roam free. The Park is getting more and more crowded ( with elephants! :)) and an important aspect in accomodating more animals is to have more space. We have been working on a newly aquired piece of land with bambu, mango and avocado planting. Bambu is a very interesting plant species: it is an highly fixing CO2 plant and at the same time it releases 35% more O2 compared with an equivalent tree mass. Last but not least bambu shoots and leaves are part of the elephant diet. In a second part of the project we have been planting tropical fruit trees as part of an Agroforestry project in Hauy Bong (Chiang Rai) aimed at transforming a rubber tree monoculture into a polyculture: a rich and equilibrated ecosystem where trees of different species and heights create a natural living space for the local fauna. Fruits are of course also part of the future income and food source for the locals. Throughout the trip we have been distributing clothes, glasses (THANKS to Avesyn Ögonklinik & Capio Medocular-Scanloc) and dental hygien articles (THANKS to Mjuka Händer).