Gain unique insight and become immersed in the culture of Thailand’s traditional elephant-keeping communities while contributing to this multi-focused program. The internship gives you the opportunity to gain work experience in three different aspects: elephant research, community development (teaching), and biodiversity.
The community development aspect will focus on teaching English to children at the local school, homestay families, and the elephant keepers (mahouts). You will also be involved in supporting community efforts to reduce their financial dependence on their elephants.
The biodiversity program involves surveying and identifying reptiles, mammals, insects and birds in the local area using different techniques. The elephant programme consists of leading elephant health checks, studying the behaviour of the herd, educating others about Asian elephants and reintegrating captive elephants into the protected forests.
The rotation between the different programs affords you a variety of experiences and the opportunity to get involved with the different aspects of the programs, while at the same time giving you a broad range of professional skills and experience for your future career. The internship encourages participants to develop their own ideas and introduce new aspects to help further their contribution to the conservation of an incredible species. Interns will be given specific leadership responsibilities as well a weekly assignments and evaluation from their mentors, who will monitor their progress throughout their stay at the hub.
After a successful internship, qualifying candidates may be given the opportunity to work for GVI or selected partner organisations in Thailand, or in other countries around t
