When we set out around the world, one of the things we wanted to do was some kind of volunteer work. As odd as it seems, volunteering in other countries can be a difficult task. There are laws regarding visas. There are gigs where a minimum time limit (weeks or months) or training may be needed. It's rarely as easy as just showing up and doing some work. Aside from the reasons above, we also have some guidelines ourselves. We want to make sure we are benefitting the community we are working in and that we’re not taking a job for which a local could get paid. Taking all that into account, we were happy to find the Elephant Valley Project in the jungles of Mondulkiri, Cambodia.
We initially read about the project in our Lonely Planet guide and did some follow-up research on the interwebs. There were some conflicting reports about the project online but we decided that enough of it sounded legit that we booked the two of us for two nights, three days. We made the booking sort of last minute so we were kind of lucky that we got in and the timing worked out. All it required was traveling across Cambodia for 14 straight hours in a few vans and tuk-tuks.
We left Siem Reap at dawn and finally arrived in Sen Monoram, the town near the project, at around 8:30 at night. The worst part of it was sitting in traffic in the back of a van without air conditioning during the hottest part of the day in Phnom Penh for about an hour as we were shuttled across town to a place right near where we first arrived. It was shit. But I digress.
This picture actually makes it look expansive. I was crushed into a poorly made seat between two people.
We were warned in an email from the Project to be wary of people in town who would tell us about the terrible work that the EVP is doing. Over the 10 year life of the project, some local “competition” had cropped up so there has been a bit of a misinformation campaign. From what we heard, these competitors were not the type of Ecotourism companies we wanted to be involved with (one company let's you swim with the elephants per their brochure). I can't say with any certainty anything about them because we didn't experience their offerings but I'm confident we made the correct choice.
We had no such encounters in town as we waited for our transport to the valley, except from an angry, ex-EVP partner kiwi guy but I think he was just a disgruntled employee type. After that brief exchange, we were off to the Elephant Valley.
Waiting at Hefalump Cafe, the office/greeting area for the EVP. The cake and coffee was good.
The entrance to the Project. I think that sign had been recently completed by volunteers.
Our guide for the day was John, a young American who had been with EVP for several months. When we arrived, he gave us a rundown of our itinerary and unfolded the history and intentions of the whole Elephant Valley Project. His enthusiasm for and knowledge of the project was immediately apparent and any doubts we had about the project were put to rest.
There are only about 77 elephants in captivity in Cambodia. Jack started the EVP to create a space where overworked elephants could retire, be safe and healthy, and just live like elephants. This means stomping around the jungle, bathing in streams, and eating a crap ton of food for, like, 18 hours a day. A large amount of land was acquired and the first steps were taken towards acquiring elephants.
In Cambodia, elephants are used for labor or entertainment (AKA giving people rides). As tractors and motorbikes became more accessible for the people in Cambodia, the usefulness of elephants as workers diminished. So the EVP worked out deals with elephant owners to either pay for them outright or “lease” their elephants from them for a period of 10 years but with the intention that they would never leave the program. So far, they have 9 elephants in the valley, eight females and one male.
OMG, elephants!!!
Elephant trunks are amazing. That little appendage is like a finger and is quite nimble.
The EVP wanted to make sure their efforts would positively impact the area so they have worked mostly with the indigenous Bunong people to create the sanctuary. Most of the mahouts - elephant handlers and caretakers - are Bunong and they employ about 39 other Bunong as staff to run and maintain the base camp. Base camp consists of many buildings spread out on a hillside and includes kitchen, dining, relaxation, and bathroom facilities as well as housing for some staff and the volunteers. Along with supplying a few local jobs, the Project has worked with the locals to help secure land rights, get medical coverage, and start a scholarship fund for the kids. They've also had initiatives to get kids signed up for school in the area. Again, we felt this was a good place for our money and time to be going.
While the elephants eat, the mahouts take some time to continue learning English.
Bunong workers replace the thatching on one of the base camp buildings. The thatching is locally sourced and the replacement must be done once every two years or so.
The first day we spent in the valley was all about elephant watching. We met the first group of three as they wandered down for their morning baths. Since all of the elephants had been in captivity for their whole lives, none of them know how to bathe themselves. Just observing them is pretty fascinating. John was eager to tell us about each animal’s personality quirks and how you could really tell them apart by noises they make and the way they act, not just by how they look. We had plenty of time to just relax and watch the mahouts guide them into the bathing stream, pour buckets of water on them, and scrub them with large brushes. Two of three clearly enjoyed it but Ruby was pretty sullen throughout the entire process, as John said she would be. And you could tell immediately what he meant. Two of them rolled around and played but she just stood there with her head down waiting for the signal to get out of the water.
Rolling around in the water is fun! For some of them. They bathe nearly everyday to keep their skin healthy.
Ruby is not happy. The dirt that covers the elephants helps protect their skin, which is quite sensitive and can get sunburned.
Scrubbing them down is also a good way to get a good look at their skin to see if any insects have laid eggs on them. This is treated with a disinfectant spray.
An elephant's ears are indicative of their mood. Flappy is happy, we were told. Also, flapping their ears helps to keep them cool. They can cool themselves by 1 degree Celcius that way.
Post-bath group shot! Thanks for posing elephants.
This type of watching is what we did for most of the three days. There was no feeding them and definitely no riding them. We were asked to stay at least 6 meters away from them most of the time. The only exception was for the very famous Cambodian elephant Sambo. She was in Phnom Penh for nearly her entire life, getting pictures taken with tourists and giving rides in the heat of the city. Over time (like 30+ years of time) her feet wore down and she developed an infection in one. They couldn’t give her a break to let her heal, because they would lose income, so it continued to worsen. The Elephant Valley Project worked out a deal to ship Sambo and her mahout, who had been with her nearly her whole life, to the valley. Because of the state of her foot, she is the only elephant they have that did not walk to the sanctuary. They had to ship her there on a truck. Also, her foot requires special care even now, 18 months or so after getting to the valley. They give her iodine foot baths every day, twice a day, to help get the infection out and she is slowly getting better. She is the one elephant that we were allowed to briefly pet only because she is so used to human contact.
Sambo is happy absolutely destroying this bamboo grove. Notice her feet, which are not in great condition.
These are what healthy feet look like. They will often grab a branch and scrub in-between their toes to keep them nice and clean.
Spinal compression is evident here. This happens when they carry a riding basket or haul wood for too long and is one reason why elephants shouldn't be overworked.
The rest of our time there was spent working. You know, the volunteering part. Led by the guides and program managers and helped by several other volunteers, we took on several tasks including constructing a new outdoor shelter, creating a rock lined path to it, and finishing a chalkboard sign. My favorite was taking banana choppers and cutting down some banana trees that are specific to one elephant's diet. Then we threw them over our shoulders and hauled them down into the valley. This was rewarded by getting to see her happily chow down on them later in the day.
Watching Milot deftly grip a banana leaf and strip it in one, quick motion was fascinating. She chowed through our trees pretty quickly.
She tried to hide but I caught her post-bath dusting.
An elephant's eyesight is not great though their sense of smell is superb. Unsurprisingly, the focal point of their vision is at the end of their trunk so they can see what they are grabbing to eat.
Another plus of the project was meeting some other really great volunteers. One woman was just ending a two week visit and a few others had been there for a week. I felt lucky that we were able to be there for two nights as quite a few people only came through for a day and I think they really missed out on the rest of some fun experiences. They also missed out on several meals of some good, traditional Cambodian food and fresh fruit, especially the mango.
Our time there overlapped with the beginning of the Bunong New Year (our fourth New Year celebration of the year!). The volunteers, staff, and a bunch of villagers got together at the sanctuary and had a small celebration filled with dancing and games. And of course drinking. Our guide, John, may have imbibed more traditional Bunong rice wine than intended after being unable to navigate the tricky drinking rituals but he was fine. I think. Everyone had a good time though.
Teamwork makes the dream work! It also builds a new shelter. Here, Ben guides volunteers Elise from London, Annemieke from Amsterdam, and Liz from Australia. A truly international group.
The entry to the lounge that overlooks the valley.
These hammocks were used quite a bit fo napping and reading.
Time to party! It was dry and dusty and hot but nothing that games, beer, and dancing could't cure.
Time to play Smash the Money Filled Clay Elephant! Shockingly, no one was hurt.
Ben just ekes out the win in the finals of the Great Sack Race Championship of 2016.
This volunteering adventure was a little on the expensive side - $470 for 2 nights for 2 - but the breakdown of where the money goes makes it quite worthwhile. As it turns out, elephants can be expensive animals. Each elephant costs somewhere around $22,000 to procure and bring to the valley. Not only do they need a lot of land and food, they can get into trouble sometimes. One night, Easy Rider pulled down a tree that she was tied to and got into a local farm. She didn't eat all that much but dragging a 10 meter tree behind her destroyed the place. That type of thing requires compensation. Sambo's foot baths cost about $600 a month when she first arrived and she may require x-rays to find the extent of the problem. Anyone who has ever been to the hospital (in America) can tell you that x-rays are not cheap.
After our experience, I would definitely recommend anyone interested in animal rights or elephants or even just volunteering to check out the Elephant Valley Project. They are definitely a force for good in the region and there are a lot of good people working there.
Elephant butt.