EAI Volunteer Program 2015 – COMPLETED
Build Chain-free Corrals in Nepal~Unshackle 32 Elephants
A life-changing experience—for you and the elephants!
Project overview
Elephant Aid International’s (EAI) Free the Elephants Volunteer Project is the perfect opportunity for you to get involved with a truly groundbreaking project that will forever change the way in which Nepal’s working elephants are housed, treated and managed.
As a participant, you’ll join a team of hard-working volunteers whose mission it is to successfully complete Phase Two of EAI’s “Chain Free Means Pain Free” Project in Nepal—building chain-free corrals in Chitwan National Park and releasing 32 elephants from leg chains…forever!
You’ll work in concert with EAI Founder and President Carol Buckley. Best of all, you’ll have the opportunity to witness first-hand as the elephants experience their first joyous moments of freedom from leg chains—an event you’ll help create and one you’ll never forget!
Host Nonprofit: Elephant Aid International (EAI) is a US-based nonprofit organization founded by Carol Buckley, an internationally recognized expert in captive elephant welfare.
Location: Sauraha/Chitwan National Park, Chitwan, Nepal
Mission: Build chain-free corrals, free 32 elephants from leg chains…forever!
Duration: 15 days (minimum)
Start Dates: Teams begin and end on Wednesdays. Join one or all five teams!
Team #1: January 28 – February 11, 2015
Team #2: February 11 – February 25, 2015
Team #3: February 25 – March 11, 2015
Team #4: March 11 – March 25, 2015
Team #5: March 25 – April 8, 2015
Arrival Location: The village of Sauraha via Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal
Minimum age: 18
Program Capacity: Minimum of 4 – maximum of 10 volunteers per team
Program Cost (15 days): We offer two cost options to meet volunteers’ budget and accommodation preferences
Option 1: $1,300. Cost includes a program fee, which will directly support EAI’s chain-free corrals initiative, lodging and three meals per day at the Tree Tops Lodge, and a team t-shirt.
Click here for more details.
Option 2: $1,720. Cost includes a program fee, which will directly support EAI’s chain-free corrals initiative, lodging (including tax) and daily breakfast at the Sapana Village Lodge, and a team t-shirt.
Click here for more details.
Optional Adventure Excursion: $450. This is a very special opportunity to join EAI Founder/CEO and elephant expert Carol Buckley as her assistant on ‘elephant rounds’ in Chitwan National Park. You and one other volunteer will travel with Carol by jeep, on foot and/or by boat to a remote chain-free hattisar (elephant stable) inside the Park for an unforgettable adventure. Offered on a first come first served basis. Read more.
Why this project is so important
For Nepal’s working elephants, life in captivity is filled with pain, isolation and despair. Day after day, often with no shelter or vegetative cover from which to escape the sun’s burning rays, they stand for long hours shackled in heavy chains that prevent them from moving more than a few inches in any direction.
Often stuck standing in their own waste, their feet become deformed and painful from infected and necrotic tissue. They develop crippling bone and joint conditions and exhibit abnormal rocking, bobbing and swaying behaviors. Many die sick and broken.
But life does not have to be this way for Nepal’s working elephants. Change is possible and it’s happening now! We need your help.
In an unprecedented gesture of faith in a US-based nonprofit organization, Nepalese government officials invited Elephant Aid International (EAI) to create the country’s first-ever chain-free corrals at Chitwan National Park where 63 working elephants now live, shackled in painful leg chains. These elephants engage in anti-poaching patrols and are essential to the government’s ongoing conservation work to protect endangered tigers and rhinos.
To date, 31 chain-free corrals have been built and 31 elephants have been unshackled in Phase One of EAI’s “Chain Free Means Pain Free” Project.
Phase Two begins in January of 2015. Please join us!
About the project
As a participant, you’ll feel the importance, urgency and rewards of your hard work every day.
You’ll work in concert with EAI Founder and President Carol Buckley under the supervision and guidance of EAI’s Volunteer Coordinator who will live and work alongside you.
Depending on the stage of construction, you may be clearing fence lines, digging holes for support posts, hauling water, mixing concrete, grouting posts, and carrying concrete on your head like the local people do! You’ll install specialized, solar-powered electric fence, insulators and batteries, create protective topes for the supports… and much more.
Best of all, you’ll witness first-hand as the elephants experience their first joyous moments of freedom from leg chains—an event you’ll help to create and one you’ll never forget!
While this project does not involve direct interaction with elephants, they will be present at times during your work and you’ll have the opportunity to observe their daily care by their mahouts (elephant trainers) and foot-trimmings (pedicures) by Carol Buckley.
You will also have the opportunity to assist the mahouts with their evening chores—feeding the elephants, cleaning the corrals and making kuchi.
During your volunteer period, you’ll have the option to take a day off and explore the Park, Sauraha or nearby destinations during your program period.
Itinerary
Please note itineraries are subject to change and what follows is only a rough guideline.
Day 1: Arrive at Sauraha from Kathmandu (see travel details). Settle in and enjoy dinner at your lodge followed by an orientation meeting with EAI founder and director Carol Buckley, the Volunteer Coordinator, and other volunteers. Volunteers arriving earlier in the day are free to explore Sauraha.
Day 2 – 14: Begin work. You’ll start each day with a short walk, bike ride and/or boat ride to either the government hattisars in Sauraha or inside Chitwan National Park, or the government breeding center in Khorsor where you will be creating chain-free corrals for working elephants. Your daily work will vary depending on the stage of construction.
At the end of the day, you may choose to assist the mahouts with evening chores–feeding the elephants, cleaning the corrals and making kuchi.
You’ll have the option to take a day off and explore the Park, Sauraha, or nearby destinations on a Wednesday or Saturday during your program (days off for volunteers will be scheduled in ‘shifts’ to allow work to continue 7 days a week).
In the evening of day 14, we’ll celebrate your accomplishments during an evening get-together, sharing great conversation, lasting memories and endless pats on the back.
Day 15: Depart from Sauraha via tourist bus or taxi for your return flight home, or commence independent travel plans.
Important Information – FAQs
Want to learn more? Click here.
Join a Team!
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Have a Question?
Contact:
Leslie at [email protected]
Chantelle at [email protected]
Apply Now
What type of accommodations are offered at the Tree Tops Lodge?
You’ll stay with other volunteers at the Tree Tops Lodge, a modest guesthouse run by local villagers in the small tourist village of Sauraha. Sauraha is situated near the Rapti River and Chitwan National Park.
Tree Tops Lodge is a simple and clean, eight-room guesthouse that provides hot water, private baths and Western-style toilets, linens and access to WiFi (most of the time).
Three meals per day will be provided by the Tree Tops Lodge during your time here. Breakfast will typically consist of an omelette or porridge, whereas lunch and dinner will include the traditional dal bhat (rice and lentils) meal.
Single and double rooms are generally available, but not guaranteed; you may be sharing a room with another volunteer depending upon room availability. For those volunteers occupying a double room, there is a $45 program fee discount per person.
As a popular tourist destination near Chitwan National Park, Sauraha offers many exciting opportunities for jungle exploration, discovery, shopping and dining and is a perfect location for further travel before or after your volunteer work with EAI.
What type of accommodations are offered at the Sapana Village Lodge?
This is an upscale, yet modestly-priced lodging establishment with beautiful rooms and grounds and excellent food, located in a quiet area of Sauraha.
This option includes lodging, breakfast and taxes.
Lunch and dinner are not included in the program cost and must be purchased separately by volunteers staying here. Click here for more photos and information.
As a popular tourist destination near Chitwan National Park, Sauraha offers many exciting opportunities for jungle exploration, discovery, shopping and dining and is a perfect location for further travel before or after your volunteer work with EAI.
What is a working elephant?
In Nepal, all captive elephants work.
They provide elephant back safaris for tourists, patrol the national parks for poachers, and are used for conservation research and grass collection among other physically demanding tasks. These activities require elephants to work long hours in the sweltering heat, exposed to the glaring rays of the sun.
Presently there is no mandated retirement age for elephants.
How do I get to Sauraha?
You will need to book an international flight from your country of origin to Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. Plan to spend at least one night in a hotel in Kathmandu ($25-$50 USD or less).
From here, there are two ways to get to Sauraha.
By Tourist Bus
A bus company called Greenline offers daily bus service from Kathmandu to Sauraha/Chitwan, leaving at 7:30 am and arriving at 1:30 pm ($17).
Learn more and book online here.
By Airplane
To reach the village of Sauraha by airplane, you will need to book a flight to Bharatpur Airport. Your 15-minute flight from Tribhuvan International Airport (Kathmandu) to Bharatpur Airport may be booked in advance online with either Buddha Air or Yeti Air. Be sure to book your return flight as well.
Or, your flights can be booked by your hotel concierge when you are in Kathmandu (online booking in advance is strongly recommended to guarantee a seat).
Airfare cost is approximately $100 one-way.
Upon arriving in Bharatpur Airport you will take a 30-minute taxi ride Rs 10,000 ($12USD) to your guest house in Sauraha, where your volunteer program will officially begin.
How do I join a team?
Fill out the application form on our website. All applications will be acknowledged.
(Important Note: If you do not receive an email confirmation from EAI within 3 business days of submitting your form, please contact Leslie at [email protected] ).
Once your application is received, a brief phone or Skype interview will be conducted. You will be contacted by email to set up this interview, usually within a week of application.
After the phone interview, if accepted, you will receive a letter of acceptance and you will need to pay the full project fee (by check or wire transfer) to reserve your spot on your chosen team. Because EAI must make financial and logistical commitments to its project partners in Nepal well in advance, we are unable to issue a refund after payment.
Once you have paid your fee, you will receive our program waivers and a Volunteer Program Manual. This manual includes emergency information relating to Nepal, a comprehensive “What To Bring” list, and additional information on the program, the local community, and things to do before your trip.
You will also be invited to join a ‘Volunteers Only’ Facebook Group Page where you can get to know other volunteers before you depart and after you return!
EAI reserves the right to cancel any groups with fewer than 4 participants. You will be offered an alternative group date. If unable to accept, fees paid will be fully refunded.
