About Us

The history of domesticated elephants in Thailand is a long and complex one. Not all good but not all bad! However, when I first came to Thailand, witnessing elephants in the trekking industry being abused and injured was difficult to endure. But just as hard, was seeing their mahouts work long hours under exploitative conditions. The last straw for me was witnessing a mahout get killed by his elephant, a large male, because the animal was stressed.  I decided that if we were going to work in the tourism industry, in a country famous for its beautiful majestic elephants, helping humans alone was not enough – we must also work to improve the lives of elephants, especially those we regularly interacted with.

 The idea behind the Chai Lai Elephant Sanctuary was two-fold: to effect change in the way that elephant camps operate, and to empower the indigenous Karen families who care for elephants. In [date], twins Tiger and Charlie, indigenous Karen brothers from the mountain village of Mae Sapok (Chai Lai Orchid’s location) became our partners.

 In the beginning, it was difficult to get people to trust us with their elephants. Despite the twins’ renown as mahouts (their family has cared for elephants for generations), how could we possibly overcome the commonly held belief that all elephants worked or performed tricks to earn money for unscrupulous businesses, or convince the local community that tourists really would pay money to watch them simply being elephants?  The answers are really quite straightforward: in a country where elephants and humans have existed side by side for thousands of years, adopt a pragmatic approach to ethical elephant husbandry; treat the elephants in your care with genuine love and respect; and pay mahouts a decent living wage. In Tiger and Charlie, we believe we have the best partners! 

 During Covid 19 Thailand closed its borders. There were no tourists. The hospitality, and related industries, were devastated. Elephants quickly became homeless and hungry as many elephant ‘sanctuaries’ prioritized profit over the well-being and safety of the animals. Charlie and Tiger did exactly the opposite! They took in abandoned elephants and cared for them like family. Even with no tourism to contribute to the extremely high costs of providing for the elephants, Charlie and Tiger worked tirelessly, ensuring the elephants were well fed and cared for. We all invested a great deal of time and energy to get people to trust us, and thankfully, it has paid off!  Tiger and Charlie work incredibly hard to provide the best lives for the elephants – they are happy and healthy – and at the same time, uplift their village.

 When we started our social business, the only opportunity for local people was subsistence farming. Today, in a village of two hundred and fifty inhabitants, half of the families derive an income through the Chai Lai Orchid.  Men from the village are employed as guides, drivers and farmers to grow food for the elephants; Karen women work in our hotel, and sell their beautiful, traditional handwoven textiles through our Rise Up shop.