Gibbon sanctuary volunteer travel, Thailand
| country: | Thailand |
| departures: | 2008: 3 Sep, 5 Nov, 3 Dec |
| price: | From £1310 (5 weeks) - £2240 (13 weeks) excluding flights. We can offer advice on flights from the UK. |
the amazing things you'll be doing
This Thai gibbon sanctuary is dedicated to the rescue, care and protection of injured/abused gibbons and other creatures in need.
Volunteers are required to assist with the day-to-day running of the sanctuary – feeding, cleaning enclosures, caring for the baby apes – as well as in the development of the sanctuary with opportunities to be involved in fundraising, developing an environmental education centre and outreach programmes. The sanctuary was established in 1991 and currently houses over 40 gibbons, as well as being a refuge for a number of other animals. Aside from the opportunity to live and work at a gibbon sanctuary, this project also allows volunteers to become fully involved in Thai culture, to learn some of the language and to have the opportunity to travel to other places in the ‘Land of Smiles’.
Volunteers who join this project can escape the fast and often saturated life of Bangkok, and immerse themselves in the indigenous Thai culture in the countryside near the Myanmar border and not far from the market town of Mae Sot.
No previous skills / qualifications are required in order to take part in this project. Volunteers need to be independent, enthusiastic and adaptable, and must have a sincere love for wildlife and the environment. Please be aware that the sanctuary is quite remote so you should be prepared to enjoy peaceful evenings in the Thai countryside.
Volunteers are required to assist with the day-to-day running of the sanctuary – feeding, cleaning enclosures, caring for the baby apes – as well as in the development of the sanctuary with opportunities to be involved in fundraising, developing an environmental education centre and outreach programmes. The sanctuary was established in 1991 and currently houses over 40 gibbons, as well as being a refuge for a number of other animals. Aside from the opportunity to live and work at a gibbon sanctuary, this project also allows volunteers to become fully involved in Thai culture, to learn some of the language and to have the opportunity to travel to other places in the ‘Land of Smiles’.
Volunteers who join this project can escape the fast and often saturated life of Bangkok, and immerse themselves in the indigenous Thai culture in the countryside near the Myanmar border and not far from the market town of Mae Sot.
No previous skills / qualifications are required in order to take part in this project. Volunteers need to be independent, enthusiastic and adaptable, and must have a sincere love for wildlife and the environment. Please be aware that the sanctuary is quite remote so you should be prepared to enjoy peaceful evenings in the Thai countryside.
a day in the life of a volunteer
Volunteers will stay in shared bedrooms in basic Thai style farm accommodation which has a bathroom with running (and hot!) water, and a small kitchen. Cleaning of the volunteer accommodation will be done on a rota basis. You can do your laundry on site. Three meals a day are provided for you and vegetarians can easily be catered for. There is no access to email / telephones on site, but both are available in the nearby town of Mae Sot (about 45 minutes drive by private car or 1 ½ hours by pubic transport). day-by-day itinerary
Upon arrival each volunteer will be given a full orientation in order to familiarize you with Thailand, the project you are joining and Thailand’s background, history and culture. This orientation will include:
| Day 1: | Arrival. Airport pick up. Adventure kit given to volunteer to include map, intro materials, project background, helpful numbers etc. |
| Day 2: | Project overview, orientation, questions and answers, slide show. |
| Day 3: | Bangkok Multi-transport Adventure – the in’s and out’s of Bangkok using every form of local transport. |
| Day 4-5: | Language and Culture workshops. |
| Day 6: | Arrival at project, on-site orientation and start of your placement... |
volunteer travel - what's it all about?
Are you are looking for an adventurous trip with a purpose, or on a gap year or career break? If you want to make a difference in some of the world’s most important conservation areas - and in community projects - then volunteer trips are for you! Volunteers tend to have a sense of adventure, and come from a range of different backgrounds and from all over the world. Edward Abbey said 'sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul'.
how this holiday makes a difference
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Founded by Pharanee (Thai) and William Deters (American), this gibbon sanctuary sprang to life in 1991 while building their dream retirement property and is now home to more than 40 gibbons from three different species, one sub-species and a slew of other monkeys, peacocks, geese and other creatures. The gibbon sanctuary is a lifetime refuge for abandoned, mistreated, and/or physically injured gibbons and other creatures in need, as once they are removed from their natural environments they quickly forget how to forge on their own and can never be returned to the wild.
 Gibbons come to the sanctuary along many different paths; some were kept as pets, others are from bars where they posed for photos with tourists and some from zoos, yet their need for special care and love is the same. After settling into their safe and secure surroundings at Highland Farm their health/happiness quickly improves and they can enjoy spending their days singing with the other `kids` as Pharanee calls her beloved gibbons. Highland Farm operates entirely on private funds and donations and continues to rescue and receive gibbons from government officials, monks, missionaries, bars and Thai citizens on a daily basis. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |