Thailand Wildlife Conservation Short - Term Internship

Kick start your career on this internship in Thailand's mountainous Chiang Mai region, where you will gain invaluable skills and experience to broaden your future career options. Teach English to community members, assist with biodiversity studies of the area including bird and reptile surveys, and contribute to monitoring the reintegration of elephants into the forest, which have been relieved from the tourism industry. Experience first hand the elephant's in their natural forest habitat and observe their eating choices and interactions. Discover the unique Thai culture and lush mountains in this Northern region of Thailand.
 
PROGRAM FOCUS
 
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.
 
LOCATION
 
GVI Chiang Mai is based in Huay Pakoot is a small Karen hill tribe village situated in a remote mountainous area, approximately five hours from Chiang Mai city center. The village offers a unique experience to volunteers, from getting to know the locals to spending hours in the forest, which is right on its doorstep. Currently there are about 400,000 Karen people living in Thailand, with roughly 400 living in Huay Pakoot. This close-knit farming community has been located in the same area for over 300 years.
 
 
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
 

• Living in rural Thailand;
• Help improve education levels and opportunities in the local Karen community
• Helping protect Thailand’s diverse environment;
• If staying 8 weeks or longer you will complete your Biological Survey Techniques training and qualification.
• Observe a semi wild herd of  elephants in their natural habitat;
• Meeting people from all over the world;
• Becoming immersed in several different program areas within the one location;
• Living within and learning about the fascinating Thai and Karen cultures;
• Earn your GVI ILM Leadership Development certificate, a qualification recognised by the Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM)
• Sampling the amazing Thai cuisine;
• Discovering Thailand’s idyllic beaches, ornate temples and beautiful rainforests in your spare time.

 
If applying for this program to obtain credit from an institution, GVI can supply learning outcomes and support in the application.
 
For more information, check out our video //https://youtu.be/OW8dYhZ5Oo8