ElefantAsia

who we are

ElefantAsia is a registered non-profit initiative aimed at safeguarding the Asian elephant, an emblematic endangered species worldwide. We have been working in Laos, ‘the land of a million elephants', since 2001.

what we do

The Elephant Caravan: In 2002, ElefantAsia we organised an elephant caravan that travelled for 1,300 km across Laos to raise awareness of the plight facing the country's endangered wild elephants and to remind people of the elephant's place in cultural and religious traditions.  A book and a film have been produced.

Environmental Education: ElefantAsia conducts an ongoing awareness campaign, publishing teaching books and posters for schools, organising the annual Elephant Festival, running an Elephant Museum in Luang Prabang (opening March 2008) and making radio programmes about the conflicts between elephants and man.

Veterinary Care and Breeding Programme: In co-operation with the Lao National Animal Health Centre, ElefantAsia has organised a registration campaign and set up a Mobile Veterinary Clinic. This provides veterinary care across the country to working elephants suffering from injuries or sickness. However, the most important part of our work lies in promoting the breeding of these animals in order to maintain a healthy and sustainable population.

Economic Alternatives: ElefantAsia promotes economic alternatives for mahouts and their elephants, aiming to protect the animals from dangerous logging work and helping to retrain them for other tasks such as ecotourism. ElefantAsia is helping the mahouts to organise elephant treks in the forests of Hongsa, in northern Laos.