Local Karen communities have a long history of caring for elephants and consider them a part of their family. We established Kerchor Eco Elephant Park in cooperation with the local Karen community in Ban Sop Win, Chiang Mai province. The community was looking for a way to fund the care of their elephant family, which would not include any kind of exploitation by their gentle giants. They saw many other parks resort to offering elephant shows and riding, but that was not what they wanted. Together, we came up with a sustainable approach that includes elephant-friendly tourism. Our elephants get to spend the day doing what they love the most: eating, walking in the forest, playing, and bathing. On the other hand, our visitors get to learn about their daily activities, spend time with them, and help the community take care of them. There are strictly no shows, no performances, and no elephant riding at our park.

Donations and income from our operations go to the elephants and the local community, allowing them to care for their elephants, protect their habitat, ensure enough food for the elephants (they eat tonnes of food!), provide veterinary care, pay for rescue fees, and ensure the general welfare of the elephants as well as their human community.