The ECC is an awesome facility but not for the faint of heart. There’s something to make you scream on a daily basis especially at night when you’re getting ready for bed. The flutter of wings by your ears or seeing something out of the corner of your eye usually means something you don’t want to see. In fact not wearing glasses is advised. Keep in mind that the cabins are rustic and open (lots of places for critters to get in) and you don’t dare close the windows or you’ll sweat to death as there’s no AC or Fans! Thank god for mosquito nets.

So what are we dealing with?

- daily ant infestations. These are random - on shoes, bathing suits, backpack, railing of cabin. One minute there seems to be a gazillion of them, the next min they’re gone. Black ants luckily as red ones bite.
- giant flying cockroaches
- massive beetles and spiders
- scorpions - discovered one while cleaning the elephant hospital
- geckos and lizards - don’t mind these at all
- mosquitoes, millipedes
- snakes
- praying mantis (that was cool)
- super friendly butterflies - they have no qualms about landing on people
- lots of weird noises

Despite our daily episodes of  terror we’re surviving.

Our view from our cabin

Our cabin

Praying Mantis

Who knows what this is but it's huge!

Ok, back to the important stuff. What are we doing as volunteers? 

Anything the center needs. They seem understaffed here so every little bit helps. There are only 5 of us volunteering (incl 2 kids). At one point most of the main staff left on other excursions leaving only the biologist and her intern. We’ve helped with:
- making wooden planters
- planting trees
- watering gardens
- cleaning elephant hospital
- making new challenges for the elephants at enrichment centre, observing how they do and making changes to structures as necessary
All of this may seem easy but there’s a definite lack of proper tools and materials which makes everything harder and take longer (especially with the first 3 items on the list).

Volunteers with guide

We made these planters

Making new toys for enrichment area

Collecting and preparing food for elephants - enrichment

More toys

Cleaning the elephant hospital

Naiya's favourite elephant (Thong Khoun) getting treated for infection at the hospital, also a female getting a check up

N was great helping with as much as she was  physically able but with the intense heat there were times when we thought it best for her to just chill. Dips in the bath-like lake helped. Hoping to continue to lend assistance to the Center in some capacity when I return home. Since I first started writing this post we’ve said goodbye to the elephants and are headed to Luang Prabang for a few days.

I will miss the ECC center, knowledgeable staff and guides, mahouts, the amazing meals, the lime soda drink that they make so well, the sound of the elephants coming closer, trumpeting during play and the elephants themselves of course. What I won’t miss is the bugs and intense heat with no reprieve. N and M are pretty wiped too. One thing to note it’s supposed to be rainy season but it hasn’t rained much at all since we’ve been in Laos.

Naiya with Annabelle, the biologist

3 year old female and 8 year old male playing at the socialization area

mom, baby, boy and aunt at socialization area

Hanging out at the enrichment area

Yes, that's sweat

More Canadians!

Resource Centre

UPDATE: now that we're back in Canada, when I ask M and N what's your favourite part of the trip? They both say the time spent at the ECC. Volunteering and feeling like you're a part of something.

Elephant Conservation Center - ECC

The main incentive for this entire SE Asia trip was to come to the Elephant Conservation Center in Sayaboury, 2.5 hrs south of Luang Prabang (transport involved driving and boat trip). During our travel to the Center we passed by some amazing terrain. Laos is so different from Vietnam. It feels relatively untouched (not destroyed by tourism).

Arrival to ECC

Our ride

Laos countryside

The ECC is home to 12 ECC owned elephants and 12 government owned elephants (rescued from some illegal export operation), on 530 hectares of forested land. Many of the elephants have come from the logging trade (use of elephants for logging is severely restricted now in Laos) or tourism. 6 months ago 5 elephants were released in one of the national parks in Sayabory in approx 188,000 hectares. It is part of a pilot project for a long term slow release program, and one that will hopefully extend to other elephants who have shown their readiness to be able to assimilate into the wild.
50% of elephants on Laos remain in captivity (likely working elephants not in good conditions)

So what does the ECC do here?

• educate the public on issues affecting elephants such as deforestation, man/elephant conflict, poaching, negative long term affects of tourism/logging
• work with mahouts - introducing the idea of soft training and positive reinforcements. Every elephant at the center has a mahout. Some came here with their elephants and others were hired to take care of the resident elephants at the ECC. This is necessary to ensure the safety of the elephants- if they wander into farmland and destroy crops that’s a problem, also there’s not enough forest to release all of the elephants nor have elephants in captivity learned to be properly socialized (as they are purposely segregated so humans can control them with ease) so they can’t be released until they are ready. Some will never be ready and will remain at the Center forever
• elephant hospital - provide free elephant veterinary care to any elephant. Provides encouragement for mahouts to bring in-their elephants for proper care.
• elephant breeding program
• socialization - captive elephants are segregated and therefore, do not know how to socialize. The ECC groups together elephants who get along to make a herd. These elephants come together in the elephant socialization area where they can be free to be themselves without mahout intervention. Socialization is critical for re-hearding and release program.
• enrichments - brain games for elephants. Those who have been in captivity have everything done for them. So enrichments force elephants to find their food which encourages thought and physical activity. Also encourages play for baby elephants

They do so much here. And everything they do is with purpose. Such a great and important facility. We’re here for 6 days volunteering and learning. Facilities are basic but it’s all about the elephants so we don’t mind.

Our cabin

Bridge leading to the bathing area

Restaurant, hanging with other Canadians

Collecting food for enrichment area

Fun elephant facts:

• elephants eat grasses, barks, leaves, roots, stem. We fed them lots of banana trees. They also like ice.
• elephants dust off their food before eating by hitting the food against themselves or against trees.
• elephant tusks grow back.
• some people believe elephant dung and urine has medicinal properties. One villager, collects elephant dung, dries it, fries it and makes tea out of it. The diabetes he had his whole life is gone after 3 months of consuming elephant tea and urine. One of the guide's daughters couldn't walk since birth. After a month of drinking elephant tea she can stand up and move a little with support.
• male elephants were used in the logging trade. Male elephants during musth can be dangerous. So in order to control captive male elephants in musth, a drug was administered. One of the male elephants at the ECC had no interest in procreation, and therefore not part of the breeding program. It was thought that this might be due to the effects of the drug that was administered when he was a working elephant in the logging trade.

Luang Prabang

We arrived in Luang Prabang Laos a few days ago. Flew from Hanoi. It’s a UNESCO world Heritage site.

One of the things we’ve missed in Asia is tuk tuks. Yes, I know they are environmental pigs but they’re so Asia. Upon our arrival in LP we were picked up in a tuk tuk. Naiyas first!

First tuk tuk ride ever

We haven’t really had time to experience much here yet. That will come later. But so far, we’ve discovered the following:

• Utopia - chill out bar restaurant which N and I love. Filled with bean bags, bolsters and couches. Sleeping at the restaurant is a-ok. Something N has done twice.

Utopia 

• LP appears to be the capital of smoothies. I’ve never seen so many smoothie stalls in my life. Haven’t had a chance to try yet.

Smoothies for as long as the eye can see

• weather- it’s slightly less humid here esp at night. We are still sweating profusely make no mistake about that but a little more bearable at night.
• English- there appear to be a lot of students here wanting to learn English so they are eager to engage with tourists to practice
• Beerlao is the common beer here
• first 2 nights stayed in an awesome guest house - Cold River - eco friendly and great attention to detail

Cold River Hotel

• we haven’t purchased one plastic water bottle since getting here. Yay for water bottle refills and for our $70 water bottles!
• discovered a fantastic family owned restaurant called Bamboo Garden. High ratings and very friendly owners who ended up sending us home with some sort of fruit.

Chef at Bamboo Garden. Lovely family restaurant.

• they have a fear factor tour here which involves eating gross food. No intention of doing it but saw some of the delicacies at the market (see 7th pic down)
• awesomely huge market every night

Pancakes!

Intestines and other gross stuff at night market