gvi thai elephants q report 113

Global Vision International 17-11-2011 Report Series No. 004

GVI Thailand

Domestic Thai Elephant Forest Habitation

Community of Huay Pakoot

Quarterly Report 004

July - September 2011

©GVI – Huay Pakoot Village, Chiang Mai, Thailand, July – September 2011 Page 1

GVI Thai Elephants Programme Report 004 Submitted in whole to:

GVI &

Josh Plotnik, Ph.D. Dept. of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge

Produced by Amy Quandt – GVI Thai Elephants Base Manager

Sateesh Venkatesh – GVI Thai Elephants Volunteer Leader

And

Talia Gale Intern Kevin Rutherford Volunteer Chelsea Sawyer Volunteer Alix Collins Intern Kelsey Durret Volunteer Helen Hon Volunteer Nathalie Stuckens Volunteer Ryan Mills Volunteer Jade Rigutto Volunteer Samantha Burton Volunteer Charlotte Landini Volunteer Emma Mitchell Volunteer Patrick Williamson-Hill Volunteer Ashley Louton Volunteer Anne Scholle Volunteer Lauren Simon Volunteer Sophy Brough Volunteer John Broadfoot Volunteer Laetitia Adkins Volunteer Leigh Broadfoot Volunteer Helen Price Volunteer Lauren Jones Volunteer Simon Rowland Volunteer Arijana Arpadzic Intern Louise Phuong Volunteer Lindsay Grant Intern Hayley Robinson Volunteer Dylan Jones Volunteer Hayley Goddard Volunteer Christian Pulham Volunteer Kara Robinson Volunteer Rebecca Bluett Volunteer Valentina Rutz Volunteer Jennifer Ball Volunteer Amy Healey Volunteer Adrianna Velez Volunteer Amy Symes-Thompson Volunteer Ashley Merbach Volunteer

�

Edited by

Jeff Smith – GVI SE Asia Projects Manager�

GVI Thai Elephants

Email: [email protected] Web page: http://www.gvi.co.uk and http://www.gviusa.com

mailto:[email protected]

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Executive Summary

This is the fourth quarterly report summarising the work being done on the GVI Thai

Elephant Project, which has been in operation since July 2010. The programme has

effectively allowed a herd of 5 domestic elephants to live in the forest. The programme has

maintained working relationships with local communities by providing both alternative

livelihoods for mahouts and home-stay families as well as English classes in the village. The

programme continues to work towards monitoring the social and physical health of this

elephant herd whilst working with the local community to increase the scope by involving

more elephants.

The following projects have been run during Phase 004:

• Elephant Forest Habitation Program

• General Biodiversity Survey in the Forests Surrounding Community of Huay Pakoot

• Alternative Livelihoods for Elephants, Mahouts and the Local Community

• Community Development and English lessons in Community of Huay Pakoot


Table of Contents

Executive Summary .................................................................................... 2

Table of Contents ....................................................................................................... 3

List of Tables ................................................................................................................... 4

1. Introduction ................................................................................................ 5

2. Domestic Thai Elephant Forest Habitation Programme .............. 6

2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 6

2.2 Aim .................................................................................................................... 6

2.3 Methodology ...................................................................................................... 6

2.3.1 Elephant Health Checks and ISRs .............................................................. 7

2.3.2 Elephant Food Field ..................................................................................... 8

2.3.3 Foraging Behaviour Study ........................................................................... 8

2.3.4 Elephant Biology Presentation ..................................................................... 8

2.3.5 Changes in Behavioural Data Collection .................................................... 9

2.3.6 Data Interpretation..................................................................................10

2.4 Results ............................................................................................................. .11

2.4.1 Elephant Management ...........................................................................11

2.4.2 Elephant Health Checks and ISRs ..........................................................12

2.4.3 Social and Foraging Behaviour Studies ...................................................12

2.4.4 General Biodiversity Study ....................................................................15

2.5 Discussion ........................................................................................................15

3. Alternative Livelihoods for Elephants and Mahouts, Community

Development and English Teaching .......................................................16

3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................16

3.2 Objectives ........................................................................................................17

3.3 Activities and Achievements ..............................................................................18

3.3.1 Cooking Classes .................................................................................18

3.3.2 Mahout Dinners ....................................................................................18

3.3.3. New Homestay Development ................................................................18

3.3.4. English Teaching at the Nursery ............................................................19

3.3.5. Karen Lessons for Volunteers ..............................................................19

3.4 Review ............................................................................................................19

4. References ................................................................................. 23


5. Appendices ................................................................................. 24

Appendix A. Existing Methodologies .....................................................................24

A.1 Elephant Management .....................................................................24

A.2 Social and Foraging Behaviour Studies ..............................................25

A.3 General Biodiversity Study ..................................................................26

A.4 Elephant Health Checks .....................................................................27

Appendix B. Elephant Health Check Form ..........................................................29

Appendix C. Sample Scan Sampling Data Sheet ..............................................30

Appendix D. Sample Continuous Sampling Data Sheet ..................................32

Appendix E. Sample Biodiversity Data Sheet .......................................................34

Appendix F. Continuing History of Achievements ..............................................35

F.1 Community development – generation of local businesses ..........35

F.2 Provision of free English classes in the local community ..........36

List of Tables and Figures

Table 1-1. GVI Forest Reintroduction Herd, March 2011 ................................................12

Table 2-2. Elephant Social Behaviour Continuously Sampled ........................................25

Figure 2-1. Proximity Data for Tong Dee during the month of September.................... 12

Figure 2-2. Proximity Data for Mana during the month of September............................... 12

Figure 2-3. Proximity Data for Boon Jan during the month of September......................... 12

Figure 2-4. Proximity Data for Bpee Mai during the month of September......................... 12


1. Introduction

The Domestic Thai Elephant Forest Habituation and Alternative Livelihoods Programme,

located in Huay Pakoot Village, Mae Chaem District, Chiang Mai Province, Thailand has

now completed its fourth period of operations.

The programme to date has assisted the local community in keeping the GVI herd of 5

elephants living in the forest, and is successfully monitoring the physical and social health of

the herd, and foraging habits of the elephants. Methodologies continue to be improved and

focused as experience is gained and improvement to data quality is continuous. Much credit

is due to Prof Josh Plotnik of Cambridge University for his continued assistance in

developing the programme’s elephant behaviour observation methodologies. Thanks is also

due to Dr Grishda of Elephant Vet Aid Outpost and John Roberts of Golden Triangle

Asian Elephant Foundation.

This program has profound implications for ethical and sustainable elephant management in

Asia, as it displays a reversal in trends of urbanization and mahouts seeking more extreme

and less natural circumstances for their elephants in search of livelihoods. Here we have

mahouts returning to their village and rekindling the traditional elephant management of the

past. A little known and unfortunate truth is that captive elephants are not sustainably

breeding under current mainstream management practices. Working elephants often find

themselves living in harsh conditions. By changing these circumstances, bringing the

elephants back into the forest, this project is keeping hope alive for the survival of this

incredible yet endangered species.


2. Domestic Thai Elephant Forest Habitation Programme

2.1 Introduction

Asian elephants (Elephasmaximus) are listed as threatened and endangered on the IUCN

Red List. In Thailand, typical of all Asian elephant range states, they are enduring a massive

population collapse. Despite the legal protection for wild elephants under Thai law, there are

is virtually no protection for the captive population. There could be less than 1000 wild and

about 3000 captive elephants left. With the status of the wild population widely unknown and

at risk, many experts now look to the larger captive population with hope for the survival of

this species.

Karen villagers have been keeping elephants for generations, but now in the modern context

they are very expensive to properly care for. Logging was their main occupation in recent

Thai history, until a ban was placed in 1989 due to intense deforestation. This led mahouts

to seek work in tourism. Elephant tourism is an unregulated industry and unfortunately in a

struggle to compete for tourist dollars, elephant care is sometimes neglected. Circus shows

push elephants to the limit with new tricks to attract tourists. Suffering perhaps the worst fate

are elephants brought to beg on city streets.

In the Karen village of Huay Pakoot there exists a tradition of bringing their elephants home

and releasing them in the forest to allow them to forage on natural vegetation. These

traditional mahouts understand such practice is good for their elephants’ health. This same

sentiment is echoed by Marshall (1949):

It is axiomatic that the nearer a captive animal’s living conditions can approximate to

those of its wild cousin the fitter it will be.

2.2 Aim

The GVI domestic Thai elephant forest habitation program aims to reintroduce elephants to

the forests surrounding the community of Huay Pakoot, under direction of the local

community, while providing for the livelihoods of mahouts, elephants, and members of the

community.

2.3 Methodology

It must be understood that for hundreds of years, generations of mahouts have been

releasing generations of elephants into the forests surrounding the community of Huay

Pakoot.� Mahouts and elephant owners understand this practice is beneficial to the


elephants’ health. This traditional practice of forest reintroduction typically lasts several days

to several months, but is not seen as permanent. The starting point for methodology thus

originates with traditional local elephant-keeping culture.

All forest walks with elephants are led by a GVI staff member who is responsible for data

collection by the volunteer team. They are to ensure accurate data is effectively being

collected, and the staff member reviews each data sheet with the recorders before signing

them. Unsigned forms are assumed to have poor data and are discarded. Later the data is

input to the GVI computer on base by the recorder, and this process is overseen by a

separate GVI staff member assigned to base duties that day. The base staff member

reviews the digital data and signs the corresponding data sheet, rejecting any data that

seems unclear or improperly input to the computer. This independent data review system is

followed for all studies on this programme whenever possible.

Detailed existing methodology is described in Appendix A: Existing Methodologies. New

activities and changes to methodologies are described in the following sections.

2.3.1 Elephant Health Checks and ISRs

Our current health checks have been revised and improved upon by intern Ella Trayte during

this quarter. She has added three new categories to the health check template: have old

wounds healed properly, do the eyes look irritated, and are the ears clean? These new

categories are combined with the existing categories to increase the thoroughness of the

health checks.

Additionally, Ella Trayte has added ISRs or Individual Specimen Records to the project in

order to better monitor all aspects of the elephants’ wellbeing. Each elephant has an ISR

notebook which is kept in the office in each elephant’s information folder. The ISR is

completed daily by volunteers and interns, with one person assigned to each elephant. The

ISR has 8 categories including appetite, faeces, social behaviour, enrichment, observations,

medical observations, other, and medications given. The volunteers write a daily entry in the

ISR notebook about any or all of these categories. The purpose is to capture more

qualitative data that is not included in neither the health checks nor the behaviour studies.

The ISRs have also been incorporated into the weekly data review sessions and volunteers

write a summary paragraph for each elephant based in trends seen in the ISRs, behaviour

studies, and health checks.


2.3.2 Elephant Food Field

Elephants naturally spend up to 18 hours a day foraging and eat up to 200 kg of food each

day. For a period of time after the health checks, the elephants reside near the village and

are tethered for their own safety, and must be provided food. Every Tuesday and Thursday

large amounts of tall elephant grass is cut from the sides of the road and driven by pick up

back to the village. To simplify this process and create our own supply of food an elephant

food field has been created below base hut. This field was started last quarter but this

quarter we have expanded the variety of plants in the elephant food field. We have also

planted banana and papaya trees to help supplement the elephants’ diet.

2.3.3. Foraging Behaviour Study

Talia Gale, who was a 3 month intern during this quarter, made significant contributions to

the foraging behaviour study over a 10 week period. Five days each week, during both data

collection and health check hikes, she collected samples of each of the plants visibly eaten

by the elephants over that 2 to 4 hour period. Using the mahouts’ traditional knowledge she

was able to identify the Karen name of each plant observed and the part of the plant that

was eaten. Two samples were collected from each plant, one to preserve and one for

identification. Samples were pressed with ninety five percent alcohol solution between two

pieces of cardboard separated by newspaper. The samples collected in the field along with

detailed pictures and descriptions were later used to confirm the identity of each plant using

multiple sources. The Karen name of the plant was then verified by the chief Pa Luang along

with the Thai name. This Thai name was additionally confirmed and typed out by both the

village monk Supa Kon and Ae from Free Spirit Travel. Samples were later brought to the

Herbariurm at Chiang Mai University where species have been identified by Dr J F Maxwell.

2.3.4. Elephant Biology Presentation

In order to increase the amount of elephant information in the volunteer program GVI

Volunteers and Interns, Ella Trayte, Louise Phoeng, and Lindsay Grant, created a

comprehensive elephant biology presentation. The presentation was based on information

from an elephant information book of Ella’s and the elephant journal articles available at

base hut. The presentation is being delivered to volunteers by Lindsay Grant on Monday

afternoons of the first week of volunteer program. The PowerPoint presentation and

information notes are saved on the base laptop.


2.3.5. Changes in Behavioural Data Collection

For this quarter some changes have been made to the method of data collection; the current

method of collection will be identified in this section.

Behavioural data is collected every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday during our 8 am

morning hike with the elephants. Data is not collected on the first Monday of every fortnight

to accommodate time for feeding. For each day that data is being collected volunteers are

paired up into groups with one observer and one recorder. Every observer dictates their

observations of their assigned elephant while the recorder fills in the data sheet verbatim.

Depending on volunteer numbers, one to three adult elephants are observed for these days

and on some days two groups may observe the same elephant. Interns are assigned to one

of the baby elephants each, and due to their greater experience and length of stay, both

observe and record for this elephant, without being paired for observation/recording.

Behavioural data collection is started at the beginning of each hike, after all the elephants

have begun to move off in one direction. At this time the start time is recorded and the stop

watch time recording the amount of observation time is started. Keeping in accordance with

previous methods of scan sampling, feeding and proximity data is recorded as an instance

every five min during the observation period. Feeding is defined as visual conformation of

plant material in the elephant’s mouth at the instance of sampling. If the elephant stops

during the instance or the observer is unable to see, an ‘X’ is recorded to note ‘Can't See’.

Feeding is recorded using the following codes: FL is feeding leaves, FB is feeding bark, FR

is feeding roots, FV is feeding vines and NF stands for not feeding.

M stands for Mahout and NM stands for No Mahout. The state of ‘Mahout’ is defined as, the

Mahout for that day is either on the elephant or controlling the movements of the elephant

from nearby. Depending on the various mahouts’ actions at any given time, some elephants

can be recorded as having a mahout while others are not. When there is No Mahout

proximity data is recorded to show which elephants are spending time with each other. If the

elephant is within 10m of another elephant it is considered to be within close proximity (CP)

with that elephant. If the elephant is Within Trunks (WT) it means that the elephant is about

its trunks distance on any sides from another elephant. If there is no elephant within close

proximity of the elephant then the elephant is seen as having No Proximity (NP) to the other

elephants. If the proximity of the elephant is not visible then it is marked Can’t See (X).


During observation periods All Occurrence data is also recorded to keep track of the social

interactions between the elephants. The All Occurrences that will be recorded have been

cited by Dr Plotnik as important social markers. All Occurrence data is recorded continuously

during the observation period. At the start of the period a stop watch is started which begins

the observation period and will be used to mark the time of the interaction over the period.

When an observation is made the recorder asks for the time and records the stopwatch time

at that occurrence.

The elephant which initiated or does the action is noted as the “actor” of the occurrence. For

example if Mana touches Bpee Mai’s mouth the Actor would be Mana. The elephant

receiving the interaction is recorded as the “recipient”. As with the pre-mentioned example,

Bpee Mai would be the Recipient. The codes for the elephant names are the same as those

used for scan sampling. The first code looked for is Trunk Touch to Head (TH), which is one

elephant using his trunk or the front part of his head to touch another elephants head. The

head is defined as anywhere from just behind the ears to the front of the forehead including

the trunk. Trunk Touch to Genitals (TG) is defined as one elephant using their trunk to touch

anywhere on the underbelly part of another in the area between the legs. Nursing (NS) is

recorded when a baby is suckling from the mother and it can be seen that they have their

mouth actually touching the mother. The length of time of nursing is recorded unless it is too

short to be determined. When a baby is nursing from the mother it is recorded as the mother

being the actor nursing the baby the recipient. Both Urination (UR) and Defecation (DE) are

recorded for each elephant at the time they occur. For Defecation the number of blouses is

recorded.

2.3.6 Data Interpretation

In order to visualize the data collected, graphs have been created showing the proximity of

each of the elephants to the others. Each of the graphs represents the amount of time spent

within close proximity and within trunk’s reach, recorded during the scan samplings. The

proximity data is only recorded when the elephants are not being controlled by the mahouts

because at that time they have no choice who they spend time with. For each instance of

Within Trunks Reach (WT) for the elephant one point was recorded to the graph for the

elephant they were near. For each instance of Within Close Proximity (CP) one point is given

to the elephant they are near and one additional point is also given because they are also

within trunk’s reach. If the elephant has No Proximity (NP) to the other elephants then no

points are recorded. In order to calculate the percentage of time spent near each other

elephant a total number of observed social interactions needs to be calculated. In order to do


this each instance of WT and CP along with each NP is added together. If it was marked as

Cannot See (X) then it is not counted in the total of observed interactions. From this total the

percentage of observed social time for WT and CP is calculated.

These points make up a Radar graph created using Microsoft Excel. This graph shows the

amount of time spent with the other elephants by creating a triangular shape that represents

the present age of time spent with the elephant. Thus far only graphs for the September

proximity data have been graphed and can be seen in Results section, below. These graphs

will be shown during the first weekly data session with new volunteers and at the end of

each month. To further show volunteers the information gained from the data collected more

graphs will be made to represent Feeding and All Occurrences.

2.4 Results

2.4.1 Elephant Management

The project continues to host 5 elephants supported directly and independently by GVI, to

live out their days in the forest. The current GVI Forest Reintroduction herd is listed in Table

1.1, below.

Elephant’s Name Approximate Age Sex Ma Na 38 yrs F Pee Mai 3.7 yrs M Boon Jan 18 yrs F Song Kran 1.6 yrs M Tong Dee 54 yrs F

Table 1-1. GVI Forest Habitation Herd, September 2011

Many elephant owners have expressed interest in joining our forest program, which indicates

successful recruitment of elephant owners and promotion of alternatives to mainstream

elephant management. The project continues to seek additional partners and funding

sources to increase support for alternative elephant management by members of the

community. During this quarterly period the chief has kept one new elephant mother and her

calf in the forest and community, and is welcoming eco-tourists to visit and fund that

elephant’s care.


2.4.2 Elephant Health Checks and ISRs

During this 3 month period volunteers have made 28 health checks, successfully monitoring

the health of the GVI herd. Health Check Forms are collected and stored on base and

organized in log books for each elephant.

2.4.3 Social and Foraging Behavioural Studies

The programme has successfully studied the foraging and social behaviour of the herd,

following the methodology explained with this report. All quantitative data is presented to Dr

Plotnik along with this report.

The following figures represent proximity data gathered during hikes in the forest with the

elephants, and can be used to indicate how each elephant choose to associate with other

members of the herd. These figures are based on observations during Sept 2011.

Figure 2-1. Proximity Data for Tong Dee during the month of September

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

Song Kran

Boon Jan

Mana

Bpee Mai

Tong Dee

CP (SK)

WT (SK)

©GVI – Huay Pakoot Village, Chiang Mai, Thailand, July

Figure 2-2. Proximity Data for Mana during the month of September

Figure 2-3. Proximity Data for Boon Jan

Figure 2-4. Proximity Data for Bpee Mai during the month of September

0%10%20%30%40%50%

Song Kran

Boon Jan

Bpee Mai

Mana

0%20%40%60%80%

100%

Song Kran

Mana

Bpee Mai

Boon Jan

0%20%40%60%80%

100%

Song Kran

Mana

Boon Jan

Bpee Mai

Huay Pakoot Village, Chiang Mai, Thailand, July – September 2011

2. Proximity Data for Mana during the month of September

3. Proximity Data for Boon Jan during the month of September

4. Proximity Data for Bpee Mai during the month of September

Tong Dee

CPWT

Tong Dee

CP_BJWT_BJ

Tong Dee

CP_PM

WT_PM

Page 13


GVI volunteers and staff were able to observe a bulk of qualitative social data within the

forming elephant herd. There have been several instances of trunk touching, vocalization,

and other social activities amongst the elephants. Any social activity at this point is being

taken as a good sign, as these elephants had not been part of natural social units before

entry to the programme in 2010, due to a differences in elephant management strategies in

their previous lines of work. Very little social conflict has been observed. The infants, Bpee

Mai and Song Kran, have showed significant social development this quarter and are

socializing and wandering away from their mothers more than ever. On more than one

instance the entire herd was seen to display social behaviour as a group, such as squeaking

and trunk touching in close proximity to each other.

The foraging study has yielded exciting results during this quarter thanks to the hard work of

intern Talia Gale. During this period, 65 different plants have been identified with help from

mahouts, the village chief, and the village monk. Of these 65 plant samples, 53 species were

identified by Professor J Maxwell of the Chiang Mai University Herberarium. A compendium

of these plants along with descriptions and pictures are held on base and will be added to as

more species are identified. This study will be continued by intern Lindsay Grant in order to

collect more plant samples and continue with developing educational materials for

volunteers about elephant foraging behaviour. A complete species list of edible elephant

plants yielded by this study will be shared with the elephant management community at a

future date.

2.4.4 General Biodiversity Study

Many species have been documented. All biodiversity photos to date have been compiled

into logical categories and photos continue to be collected on field hikes.

2.5 Discussion

The fourth phase of this project has enabled the community of Huay Pakoot to continue their

domestic elephant forest habitation programme in and around the community, by providing

basic funding and hands-on support. Throughout this period, 5 elephants have participated

in the programme directly supported by GVI, and one new mother and calf are taking a

break from working in tourist camps. GVI staff and volunteers have been able to support the

mahouts providing basic care by conducting health checks and feeding the elephants. The

studies, although continuously developing, indicate the elephants are showing some social

and foraging behaviour as expected of natural social groups.


Participation by elephant owners is stable and the potential to recruit more elephants and

owners is high. It is the intention that over the long term other funding sources will be found

to support the existing herd of 5, and perhaps more importantly, to increase the size of the

GVI forest habitation herd by bringing more elephants back from working camps. The

programme must find more diverse funding sources beyond just volunteer fees to increase

sustainability and to responsibly plan for the long term wellbeing of this herd. A fundraising

plan should be organized to bring donor funds to the project. A working relationship with

Free Spirit Travel, a licensed tour operator based in Chiang Mai City is being developed in

an attempt to encourage ethical eco-tourism as additional funding to elephants outside the

GVI herd. In the next phase this project will continue to develop relationships with additional

partners and seek additional funding sources.


3. Alternative Livelihoods for Elephants and Mahouts, Community

Development and English Teaching

3.1 Introduction

After a logging ban in 1989, most elephants and mahouts in Thailand found themselves out

of work and struggling to support themselves. Many have now sought work in tourist camps.

These camps typically involve a combination of elephant rides and circus shows. The

methods used to train elephants are often painful and the shows themselves can be

culturally demeaning. Taxi elephants giving rides wear heavy benches and carry tourists for

up to 6 hours a day. This can lead to serious back problems. Working also leaves little time

for calf rearing, mating or socialising with other elephants. Elephant tourism is an

unregulated and competitive industry. This has meant that the quality of life for elephants

and mahouts often suffers as a result. New tricks are introduced at different camps to attract

more business, which means additional and more complex training for the elephants.

“It is impossible to over emphasize the damage brought to elephants by the shortage

of well-paying, humane work.”

Richard Lair, United Nations Forestry and Agriculture Organization, 1997

The mahouts are entrusted with caring for this endangered species, but they are at the

bottom of the management chain in many camps. This means they often have little say as to

how the elephants are treated or the activities they endure. The mahouts themselves live for

many months away from their families and sometimes must go on working without being

paid. The village of Huay Pakoot is a traditional Karen community and very family orientated.

Young mahouts living far from home experience a number of social problems as a result.

GVI began providing alternative livelihoods for elephants and mahouts as of July 2010

through the domestic elephant forest habitation programme. By providing funding the project

has helped give alternative work to originally 8 elephants in the programme, and later to

solely and directly fund 5 elephants remaining in the programme. This means the elephants

and mahouts no longer have to work in tourist camps and are exploring alternative elephant

management practices. The elephants roam the forests surrounding the community and the

mahouts provide them with daily care. The mahouts’ role has shifted away from

entertainment and towards that of educators. The mahouts can live with their families in the

community and are also central to the running of the project. Their opinions about elephant

care and where elephants should roam is paramount to the programme.


A key focus of this programme is community development as the support of the community

is central to the success of our project. The community of Huay Pakoot is two hours from

Mae Hon Song, the nearest major tourist location and is largely unaffected by tourism. Many

of the villagers have had little or no interaction with foreign visitors, except mahouts who

work in tourist camps. GVI began bringing volunteers to the village in July 2010. Local

villagers are benefiting by opening their homes as home-stay lodgings for GVI personnel and

other visitors. They provide food and accommodation for the volunteers. This provides an

alternative income and also the opportunity to learn about other cultures. This project is

encouraging a number of new businesses to develop in the community, specifics of which

are provided in the following sections. Every week volunteers take part in a planned session

discussing ethical elephant activities, when they are encouraged to think of ways in which

the community could benefit from the project and alternative strategies for elephant’s to

ethically generate revenue. These ideas are passed on via several formal and informal

channels to eventually be discussed at the monthly community meetings hosted by the chief.

Mahouts and the Karen community in general have a low social status in Thailand.

Speaking English is one way to elevate this social status. It can also improve employment

opportunities. English lessons provided in Thai state schools are often underfunded and

struggle for sufficient personnel and resources. In a bid to gain the support of the local

community and show that volunteers are not just tourists but people who want to make a

difference, GVI began providing free English classes to villagers in July 2010. These were

firstly offered to one member of each home-stay family to enable them to be the point of

contact for volunteers staying in their homes, as well as the mahouts. The villagers seem to

appreciate English classes from a native English speaker.

3.2 Objectives

1. Provide alternative livelihoods for mahouts, elephants and the local community

2. Develop alternative strategies for mahouts and elephant owners themselves to

generate revenue related to elephant management

3. Build capacity in the local community to independently manage small businesses and

effectively secure additional revenue from tourism and GVI personnel as a result

4 Provide free English lessons to local partners and community members, aiming to

support their capacity building and also elevate social status associated with English fluency

in Thailand


3.3 Activities and Achievements

Continuous achievements which have been ongoing and unchanged since previous periods

of operation are described in Appendix F. Any changes to activities are described in detail in

the following sections.

3.3.1 Cooking Classes

At the beginning of this quarter the project began holding cooking classes with the homestay

families once every two weeks. The class is scheduled the first Wednesday of the volunteer

program at 5PM. Classes are arranged with assistance of GVI staff, although participation is

voluntary as an opt-in activity for a fee. To date, every GVI volunteer has chosen to

participate and classes typically require two different homestay houses to accommodate the

number of participants. Each homestay charges 30 baht per person for the extra food and

time they put into the lesson. Each homestay conducts the class differently, but typically they

have volunteers help cut and stir and observe how to cook traditional Thai and Karen food

including: mustatoe, green curry, fried eggplant, soups, fried pork, fried veggies, and/or

noodles. The cooking classes rotate to each homestay with Chat and/or Four as the main

organizers of this activity.

3.3.2. Mahout Dinners

In August the project began arranging dinners at the mahout’s houses every second

Wednesday of the volunteer program. These meals are provided as part of the GVI

volunteer programme at no additional fee to participants. This was started as a way to help

build stronger relationships between volunteers and mahouts, and to provide mahouts and

elephant owners with additional alternative livelihood. Fees for the meals are paid by GVI,

directly to the mahouts and their families. This activity has been very successful and is

enjoyed by both volunteers and mahouts alike.

3.3.3. New Homestay Development

During this quarter a new homestay was added to the current homestays list, originally

including: Ahree, Jaree, Daw, Chat, Four, and Root. Sumchai, who owns bottom shop and

was previously the owner of elephants Mana and Bpee Mai, has opened up a new

homestay. The homestay is a detached hut with private bathroom and is about 20 meters

uphill from his house. Adding new homestays will benefit the community by spreading the

income to more households, thus benefiting a greater percent of the community of Huay


Pakoot. Sumchai has decided to give ownership of his two elephants over to their mahouts,

Boonchu and Reerah respectively, and is using this new homestay as an alternative

livelihood.

3.3.4 English Teaching at the Nursery

GVI Intern, Alix Collins, has begun leading volunteers teaching English at the village nursery

school. The nursery school in Huay Pakoot is where children aged 3- to 5-years go during

the day so their parents can be free to work in the field and seek out livelihoods. English

classes at the nursery will help provide a foundation in English for the youth of Huay Pakoot.

English classes are being held every Tuesday morning at 10:15AM. Volunteers plan the

lessons on Monday nights for the following Tuesday. The lessons are basic and involve

games, flashcards, coloring/drawing, and singing/dancing. The lessons typically last an hour.

Alix has also put together a resource binder so that English lessons can continue at the

nursery after she has completed her internship.

3.3.5 Karen Lessons for Volunteers

At the request of volunteers, GVI staff began teaching Karen lessons every Monday

afternoon. The first Monday of the volunteer program the lesson includes greetings,

numbers, and other useful phrases to help volunteers communicate with villagers, mahouts,

and homestays. The second Monday of the volunteer program the lesson is more advanced

and directed by what the volunteers wish to learn. It typically involves teaching adjectives,

verbs, and sentences. Since the weekly Karen lessons started, volunteers have had more

success communicating with village members, which improves community involvement for

the project.

3.4 Review

During its fourth phase this project has achieved the following with regards to its community

development objectives:

Objective 1: Provide alternative livelihoods for mahouts, elephants and the local community

The project has created a number of business opportunities for the local community

including home-stays, laundry services, providing transport for volunteers, giving basket

weaving workshops, and selling traditional Karen products. There is a shop selling fruit

shakes and fresh coffee. The villagers produce many non timber products including


traditional Karen clothing and bags. These are very popular amongst volunteers and the

villagers are beginning to see potential business opportunities arise as a result. Specifically

this quarter GVI has created several new alternative livelihood opportunities including

cooking classes and mahout dinners.

The project aims to encourage the villagers to set up a local shop selling their produce which

could attract business from tourists passing through the area. There are three small shops in

the village which already benefit with business from GVI personnel. Business could be

expanded by selling more goods that are used on the project on a regular basis.

By bringing volunteers into the village the project has been successful in establishing

alternative livelihoods for mahouts, elephant owners and elephants. The funding provided by

volunteers has provided a different source of revenue other than from conventional means in

the elephant tourism industry. The project aims to maintain this during the next phase, and

also to expand funding sources and opportunities for elephant owners and mahouts. At this

stage there are many elephant owners eager to join the GVI forest habitation programme,

but funding from volunteer fees alone is limited and more sources are needed.

Objective 2: Develop alternative strategies for mahouts and elephant owners themselves to

generate revenue related to elephant management

During this phase the project has been successful in maintaining the support of the mahouts

and elephant owners. They continue to prove a willingness to try alternative elephant

management strategies. The project aims to develop further strategies in which the mahouts

and elephant owners can generate revenue related to elephant management. This could

include bringing more of their elephants into the Forest Habitation Programme, providing

transport so project personnel can cut grass for the elephants to eat or provide land on

which food can be grown for the elephants. Bridges are being built with Free Spirit Travel, a

licensed tour operator based in Chiang Mai, with the intention to help villagers host ethical

eco-tourism visits. The project does not intend for volunteer participation, alone, to ultimately

provide the sole alternative income for elephants and mahouts. Additional options for

revenue to elephant owners and mahouts will be explored as the project matures.

Objective 3: Build capacity in the local community to independently manage small

businesses and effectively secure additional revenue from tourism and GVI personnel as a

result


During the fourth phase of this project, GVI continues to establish the trust and interest of the

local community. It has taken time to show villagers the potential to develop and

independently manage small businesses from which they could generate additional revenue

from tourists and volunteers alike. Volunteers are supporting local businesses by purchasing

snacks and other items from the three local shops. Handmade traditional Karen clothing

made by the villagers has proven to be very popular amongst volunteers. Volunteers have

also suggested many services, workshops and goods they would be happy to pay for in the

village.

During the next phase the project aims to continue to support members of the local

community who wish to establish new businesses. The project also aims to encourage

villagers to set up a local community shop selling local produce managed by the villagers

themselves. Community members who offer eco-tourist visits to support alternative elephant

management strategies will receive open offers of support from GVI personnel. GVI will

continue to seek out Thai organizations and individuals able to promote ethical business in

the community of Huay Pakoot.

Objective 4: Provide free English lessons to local partners and community members, aiming

to support their capacity building and also elevate social status associated with English

fluency in Thailand

During this quarter, free English lessons at the village school have continued. Feedback is

good and staff and volunteers will continue to build on this success. English lessons at the

village Nursery have begun and have been successful. While basic, it is beneficial to begin

teaching English to young children, and hopefully they will continue to show interest in

learning English while growing up. The Nursery school students enjoy the lessons and have

learned a variety of vocabulary including animals, clothing, colours, and actions.

Concerning adult English lessons, it is a goal of this project to re-launch mahout and

community English classes in the next quarter.

With regards to teaching children, a basic teaching guide has been written which is be read

by volunteers/interns before planning and teaching a lesson. Children in the community are

showing an increasing interest in GVI volunteers, regularly visiting base hut to spend time

with them. Volunteers and interns are encouraged to take advantage of this to teach the

children English outside of the school. Pre-made packs with lesson plans and resources

have been created. These have been set out in such a way as to enable anyone to sit down


and teach a lesson. Fun games and activities are included which will make the lessons fun

for both children and volunteers alike. There are also a number of English reading books

which volunteers can use to sit down and read with children in the community. By doing so,

the project aims to strengthen relations with the community and improve the level of English

spoken by the younger members of the community.

The pre-made lesson plans are also used by volunteers and interns to teach classes at the

village school. Volunteers and interns use the green folder at base hut which contains

guides, documents and resources to enable them to plan and teach a lesson without the

guidance of trained staff. In order to ensure lessons are effective, GVI personnel should

meet with teachers at the school and ask that only those students genuinely interested to

learn English should attend class.


4. References

Lair, Richard. 1997. Gone Astray: The Care and Management of the Asian Elephant in Domesticity. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Dharmasarn Co., Ltd., Bangkok

Marshall, H.M. 1959. Elephant Kingdom. Robert Hale, Ltd., London.


5. Appendices

Appendix A: Existing Methodologies

A.1 Elephant Management

The elephants are not set free to roam the forest unattended. They are monitored by

mahouts who ultimately choose the area they will forage in, selecting habitat with sufficient

food sources and safe distance from crops, human settlements, or any other potential

hazards. Typically the mahouts will tether the elephants on 10 to 20m long chains during the

night. They hike into the forest at dawn to check on the elephants and untether them, and

then decide if there is sufficient forage remaining in the immediate area or otherwise move

the elephants. Typically the elephants will freely roam and forage for most of the day and

mahouts return periodically to check on them, however there seems to be much variation

from mahout to mahout in terms of both chain time and also freedom of movement.

The biggest change to (the above) traditional methodology stems from the introduction of

GVI’s assistance with monitoring and funding. Funding allows the traditional practice of

short-duration forest reintroduction to continue indefinitely. To enable GVI personnel to

access the elephants for routine health inspections, and to give easier access for western

personnel unable to hike deep into the forest, a 2-day migratory pattern has been

established.

Two-Day Elephant Migration Pattern:

• Elephants sleep tethered near the edge of the village, then are met by personnel in

the morning, fed and inspected in a controlled environment, untethered then led into

the forest by their mahouts.

• GVI personnel follow the herd into the forest that morning and observe behaviour,

monitoring the social development of the herd and feeding patterns.

• Elephants forage in the forest for the day and are later tethered deep in the forest to

spend the night. Western personnel are often unable to follow the herd the full

distance into the forest, due to rough terrain and thick vegetation.

• The elephants are able to forage again most of the second day before being led by

their mahouts back to the edge of the village in the afternoon

• Evening of the second day elephants are tethered near the village and the 2-day

cycle continues


This 2-day pattern allows a compromise between traditional mahout methods and the need

for personnel to access the elephants. Traditionally the mahouts would tend to take the

elephants deep into the forest, away from any human settlements or hazards and into thick

vegetation to provide ample food. Near the edge of the village there is not sufficient foliage

available for forage. To meet the elephants’ needs, GVI provides grass and other food while

elephants are tethered close to the village. Food is sometimes purchased in the market, and

most often is harvested by GVI personnel from local sources at the mahouts’ discretion.

GVI volunteers and staff conduct research on elephant foraging and social behaviour during

their walks with the elephants in the forest. They also gather information on biodiversity in

the area, and make routine basic health checks. Each volunteer is assigned one specific

elephant on their entry into the program and asked to collect data on that elephant for the

duration of their stay.

A.2 Social and Foraging Behaviour Studies

Each volunteer is assigned to one elephant upon arrival to the project, and will study the

habits of that particular individual during their stay. The first morning after arriving at the

project site each volunteer is introduced to their elephant and their mahout, and taught how

to identify the individual elephant. By the second day of training each volunteer is expected

to be able to identify their elephant in the herd, both by the front and rear view of the

elephant, and know the elephant’s and mahout’s names. Keys to identifying the elephants

via ears and tails are explained by GVI staff. If a volunteer is unable to identify their elephant

they cannot move forward in the program and participate in gathering data.

Data for foraging and social behaviour studies is gathered by volunteers as they follow the

elephants into the forest on morning walks. No behaviour data is gathered on alternate days

when collecting the elephants in the forest and walking them back towards the village.

Volunteers are paired up and assigned either the observer or recorder role. Recorders are

given clip boards and pens and asked to record all the observations made only by their

partnered observer, without interpreting the observations and making no observations of

their own. Observers will observe only the elephant they are assigned to and are asked to

make only direct observations, not interpreting, inferring, nor relying on input from other

volunteers or mahouts. Scan sampling data is collected at 5 minute intervals, gathering an

instantaneous impression at that point in time. A sample Scan Sample Data Sheet is

included as Appendix C..


During scan sampling volunteers observe if their elephant is eating and how close they are

in proximity to other elephants. Proximity is not observed while elephants are ridden or their

movements are directly controlled by the mahouts, which is typically during the beginning

observations while the herd is still close to the village. Volunteers also try to identify what

part of the plant the elephant is eating, IE roots, bark or leaves, and also ask mahouts to

identify the plant by its Karen name. During the scan if the elephant can be seen but is not

eating this is recorded. If the elephant cannot be seen by the observer during a scan the

recorder notes this, which does not imply the elephant was not eating. By making these

observations at scanned intervals the project gathers a more accurate impression of the

elephants’ behaviour over a long period, compared with a less accurate impression if

continuously trying to gather this information which would overwhelm the observers and

recorders alike.

Throughout the entire walk observers are also constantly looking for a range of behaviours,

which are recorded on the All Occurrence Data Sheet. The behaviours which are

continuously sampled are more interesting and less frequent, and thus do not require

scanned interval sampling. A sample All Occurrence Data Sheet is provided as Appendix D.

The behaviours continuously looked for by volunteers are listed in Table 1-1, below.

Volunteers also record the exact stop watch time each all occurrence data point was

observed, which elephants were involved, and they are asked to make copious notes for all

data entries.

Table 2-2. Social Elephant Behaviour Continuously Sampled

A.3 General Biodiversity Study

On some forest walks with the elephants and mahouts, volunteers are assigned to observe

biodiversity. A sample Biodiversity Data Sheet is listed as Appendix E. Volunteers are asked

to note anything they find interesting, including plants, insects, mammals, birds and reptiles.

They require the confirmation of any other member of the team for a positive identification,

and confirmation is indicated by the signatures on the form. They are also encouraged to

take digital photos of each species and store them on the base lap top.

Elephant Behaviour Trunk Touch to Head (of another individual) Trunk Touch to Genital (of another individual)

Nursing Urination Defecation


A.4 Elephant Health Checks

Every Tuesday and Thursday health checks are conducted to monitor the heath and well

being of the elephants in the GVI program. The Health Check forms were devised in late

March by Intern Jonathan Borradaile with the assistance of Amy Quandt, Base Manager.

The purpose of the health checks is both to continually monitor the health of our herd as well

to provide a concrete record of elephant health in case of serious future illness. Health

checks take place during and after the hikes and are performed by volunteers on their

assigned elephants. The health check form is divided into parts and used as a check list

defining the important characteristics to be examined during the checkup. A sample form is

included as Appendix B: Elephant Health Check Form. The faeces section of the form is

filled out during the hike directly after the occurrence, while all other checks are done after

the hike while the elephant is feeding on grass provided. At the end of the hike volunteers

wait for the elephants to be tethered for the night and fed grass before approaching. Close

contact with the elephants is only done under the close and attentive supervision of the

mahouts.

One health check form is used for each adult elephant, at the bottom of which the volunteers

performing the checks write their names and the date. Any problems or additional

information is written down in the notes section of the form.

Faeces are checked directly after defecation during the hike and only when the subject can

be identified. Volunteers search around in the faeces with either a stick or gloved hand for

proper inspection. The faeces should be in nice round boluses and if not this could be a sign

of dehydration or intestinal problems. Any blood found in the faeces is bad and is recorded.

Large amount of soil in the feces is noted and may represent a lack of nutrients that the

elephant is trying to balance. Large amounts of mucous coating the dung is a sign of

stomach or intestinal problems. When looking through faeces volunteers check for long thin

worms. Often worms are found still wriggling in diarrhoea. Faeces that are very dry are a

sign that the elephant could be dehydrated or constipated.

After the elephants have been tethered the volunteers check the overall condition of the

elephant, including the top, stomach and bottom. Biting flies and large insects about 2cm

long are identified by volunteers and pointed out to mahouts to remove. Any bad smell

coming from the elephant, other than natural elephant smells, are noted on the sheet as they

can be signs of intestinal problems. If the elephant is blowing or scratching repeatedly in a

certain area it is noted as a sign of irritation.


Specific checks are then done on the eyes, mouth and feet of the elephant. High proportions

of older captive elephants are blind, possibly caused by debris irritating the eye then the

elephant rubbing it with their trunk. Thus when checking the eyes it is important to note any

debris found and any cloudiness in the eyes.

While the elephant is eating grass it is easy for volunteers to do a check of the mucous

membrane in the mouth including tongue and lips. All elephants should have a light pink

coloured mouth and any deviation from this colour is noted.

Elephants can weigh up to seven tones delivering substantial stress to their feet. During the

health checks volunteers check the toenails of the elephant for any cracks or broken nails.

During the hike volunteers check the soles of their elephants’ feet for any blisters or sores

that they can see. The sweat glands of elephants are found only around the toenails and

should be noted as a sign of hard work.


Appendix B. Elephant Health Check Form

Question

Please tick Notes

Yes No

Overall:

Can you see any biting flies, ticks, insect larvae on the skin?

Can you see any new wounds (blood), abscess (new lumps)?

Is there any bad smell coming from the elephant?

Is the elephant blowing a lot at a particular area? If so where?

Eye:

Is there cloudiness in the eye?

Are there any spots/ debris in the eye?

Mouth:

If possible what colour is the mucous membrane? Pink, deep red/ Blue

Feet:

Are there any cracked or broken toenails?

If possible, are there any blisters on the sole of the foot?

Is there any sign of sweating around toenail (coronet)?

Faeces:

Are the faeces in nice round boluses?

Is there blood in the faeces?

Is there soil inside the faeces?

Is there thick mucus in/on the faeces?

Are there any parasites/worms in the faeces?

Are the fresh faeces very dry?


Appendix C. Sample Scan Sampling Data Sheet (double sided)


Appendix D. Sample Continuous Sampling Data Sheet (double sided)


Appendix E. Sample Biodiversity Data Sheet


Appendix F. Continuing History of Achievements

F.1 Community development - generation of more local business

GVI has been sending volunteers to Huay Pakoot since July 2010. Volunteers are

encouraged to support the local community by using the 3 village shops which supply a

range of snacks, drinks and toiletries. The programme has structured a bi-monthly visit when

volunteers can purchase handmade traditional Karen clothing from community members for

a set price which the community have agreed collectively. This includes traditional shirts,

bags and skirts. This has been incredibly popular with volunteers and has generated a high

demand for traditional Karen products. Over time, the villagers are beginning to see the

business potential of making and selling their wares.

On Thursday evening during the first week of our two week volunteer schedule there is an

arts and crafts night where members of the community are invited to come to base hut and

demonstrate local crafts. The mahouts are invited to demonstrate how to make a number of

non-timer forest products such as bamboo cups, spoons and coat hangers. Volunteers then

have the opportunity to make a cup after a health and safety debriefing from GVI personnel.

This is a great opportunity for volunteers to learn new skills and also for the villagers to see

that people are interested in learning their traditional skills.

Every first Tuesday in the two week volunteer schedule, there is a discussion session where

volunteers are encouraged to think of ethical elephant activities and ways in which issues in

the Thai elephant industry can be resolved. Volunteers also discuss ideas as to how the

local community can benefit from our project, and things that volunteers would pay for in the

village. This has included cooking courses, basket weaving workshops and machete

training, laundry, buying fruit shakes and fresh coffee, setting up a local shop selling local

produce and traditional Karen products. GVI personnel discuss these ideas with members of

the local community at monthly village meetings.

GVI continues to support the local community in establishing businesses and continues to

embolden villagers to develop more. Villagers are encouraged to develop ideas proposed by

volunteers in our fortnightly group discussions. As a result, volunteers continue to make

regular use of the three village shops. During the last quarter the fruit shake and coffee

business has proven to be increasingly popular with volunteers and villagers alike. Basket

weaving workshops take place at least once each fortnight and are led by members of the

community with volunteers paying 30 Baht each for a hands-on demonstration of traditional


bamboo basket weaving. GVI continues to provide work for community directly by hiring

them to lead volunteers harvesting elephant food. During the last quarter GVI also hired a

village truck to shuttle volunteers and mahouts into a deeper part of the forest to meet the

elephants on several occasions.

F.2 Provision of free English classes in the local community

GVI personnel began providing free English classes to adults and children in the local

community in July 2010. Due to time constraints, this consisted of two hour long classes

offered each week to one person from each home stay family and mahouts involved in the

Forest Reintroduction Programme. GVI personnel have designed a programme to teach

villagers vocabulary they are likely to use on a daily basis with volunteers and other visitors

to the village. The teaching is conducted by a GVI staff member who trained at the GVI

TEFL teaching project in Krabi and follows the level 1 and 2 curriculum. The focus is placed

on teaching speaking and listening rather than reading and writing which are a secondary

focus of each lesson. The project aims to get villagers speaking English as soon as possible

and using the language fluently. This will enable community members to access new

potential revenue from English speaking visitors. Classes take place at base on Tuesday

and Thursday evenings and are taught using a white board and reused paper. Many of the

students are incredibly shy but some are very keen to learn. The project aims to extend

classes to four per week in order to give the adults more time to practice. GVI personnel are

in the process of designing a training programme so that volunteers staying for three weeks

or longer can plan and teach adult classes in the village. Volunteers are also encouraged to

practice English with their home stay families.

The project began offering two English classes each week at the local primary school in July

2010. The first class consists of students from Grades 1-3 and the second consists of

students from Grades 4-5. The lessons run for one hour and teach the level 1 curriculum

using lesson plans from the GVI Teaching Children Project in Krabi. During the second week

of the two week volunteer schedule volunteers have the opportunity to plan and teach the

Grades 4-5 class on Wednesday afternoon. Volunteers begin planning on Sunday evening

with guidance from GVI personnel. They are given a brief introduction to teaching in

Thailand, background about the school, the level of English teach provided at the school and

the level they will teach, an introduction to TEFL teaching, classroom management and

discussion about resources that need to be made. Volunteers are encouraged to plan the

lesson together as a group and all are encouraged to take part in the teaching. If the lesson

is not planned or volunteers do not take it seriously, they are not allowed to teach. They are


also reminded that they are representing GVI and the expectation to uphold the excellent

reputation already established in the village. Volunteers are introduced to the teacher before

the lesson begins and the class is begun by GVI personnel. Volunteers are then encouraged

to teach the lesson themselves.

English classes continued into Jan 2011 but then were eventually ended. This is partly the

result of teaching staff suffering an immobilizing injury. The GVI English teacher was unable

to visit the village school and so English lessons for children stopped. Adult classes were

extended to four evenings a week. However, the number of students decreased to just two

regular students during the 1st quarter of 2011. Near the end of that quarter one of the adult

students moved to another Province, and the other was too shy to attend class on her own.

Therefore, adult English classes have also stopped at the end of the 1st quarter, 2011.

Provisions were then made to enable volunteers and interns to restart teaching both adults

and children. For adult classes, a basic training guide has been written, which should be

read by volunteers/interns before planning and teaching a class. Resources have also been

made for level 1 and 2 classes to enable non professional people to plan and teach lessons

effectively, without the help of trained staff. These can be found in the blue teaching folder

kept at base hut.

In early June 2011 GVI resumed free English lessons at the school in Huay Pakoot. This

school is run by the Thai government and teaches Thai as the main curriculum. The teaching

method used was designed by the staff member Sophie Lemberger who began teaching in

May of 2010. The TEFL teaching method being used is designed to teach English without

any knowledge of the local foreign language thus is able to be taught by any volunteers

interested. By using lesson plans designed by Sophie the teaching is consecutive and

organized. Before teaching at 1:30pm the volunteers plan what will be taught that day during

the lesson. This is then written down on a set form where it can be referenced during the

lesson if needed. The theme of the lesson is followed in order of the lesson plans but the

vocabulary and the method in which it is introduced is decided by each of the volunteers.

First during the lesson new volunteers will introduce themselves to each of the students in

turn having them say their names aloud. Next volunteers review any vocabulary that was

introduced in the previous lesson concentrating on topics that were identified as needing

more practice. Often standard repetition is used to start the new material followed by games

or a fun activity to keep the students interested. Following the completion of the material for

the day if there is time left volunteers play a fun game as a way of positively reinforce


English teaching as a enjoyable activity to be looked forward to. Some games that have

been introduced with great success are Simon Says and Duck Duck Goose. Following the

lesson volunteers debrief by identifying on the planning sheet anything that needs to be

continued in the next lesson and anything that was particularly successful.

gvi thai elephants q report 113

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