The Care Project Foundation

About Us

Our Story

The Care Project Foundation (TCPF) is a not-for-profit organisation based in Thailand. We aim to promote Asian elephant conservation through advocacy and education programs, as well as to engage with and support communities in need.

Our elephant welfare projects include our Matriarch Project, which houses, feeds, and provides veterinary care for elderly female elephants. TCPF also funds elephant clinics in several locations throughout Thailand, and operates a Mobile Elephant Clinic, offering emergency veterinary care to elephants in remote areas.

We believe that direct support for communities living with, or near, elephants is an effective method of encouraging peaceful coexistence between elephants and humans. To facilitate conservation efforts through education, TCPF has been instrumental in the establishment of Mahout (elephant caretaker) education programs, offering language classes and working with Mahouts to integrate traditional elephant husbandry knowledge with modern veterinary science and positive reinforcement techniques.

The Care Project Foundation also seeks to engage local and remote communities in development projects aimed at empowering them personally and improving overall living conditions. Our team works with volunteers to organise regular community clean-ups of public spaces, provides financial support to sustainable community infrastructure projects, directly engages with communities by working alongside local people.

In addition to education and development projects, TCPF routinely donates such necessities as food, blankets, bedding, clothes, construction equipment, water, toiletries, and elephant food to those who need it most. We have provided these items to rural hill-tribe communities, schools, orphanages, firefighters, and local charities, and we believe this form of assistance not only to alleviates immediate stress from individuals and groups, but is also key to sustainable elephant conservation in the future.

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Our Mission

Caring for Elephants. Caring for Communities.

The Care Project Foundation works to nurture and protect Asian elephants by
empowering communities to effect positive change.

Blog

Key Factors Impacting Domestic Asian Elephant Welfare (Part II)

Key Factors Impacting Domestic Asian Elephant Welfare (Part II) A huge variety of factors play a role in determining the health and wellbeing of domestic elephants, many of which can be controlled, to some extent, by humans. Because elephant welfare depends greatly on human actions, Mahouts (elephant caretakers), elephant owners, and others involved in the […]

The Elephant as a Symbol

In Thailand, elephants have been respected and revered for millennia, and through the use of their image as symbolic of the monarchy, religion, government, and culture, they have become inextricably intertwined with Thai society, mythology, and daily life. Elephants are seen to symbolise a variety of positive traits, such as physical and mental strength, responsibility, […]

Thai Elephant History: Logging

The logging industry in Thailand has a long and storied history, which is inextricably entwined with the history of elephants in the country. The harvesting of timber – usually teak wood from either plantations or natural forest – is invariably a difficult process, often in remote, unforgiving terrain which renders the use of traditional machinery […]

The Cultural Relationship Between Karen Mahouts and Elephants

A long-standing cultural relationship exists between Karen mahouts and elephants. Today we will tell you about their way of life! The Karen people have one the longest historical relationships with elephants of any culture. Indigenous to the Thailand-Burma border region, Karen people originally immigrated to Thailand to flee persecution in Myanmar. Using their elephants as […]

Elephant Social Life: Herd Structure

Asian elephants are highly intelligent, social creatures, with complex communication methods and a hierarchical social structure within their herd. Typically, Asian elephants live in small herds of females and young males, often comprised exclusively of related elephants. Herd size depends largely on the ready availability of food and other resources, although it is common for […]

Thai Elephant-Assisted Therapy Research Outcomes in Autistic Individuals

Thai Elephant-Assisted Therapy Research Outcomes in Autistic Individuals Mental health, including emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing, is extremely important, and can impact every part of our existence. According to some estimates, up to 25% of people will personally experience mental health problems at some point in their lives, meaning that both mental health awareness and […]

An Introduction to Health Problems Common in Domestic Asian Elephants

For centuries, Asian elephants have been revered for their strength, intelligence, and longevity. While they are undoubtedly resilient and robust creatures, capable of surviving in extremely harsh conditions, elephants are mammals with a complex anatomy, and as such, they are susceptible to a variety of diseases and other health problems. We at the Care Project […]

Elephants: Domestic or Captive?

Elephants: Domestic or Captive? The relationship between Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) and humans has a long, complex, and partially obscure history. It is not known when the first elephant was captured or kept by humans, but it is generally agreed that the earliest known representations of elephants in captivity have been found on seals from […]

Thai Elephant History: Warfare

The historical relationship between humans and elephants is a long and complex one. Asian elephants have been caught, tamed, trained, and used for a variety of purposes by humans for more than 4,000 years. The large size, strength, intelligence, and longevity of the elephant has in the past made the animal an attractive and valuable […]

Common Diagnostic Practices & the Importance of Physical Examination in Asian Elephants

Common Diagnostic Practices & the Importance of Physical Examination in Asian Elephants Asian elephants are susceptible to a large number of ailments throughout their lifespan, ranging from relatively minor problems to potentially life-threatening, rapid-onset issues which require immediate specialised treatment. When caring for domestic elephants, The Care Project Foundation emphasises close monitoring, prophylactic administration of […]

Dog Food Donation to Hope for Strays

When Elephant Jungle Sanctuary, our partner for several elephant conservation projects, opened a new location in Pattaya, the staff noticed a number of stray dogs on the property and nearby, some of which were in poor health. Though we at The Care Project Foundation love and respect all living creatures, we were unequipped to provide […]

Milk and Bedding Donation

In line with our mission to nurture and protect elephants by empowering those people involved in caring for them, The Care Project Foundation frequently organises community outreach and development projects. In many cases, these projects aim to empower impoverished communities by providing them with necessities such as clothes or bedding, and by communicating directly with […]

Blanket Donation in Mae Chaem

In the mountainous regions of Northern Thailand, temperatures can drop dramatically in the winter months. Many of the worst-affected areas are populated mainly by remote hill tribe communities, the people of which often don’t have the necessary resources, or access to supplies, to properly prepare for the winter months. In an effort to provide warmth […]

Elephants in Belief, Ritual, and Ceremony in Thailand

Elephants in Belief, Ritual, and Ceremony in Thailand The elephant, as both animal and symbol, is inextricably woven into the fabric of human spiritual belief in many parts of the world. Represented in formal religious traditions, mythologies, folklore, superstitions, animism, and magical practices, elephants have, for millennia, captivated us with their immense power, poise, and […]

Fundamentals of Foot Care in Asian Elephants

Fundamentals of Foot Care in Asian Elephants Foot care is a vital component of any healthcare routine for domestic Asian elephants. Some conditions common in captivity, such as inactivity due to limited environmental stimulation, as well as exposure to hard surfaces like packed dirt and concrete, can have a detrimental impact on elephant foot health. […]

A Secret Language: Infrasonic Communication in Elephants

A Secret Language: Infrasonic Communication in Elephants Elephants are highly intelligent, complex, and social animals, with intricate herd dynamics. They have evolved advanced communication abilities, and use a vast array of techniques to convey messages to other elephants, not only in their immediate vicinity, but sometimes across great distances. We have previously discussed the general […]

Communication in Asian Elephants

Communication in Asian Elephants Asian elephants are highly intelligent creatures with complex social lives and a hierarchical herd structure. To facilitate the creation and maintenance of such intricate social interaction, elephants have evolved a broad array of communication methods and techniques. These include communication methods which utilise senses we are familiar with as humans – […]

Key Factors Impacting Domestic Asian Elephant Welfare (Part I)

Key Factors Impacting Domestic Asian Elephant Welfare (Part I) In Thailand, according to a 2020 study, there are approximately 7,000 Asian elephants, with just under 4,000 being domestic or captive, and the remaining 3,000-3,500 being wild. Domestic elephants comprise a significant and highly important percentage of the overall elephant population, and as such, their welfare […]

Elephant Social Life: Musth

Musth is a natural periodic condition occurring in male (bull) elephants of both the Asian and African species. During a musth cycle, bulls typically experience an extraordinary hormonal surge, with their testosterone levels increasing to, on average, 60 times higher than their pre-musth levels. Musth is also marked by a significant increase in aggression and […]

Pachyderms and the Pandemic: Repercussions of COVID-19 for Elephants in Thailand

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc worldwide, with devastating medical, economic, and cultural repercussions. In Thailand, millions of people have become unemployed or lost their primary source of income as a result of international containment measures, and it appears that the financial hardship for many is unlikely to abate significantly in the immediate future. […]

Street Begging and Thai Elephant Law

In Thailand, elephants have been used by humans to perform a wide variety of tasks in many industries and endeavours, ranging from transport to warfare, and logging to tourism, for centuries. Many of these roles have proved destructive to both the Thai elephant population and the individual elephants engaged in them. In recent times, one […]