The Bedford Estates, LondonIn November 2025, elephant keeper Jack Rawnsley travelled to Thailand to visit Sarah Blaine, the founder of the Mahouts Elephant Foundation (MEF), a charity supported by Woburn Safari Park. The visit supported the Park’s commitment to conservation and helped convey important messages to staff and visitors about responsible elephant tourism.
MEF protects Asian elephants through ethical, elephant-friendly tourism that supports both animal welfare and the Karen communities who care for them. The Karen are Thailand’s largest ethnic minority group and the only tribe with a long-standing tradition of owning and working with elephants. MEF helps this community by providing sustainable incomes, veterinary support, and forest-based living for elephants. MEF offers a positive alternative to exploitative tourism models, keeping elephants in their natural habitats while supporting the people who live alongside them.
During his visit, Jack learnt all about MEF’s two main projects:
LIFE Project
The LIFE project , in a remote mountain village near the Thai-Myanmar border, supports five elephants living freely across an estimated 90,000 acres of forest, alongside wild elephants. Each elephant has a dedicated mahout, often someone who has cared for them since birth. MEF provides financial and veterinary support, ensuring the elephants live naturally and are free from riding or performances. Calves born here will never be removed from the forest, securing a safe, long-term future for the herd.
Palatha Project
Based in Umphang District, the Palatha Project was established after the COVID-19 pandemic ended elephant transportation work. The project supports six female elephants living together as a family herd across many thousands of acres of forest, alongside wild elephants. MEF’s support allows mahout families to maintain a stable income while keeping their elephants in the forest. Carefully managed, low-impact tourism helps fund this work while educating visitors about ethical elephant care. This project gives guests the chance to see Thailand’s tallest waterfall, Thi Lo Su, demonstrating how conservation, community livelihoods, and responsible tourism can work together.
Educating for change
Through projects like LIFE and Palatha, MEF provides a powerful example of how elephant tourism can be conducted without exploitation. Instead, it can support welfare, conservation, and local communities when done responsibly.
At Woburn Safari Park, staff help educate the public about making informed choices when considering elephant tourism. This includes encouraging people to research thoroughly, avoid unplanned or unverified elephant experiences, and support organisations that put elephant welfare and community wellbeing first, like the MEF. The charity has been internationally recognised, including winning the Animal Welfare Award at the Responsible Thailand Awards in 2023.
Jack shares: “This trip gave me a real chance to understand the charity’s mission and see the difference they’re making for both elephants and the communities living in the forests of northern Thailand. It was eye-opening and truly inspiring.”