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Participant, CLF 2022-2023 Director, CLF 2023-2025 Harvard College Class of 2029
June 19, 2025
June 7, 2025
Experience northern Thai service: elephant conservation, reforestation, school aid, Thai cuisine.
Immerse yourself in a variety of service learning initiatives in this week-long program in northern Thailand. Start your program with a day at the Thai Elephant Conservation Center where you’ll learn about this incredible animal. Get insight on the ecological challenges that threaten local species while spending time on reforestation initiatives. Then immerse yourself in the local culture as you work at a local school, cook Thai food and work up a sweat trying the traditional martial art of Muay Thai.
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Meet your group at your home airport. Fly together as a group to Australia. Total travel time will depend on your departure location and flight schedule. Be sure to get some rest so you arrive ready for adventure!
Flight Details: Rustic Pathways will be happy to book your flight as an add-on service.
You’ll seemingly lose time as you travel through time zones, but don’t worry you’ll get the hours back when you return home.
Arrive into Chiang Mai, meet your Rustic Pathways leaders, and enjoy the beautiful and historical capital of Northern Thailand! Get dinner and have a program orientation and group games before bed.
Overnight: Suan Bua Resort (or similar), Chiang Mai
Enjoy breakfast at the hotel, and then head north to a local elephant conservation center that operates as a part retirement home, part orphanage, and part hospital for sick, injured and abandoned elephants from all over the country. Explore the grounds and meet the different elephant inhabitants, learning their story and how they ended up at this unique center.
Learn about the complexities of conserving animals of this size in the face of deforestation, and increasing competition for land use between wild species and urban, hilltribe and agricultural interests. Feed the elephants while learning about their unique dietary requirements and then take them to the river for a bath. In the afternoon head back to Chiang Mai for a Northern Thai dinner and a group discussion on animal conservation.
After breakfast, travel into the mountains to help with an education enrichment project at a local Hmong partner school. Work side by side with staff and local students, getting to know more about their daily lives. After wrapping up your project, play soccer with the local students, practice your new Thai vocabulary with our staff and villagers, or find a quiet place to write in your journal. End the day by returning to your accommodations for a good night’s rest.
Spend the day immersing yourself in the local culture. First, join in a Muay Thai class where you’ll learn how to do the ancient martial art of Thai kickboxing. Next, switch gears and try your hand at Thai cooking. Start by getting familiar with the unique and delicious ingredients of Thai cuisine. Learn how to identify various herbs and spices and what you can use to replace these items at home. After practicing some techniques, you will put your skills to use making your favorite Thai dishes!
Today you’ll begin lessons about deforestation with Chiang Mai University’s Forest Restoration Research Unit. Head up famous Doi Suthep mountain and learn about the different forest types and ongoing efforts to protect and restore fragile ecosystems. See how to identify and propagate different seeds and spend time working in the on-site nursery. On your way back down the mountain, stop at Doi Suthep Temple to take in the views from this sacred mountain-top monument.
On your last night, visit Chiang Mai’s famous Night Bazaar – the perfect place to pick up souvenirs.. Retire back to the hotel for a closing discussion and the traditional Rustic Ties ceremony that allows students to reflect on their experiences and discuss how to use the lessons they’ve learned back home.
Wake up for your final breakfast in Thailand. Pack up your bags to head to the airport and say goodbye to your newfound friends. It’ll be hard to say goodbye, but don’t worry, you can always come back and visit us again in the “Land of Smiles!”