Elephant Village ensures the support of indigenous & disadvantaged people in remote areas by giving them employment through the creation of more than 40 jobs under fair social circumstances.

Elephant Village ensures the support of the survival of so far 9 elephants living now in harmony with nature and community, kept away from abusive work and cared by professional vet’s.

Elephant village ensures the preservation of a virgin river valley that otherwise would be destroyed by receiving a 20 year leasing agreement from the Lao government to establish a sustainable tourism project..

The Trail of Falls Concept (Income generation through nature conservation)

The ‘Trail of Falls’ or “Huay Sae”, is a natural stream coming down from the mountain, feeding the famous Tad Sae Waterfall. Along the stream grows natural, primary vegetation.

Officially, it is prohibited to cut natural vegetation along streams and rivers, however the enforcement of this rule is rather weak, due to missing manpower and funding.

The Elephant Village’s objective with offering the Trail of Falls to tourists, are as follows:

1. to preserve the original, natural vegetation
2. to preserve the good water quality in the stream
3. to create/introduce an example of good practice to the local people of that area and beyond
4. to create sustainable income opportunities for the local people

“We always try to explain to the local people that it is not necessary to deplete the natural resources in order to earn money.”

Using the actual natural resource as a tourist attraction offers a sustainable income for, first of all, the local people who inhabit this area for centuries and attracts people from far away, which lead to income generation in many service sectors.
The Elephant Village, which has proved to be a sustainable tourism project, with a fast experience in working closely with the local community, offered their concept of ‘income generation through nature conservation’ to the Government of Laos. In exchange, they were offered a 20 year exclusive right to use the Trail of Falls for developing a sustainable tourism project, along with the development of the Elephant Village, which is located close to the Tad Sae Waterfall.