Volunteer Work With Elephants

The team of program coordinators in Jaipur are excellent. They go above and beyond in making sure that you get the best out of your chosen program, and do a lot to make sure everyone gets a true Rajasthan experience, including sites, food, and other unique events. They were always friendly and positive no matter what issues arose. Rajasthan is a great place with a distinct culture from the rest of India. I highly encourage anyone joining the program to had sometime to visit parts of the province outside of Jaipur.

It was an amazing and heart filling experience to be in contact with the enormous beautiful elephants, their committed caretakers and staying with the local family at Prity Guesthouse. I also enjoyed the tours with the Subhash and the tuktuk driver. Overall the guidance and communication was great and felt very safe at all times.

Taking care of the elephants is a very grateful job to be so close and connected to the elephants. We drank a lot of chai and had a lot of fun. They were very enthousiastic involving me and also connect me to the other animals.

The family is very caring and I felt very much at home. Also they took me places which was really nice to learn more about Indian and Jaipur life, including dancing at the Navatri festival! The food was super delicious too.
I even extended my stay!

This is a really fun project to get a chance to see and interact with elephants up close. The communication ahead of our arrival was all helpful/clear, and the train station pickup on arrival was really handy.
Our guesthouse was well located, clean, and the food was really tasty.
Working with the elephants we got the opportunity to get stuck in with feeding, washing, and mucking out, and the mahouts were all very supportive in guiding us and showing off the animals. They clearly know and care for them a lot.
The weekend's tourist trips around Jaipur were really nice and as a lot of the sights were spread out it was comforting to have our own driver for the morning so we didn't have to navigate finding our own transport. Would recommend a composite ticket from the Amer Fort which gives access to a number of additional sights close the guesthouse to visit on foot.
My only significant complaint with the process was that on a couple of occasions we were asked for tips by the mahouts, after being given a ride on an elephant, and at the end of the project. While we didn't have an issue with paying for the ride, it would have been good if the guidance we had been given had made this clear from the outset, and given us a reasonable figure or some advice on what tips are expected/unnecessary.

Hi All. This was my first time. I chose to volunteer here because I wanted to work with animals and be in a familiar country.
The communication was handled seamless by Sukret much before I travelled. All responses were prompt and Sukret was quite considerate as he took extra care to highlight, the weather, the need to carry water on the day denoted for sightseeing.
I chose to stay out on my own however was picked up and dropped off every day , on time.
Shekhar, the driver was a very nice person. Not only did he drive safely, he bargained for me at local fruit stalls without me even asking for it. He took me sightseeing being mindful of what I would enjoy which he picked up on his own. He would give the little children in the village a few bucks to buy candy for themselves and always spoke respectfully and patiently. I’m glad I got to meet him.
Now, the elephants. The mahouts involved with the elephants. It’s was a wonderful experience to be in such close contact of such a big animal having no previous experience under the supervision of the staff, Rohit and the mahouts.
I never felt unsafe, as a woman, as the only volunteer in a village.
They are all individuals, in their own person and to observe their interaction with the elephants was actually quite cool.
The elephants I worked with were gentle, except for one. She was playful too. As with animals, one must respect their boundaries.
All in all, the one week that I spent there was very well planned with enough work, enough opportunities to take initiative and enough free time to do your own thing.
The people I worked with were wonderful and I am glad to have met them.
I am an Hindi speaking person so please do note that language was not a barrier for me. The staff of VWI do speak English though.
I urge one to visit with an open mind as it is a developing country and the sights of the city’s historical grandeur juxtaposed with the current reality can take a while to digest.

I would want to go back again sometime and am grateful for this experience

Beautiful experience in close contact with elephants. We learned to clean the space in which they live, wash the elephants, feed them and take care of them. It was sometimes a tough job especially to wake up very early in the morning but it was definitely worth it. I never thought I'd find out that elephants are much closer to humans than you think. They know how to be very intelligent and also affectionate. I never felt threatened or in danger with them. Thanks for this wonderful experience, I recommend it to anyone who wants to be in contact with animals.

It was an unforgettable experience! I've been working on the elephants and I ve learned to accuse them, talk to them, feed them, have lived in a real Indian Home, ate Indian food, and I learned to understand Indian culture! I recommend it! Every morning I woke up to help these animals! Working with them and seeing the families and children of the village made me realize the real meaning of life: Always smiling!
I recommend this programme because is most complete and the guides are very competent!

My partner and I have had so much fun during this programme! Not only did we achieve our dream of working with elephants, but the programme also offered heaps of opportunities to explore more of Jaipur, including forts, safaris, and more! We had an amazing and accommodating taxi driver who went above and beyond to get us wherever we needed to go, whenever we needed him! The host family has been super accommodating and welcoming; we even tagged along to one of their daughters’ wedding! We had such a blast throughout the programme and I would highly recommend this programme to anyone wanting a super stress free, fun way to explore the city, as we got heaps of our own spare time to explore on our own as well as with the super well organised activities prepared!

Had an absolute blast working with the elephants and seeing the sights of Jaipur! Everything ran smoothly and according to plan. Spending time with these elephants was a once in a lifetime opportunity and it was amazing to spend an extended period of time with these beautiful creatures.
The staff of the program were second to none, our coordinator (Surendra) was absolutely fantastic and we were very lucky to have him. Surendra was great at suggesting activities and sightseeing. He also was great at talking to the locals on our behalf when our minimal Hindi did not suffice. Also special mention of the host family for their amazing hospitality. The family went out of their way to ensure we were comfortable and to make sure we got the most out of our stay.