We will create a safe, secure place where elephants live in peace by fostering an environment through innovative corporate, government, and non-profit partnerships, where protecting elephants and ensuring their protection produces prosperity for the people. This solution based on free and fair market principles will prove that ensuring the safety and security of an elephant is more valuable to governments, communities, and the people than a dead one.

Myanmar's elephants are facing multiple challenges - death due to human-elephant conflicts and poaching for their ivory and skin. Additionally, unemployed timber elephants and the mahouts who care for them are facing an uncertain future as well.

We will help promote a humane economy within host countries through the investment of substantial resources in the sanctuary, the communities surrounding the sanctuary, the building of research facilities, and the building of facilities to support those wishing to visit, work, and live in and near the sanctuary. Additionally, the development will generate revenue for the host country from the individuals who are part of this effort. Through this effort, the host country will see tremendous economic gains - increase in jobs, higher wages, skills training, better educational opportunities, and the funding of important infrastructure projects.

Additionally, as part of our free and fair market solution we will develop extensive retail operations which will sell products made in countries dedicated to elephant protection, which will support the growth of a humane economy within those countries.

Sanctuaries / Communities

The Elephant Project will establish a sanctuary that will be home to indigenous elephants in the host country as well as those elephants we relocate to the sanctuary that are in need of relocation for political, environmental, safety, and fiscal reasons. Communities will be built in proximity to the sanctuary that will provide the sustainable funding for the operation of the sanctuary.

The sanctuary and communities, which will be established in conjunction with existing conservation efforts or in an area of the country where these efforts aren’t currently underway, will be designed in a manner consistent with the culture of the host country and in harmony with the surrounding ecosystem. 

The sanctuary will:

  • be established in a country that will benefit from economic development, has a stable and democratic government, and is committed to the conservation and protection of elephants.

  • bring economic benefits to the host country by embracing the principles of a humane economy - badly needed jobs, skills training, long term revenue and economic stability.

  • be designed using new technologies that will showcase methods that can be used to address the impact of climate change by providing water and food on a sustainable basis to the animals within the sanctuary.

  • be home to individuals who want to support the mission of The Elephant Project through the investment in residences near an internationally acclaimed elephant sanctuary.All the revenue received from this investment will help offset the cost of creating and operating the sanctuary, research efforts, training programs, and help bring economic vitality to the host country. 

  • be home to a hotel and conference facilities supported by eco-tourists and researchers who want to visit an internationally acclaimed elephant sanctuary which will help raise awareness of our efforts, elephants and the struggles they face.

  • be home to non-invasive research facilities that will develop cutting edge technologies that provide solutions to end poaching and human-elephant conflicts, and address the impact environmental changes have on their ability for long term survival.

  • be home to offices and facilities provided free of charge by The Elephant Project for scholars, researchers, NGO's and activists wanting to collaborate on issues related to the long term conservation and protection of elephants and other endangered species.

  • be designed to ensure the boundaries of the sanctuary are protected via a state of the art notification system that is integrated into buildings and boundary cottages along the perimeter. These will serve as sentry posts and be outfitted with cutting edge security and monitoring devices.