Who we are

2001: Gilles Maurer and Sebastien Duffillot founded ElefantAsia non-profit association. The goal of this NGO is to safeguard of the last elephants of Laos. ElefantAsia concentrates efforts in three main areas:- elephant veterinary care, educational/environmental awareness and economic viability for mahouts.

2002: To contribute to the safeguard of the Asian elephant, the team of ElefantAsia wanted to draw the attention of the population and media to the fate of the animal emblem of Laos. They organized a caravan journey of 1300km with elephants through Laos to raise awareness on the threat of extinction which planes on the pachyderms. By bringing elephants into villages where they disappeared decades ago, the caravan allowed the local population to rediscover the animal which, for more than 4 000 years, has played a crucial role in the history of the country.

Since 2005: ElefantAsia carries out, in partnership with the National centre of Animal Health, a veterinary program for the elephants of Laos. The objective is to improve the medical condition of the domestic elephants of the country by providing an technical assistance to the veterinary surgeons and to the Lao mahouts . ElefantAsia builds the competence of local veterinary stall in the province by tproviding technical training (vaccination and prevention, traumatology, parasitology, care) and the creation of a mobile unit of veterinary care (a vehicle especially arranged to carry out missions in the difficult zones of access).  The association also runs a reproduction programme in order to increase the births rates which are dramatically low. Lastly, ElefantAsia has begun in a process of reconversion of elephant activities towards ecotourism initiatives which are less exhausting and more environmentally friendly than logging.