Thailand is a truly magical place with so much to see and do, but to really appreciate it, you have to go outside the usual tourist areas and experience the real Thailand.
At ElephantsatHomesanctuary we invite you into our homeland and our village where we have lived for hundreds of years, alongside our elephants, in the mountains of Chiang Mai. We are proud of our heritage and would like to share with you what we are lucky enough to be able to enjoy as an everyday part of our life.
We truly respect and really love our elephants, they are our family. We are a sanctuary for these beautiful creatures and have rescued many elephants from a less fortunate life.
ElephantsatHome sanctuary
We would be delighted to welcome you in our village, to spend the day with us and our elephants to learn about and get to know them. ElephantsatHomesanctuary offers a truly ethical, up-close elephant experience, where they are in their natural mountain habitat and have lived for hundreds of years, alongside a our Karen Hill Tribe.
There are no hooks, no chains, no circus tricks and no enclosures, the elephants are free to roam. You will spend the day caring for them, washing them and feeding them. You'll also learn how to communicate with the elephants and get to walk with them along the river, and then stop and rest a while to enjoy a delicious lunch before heading back to the village at the end of the day. There will of course be plenty of time to play with them throughout the day too! There are no rides at Elephants@Home, just an opportunity for a really intimate day, spent bonding and playing with these most beautiful, intelligent gentle giants.
Our Karen Village - Maetoh
Our village, Maetoh (pronounced met/tow) is a 'Skaw' Karen village. It has a population of approximately 200 people including the Victory Home Orphanage which houses children, from babies to 14 years of age, who are unfortunate enough to be without their parents. The orphanage takes in not just Karen children, but any child that is need of care.
The Karens are a large ethnic group spread throughout Southeast Asia. Our tribe can trace our origins to Tibet.
Karens settled in southern and eastern Burma (or Myanmar) as far back as the seventh century. In the 1700s, Karens also began living in neighbouring Thailand (Siam). There are numerous Karen subgroups, now living mainly in tribal societies, governed by chiefs or princes.
Karen Hospitality
The friendship and hospitality of Karen people is famous, and people who make friends with the Karen often find they have friends for life.
Our People
The Karen people are an ethnic group in South-East Asia with their own distinct languages and culture. The Karen people are very diverse, with different ethnic and language sub-groups. Karen people like to describe themselves as honest, hard working, friendly and hospitable, although admit that not all Karen may fit this ideal model!
There are a number of Karen sub-groups, and also some ethnic groups that maintain a distinct identity. The Skaw Karen (who call themselves Pwar Kar Nyaw) are the largest sub-group.
The friendship and hospitality of Karen people is famous, and people who make friends with the Karen often find they have friends for life.
Karen are strong, resilient people who have survived life in war zones and refugee camps.
Karen Names
Karen people traditionally have given names only; they do not have family names and women do not change their name when they marry.
When Karen names are written in English they often have several parts. The last part of a name is not necessarily a family name.
Our Children Education
Karen people generally place an enormous value on education. The Buddha taught that there are four classes of people that his followers should bow down before: Buddhas, monks, parents and teachers.
Thai-Karens hold an annual Waan Khru ceremony where schoolchildren offer their teachers incense, candles and flowers – the same offering made to a Buddha statue. Christian Karens also hold teachers in high respect.
The passion Karen have for education means that they will try to set up schools wherever they can. Karen villagers have often been started by building a temporary school, and then built huts to live in while their children study.
Marriage & Families
For Karen people the family is vitally important. Unlike in Western cultures where there is more of an emphasis on the individual, it is the family that is all-important for the Karen.
While it is the immediate family that is most important, the extended family is also very important.
Our Traditions The Karen flag
The Karen flag is red, white and blue. Red represents bravery, white represents purity, and blue represents honesty. In the top left corner are nine rays of sunshine representing the nine Karen districts, and a traditional Karen drum.
Food Food plays a central role in Karen culture. A common Karen greeting is Aw mee wee lee ar – “Have you finished eating?” Eating together is a way of expressing hospitality and creating bonds. Karen people eat white rice, and lots of it. Traditionally Karen people eat twice a day, in the morning at about 10 am, and in the afternoon at about 4 pm. A good Karen meal would include large bowls of rice, a bowl of pork curry, a bowl of stir-fried meat and vegetables, a bowl of soup, and a small bowl of fishpaste or chillies. The bowls of curries and soups are shared. Most Karen villagers do not usually eat this well. A more common meal would be rice, a few boiled vegetables and fishpaste.
Karen in Burma eat with the right hand, but Karen who have been exposed to Thai culture may eat with a fork and spoon.
Our Crafts
Karen women are known for their fine cotton weaving of clothing, blankets, and shoulder-bags. The weaving is usually done on a small loom set up with a strap that wraps around the waist at one end, but in some areas there are large wooden frame looms as well. The thread is dyed with natural or artificial colours, sometimes with a pattern produced by tie-dying. The Karens also produce etched silver jewellry, baskets from bamboo, and embroidery.
The Karen Tribe are the most environmentally conscious of the hill tribes - practicing crop rotation, thus preserving the forest. They are also skilled wood carvers.Karen Traditional Clothing
Traditionally, Karen men wear a sarong and a sleeveless shirt, unmarried Karen women wear a long white dress, and married Karen women wear a sarong and sleeveless shirt. The design of male shirts and sarongs are different to female shirts and sarongs, and males and females tie their sarongs in different ways.
Different Karen sub-groups have different designs for their clothing, but all follow the same basic pattern. Different sub-groups also have different designs for their shoulder-bags.