AT LAST WORK BEGINS!

With the rainy season arriving in only a few weeks’ time STEF Thailand has had to move fast to finalise planning permission and to get to work on the road on the new site. This is not a small job! About 270 metres of track, 4 m wide, will be laid from the entrance to the site, along the bottom of the valley and up the hill to the Veterinary Centre.

Roads require a lot of ground preparation, and in Southern Thailand, where we have really heavy rains, there has to be efficient and very effective drainage so the road is not washed away. In addition, the track surface has to be reinforced and strong enough to take trucks carrying 5-ton elephants.

Jake, our trustee who lives in Phang Nga, is on site several days a week. Having finalised the design and costs for the road with the architect, and our expert advisers, STEF Thailand has this week instructed the contractor to start work. Here you can see Jake deep in discussions just a few days’ ago before the work got underway. Time is against us, however, because if the road is not completed before the rains come, building works on the Centre itself will have to be delayed until after the rainy season ends in October.

But the good news is that the workmen are on site, the materials arriving and the weather is good. We will bring you regular News updates of progress.

Thank you to those wonderful donors who have supported us enabling us to make such a good start on our exciting project to benefit the health and welfare of needy elephants in Southern Thailand.  If you would like to help us to raise money to assist us in our work please click here.