Khiri Travel Funds Guide Training in Khao Sok National Park, Thailand

Khiri Travel has partnered Bodhi Garrett, founder of Andaman Discoveries, to provide training for young tour leaders in the Khao Sok national park area in southern Thailand, near Phuket.

The park is increasingly popular as an add-on eco-tourism experience to the beach resorts of Phuket, Koh Samui and Khao Lak. The training addresses a desire by local communities to share their knowledge of the park with international visitors.

Seventeen guides are currently receiving intensive training, sponsored by Khiri Travel. The focus is on improving English skills, group leadership, knowledge of flora and fauna, safety standards, emergency responses, confidence building and initiative.

"I talked to villagers, guides and village chiefs to identify who was hungry to boost their skills and which skills needed boosting," said Garrett. "The guides want to share understanding of nature in Khao Sok. We're helping open doors for them."

Garrett and a team of experienced foreign and Thai guides started the training on 7 May. There will be about two days of training per week for two months. The instruction is a combination of classes, hikes, and lake explorations. Each training day lasts 7 to 10 hours.

Training is taking place at three locations: near the Khao Sok park headquarters, at Cheow Lan lake, and at the Kilometer 82 community. The guides include trail leaders, Sok River canoe guides and Cheow Lan boatmen who want to be tour leaders and not just transport providers.

Khiri Travel CEO Willem Niemeijer joined the first day of training at KM 82. He said, "The Khiri Phuket office identified the need to boost guide skills so that all tourists, not just those travelling with Khiri Travel, could appreciate the magnificent biodiversity of Khao Sok. Each guide has strengths and weaknesses. The training reflects individual needs."

Khao Sok is the largest area of virgin rainforest in southern Thailand, covering 646 sq kms of spectacular mountain and forest scenery including Cheow Lan lake. Elephants, languars, leopards, bantung, a variety of monkeys, and over 178 species of bird inhabit the park and surrounding sanctuaries.