Your stay
Staying at Baan San Fan is an amazing experience. The remote location is very tranquil, the days are relaxed and the time spent with the children is joyful. Most people choose to stay between 1-2 weeks as part of their travels around Thailand. Many people stay longer, and many people return time and time again.
There is a separate, four bedroom building for volunteers and visitors, with home comforts like Air Conditioning, WiFi, drinking water, a western toilet and hot shower.
You will join the whole family for meals and also join in with the daily tasks around the home. Volunteer tasks include washing the dishes, cleaning the houses and kitchen, weeding the vegetable patches, and going to the market.
There is always work to do to improve the orphanage including collecting the palm fruit, planting fruit and vegetables, cutting down the bamboo, digging trenches, cementing, building fences and painting. Many of these things are on the volunteer schedule. You can follow the schedule or you can try and find your own things to do using your own ideas and skills to help as much as possible.
The children love to have new people to play with and learn-from during their free time, before and after school, and at the weekends. Football, Frisbee, dominoes and colouring can keep you all busy for hours! If you come to the orphanage during the school holidays then the children will be at home every day. We can also arrange trips to visit the local school and teach English to the students if you would like.
At Baan San Fan we don’t work on Sundays. The children have a church service at home in the morning, which you are welcome to join, and in the afternoon we can arrange a trip with the children to the waterfall or beach, or go to the local town for lunch and shopping.
Baan San Fan Prices
| Volunteering | |
|---|---|
| Per day | US$ 35 |
| Per month | US$ 900 |
Prices are per person, we prefer a minimum stay of 7 days but this is negotiable.
These prices include your lodgings and 3 meals a day, but the majority of it is a donation to the ongoing running of the orphanage.
We receive many emails asking to volunteer for free, e.g. internships. Due to the ongoing costs of running an orphanage, all our volunteers pay the fees above, we do not offer non paying volunteer opportunities or discounts, we hope you understand.
Payments are non-refundable, we are happy to reschedule if something comes up and you have to change your dates.
Our home
You will find your stay at our home very relaxing. The location is tranquil: in a tiny village, at the foot of the hills and surrounded by tropical plants. The food is excellent, organic and traditional Southern Thai but we can cater for different dietary needs, e.g. vegetarian, vegan, gluten free. Please make your requirements clear before you arrive.
If you’d like to see the local area or do some travelling after your stay, there are many activities and places of interest in the area that Gai can organise for you, visiting an elephant sanctuary, canoeing in a national park, caving. We can arrange this before you arrive or during your stay.
Our home
You will find your stay at our home very relaxing. The location is tranquil: in a tiny village, at the foot of the hills and surrounded by tropical plants. The food is excellent, organic and traditional Southern Thai but we can cater for different dietary needs, e.g. vegetarian, vegan, gluten free. Please make your requirements clear before you arrive.
If you’d like to see the local area or do some travelling after your stay, there are many activities and places of interest in the area that Gai can organise for you, visiting an elephant sanctuary, canoeing in a national park, caving. We can arrange this before you arrive or during your stay.
Thai cooking lessons
If you are interested in learning to cook Thai food then what better setting than Gai’s big orphanage kitchen? She has a wealth of knowledge and can help people of all levels. Maybe you are new to Thai cuisine or maybe you are an expert but want to know specifically about the Southern Thailand style of cooking. Either way, Gai can help.
Volunteers can join in with the cooking daily, we can also organise a cooking lesson for visitors, please contact us for availability and price.
Typical Day
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 5 – 6am | Children – prayers |
| 6 – 7am | Children – prepare for school |
| 7 – 8am | Breakfast |
| 9 – 11am | Working, Cleaning |
| 11 – 12 | Cooking |
| 12 – 1pm | Lunch |
| 1 – 4pm | Working, Cleaning |
| 4 – 5pm | Sports, Play |
| 5 – 6pm | Cooking |
| 6 – 7pm | Dinner |
| 7 – 10pm | Homework, Teaching English, Prayers, Fundraising |
Ready to volunteer?
Fill in the form, we will check availability and get straight back to you. If you have more questions please contact us.
Testimonials from volunteers
I've just spent two superb weeks here at Baan San Fan. Gai, Sam and all the children have been so warm and welcoming, coming here really is like having an instant family! I’m really happy to have been included in so much around the home: going to the markets with Gai, helping to dig the new pond with Sam & the children, playing games, doing homework, helping (I hope!) with coconut oil. There were special occasions too: I was here for Christmas which was a lot of fun, food and giggles, we also had an awesome trip to beautiful Bangsak beach one morning, again a lot of giggles. One of the highlights for me was being able to teach at the local school and my enormous thanks to Gai & Sam for helping to arrange that, it was more than I'd hoped for. Gai’s cooking deserves a very special mention. If nothing else, come for the peanut curry, mushroom salad and plentiful papaya. I hope to be back to visit again soon.
Read more from Lucy at www.lucyjames.com
