Family History
Maprang was born on January 1, 1968, on Sam Sao Mountain, Tha Ton sub-district, Mae Ai district, Chiang Mai Province. She was born into the Padoong, commonly known as the Long Neck Karen, the first generation of Long Neck Karen people in Thailand, and was well-known in the province of Chiang Mai. Maprang made a living by selling souvenirs to foreign customers, such as handwoven fabrics, wristbands, and more.
Chokchai, the founder of Chokchai Elephant Camp, at that time, worked as a forest tour guide and brought tourists to visit the Long Neck Karen hill tribe. He met Maprang, a Long Neck Karen residing on Sam Sao Mountain, during these tours. They got to know each other and provided mutual assistance, eventually falling in love and starting a family. They had four children together: their first son, Chatchai Srisiriwilai, their second son, Chanchai Srisiriwilai, their third daughter, Napaporn Srisiriwilai, and their fourth daughter, Yuwadee Srisiriwilai. Afterwards, Chokchai used some of Maprang’s money to purchase land in the Nana Phaoh hill tribe village in Tha Tan sub-district, Mae Ai district, Chiang Mai province. He then established the Long Neck Karen tourism business by charging entrance fees. Chokchai brought Maprang to help work in the Long Neck Karen village to attract tourists, making them well-known among tourists. After opening the Long Neck Karen village to tourists and earning some money, they decided to expand their business. Maprang took one million baht, which she had saved from selling souvenirs to tourists and had buried in the ground. With this money, they purchased land in Mae Taeng and acquired three elephants. They continued to develop their business until they had a total of over 70 elephants.
Chatchai was born on October 29, 2000, into the Padoong and Lahoo family. His father runs the elephant camp business, offering tourists elephant rides and elephant shows for their entertainment. However, behind the scenes, these elephants were subjected to physical abuse and mistreatment, following the orders of the mahouts. This was a point that made him feel compassion for the elephants, and he had a desire to transform this business into an ethical one. Due to his young age, he couldn’t voice his thoughts at that time. It wasn’t until the COVID-19 pandemic hit, causing a severe downturn in tourism and a lack of visitors to Chokchai Elephant Camp. Therefore, some of the elephants had to be sold in order to earn money to buy food for the remaining elephants. His father fell seriously ill and eventually passed away due to cancer. Afterwards, at the age of 22, Chatchai took over the responsibility of managing the elephant camp. He transformed the care of the elephants into a conservation-oriented approach, with the assistance and knowledge provided by Saengduean Chailert. This approach has continued to the present day.
