Reading Elephant Laos is not a non-governmental organization (NGO). It is the name of a project or a non-profit initiative in Ban Houayxay, in Bokeo province, located in north-western Laos. Its stated objective is to promote reading and literacy skills in children and adolescents alike. Exclusively conducted and run by young people on the ground, the project is supported by people in Laos and abroad.

In order to assist children and teenagers experience “reading”, Reading Elephant Laos works jointly with a group of Laotian publishers who recently began publishing books for children in Lao over the last eleven years. In addition to a small book sale, the establishment of a mobile children’s library – beginning with a reading room in the provincial capital – specifically targets children in remote villages. Many of them will thereby have the opportunity to read a book for the first time in their lives.

Funding is mainly through donations. A part of logistical costs will be covered by the sale of books as well as local craft products.