Meet Our Speakers

Vijo Varghese is the co-founder of the OurLand Nature Reserve and Education Center, located in a corridor near the biodiversity-rich Salakphra Sanctuary in Kanchanaburi, Thailand. An environmentalist at heart, he left his career as a corporate executive to pursue his dream of protecting wild spaces. As an expert on snake handling, Vijo operates a snake and wildlife rescue at the reserve, and also acts as an educator and advocate for captive and wild Asian elephants. OurLand aims to preserve and reforest 1000 rai in the next 5 years, working to repair fragmented habitats and prevent further deforestation.