When Life Hands You Mulberries...

From 10am to 5pm the farm slightly rattles and shakes from the thumping techno beats at one of the nearby river bars. It certainly offsets the tranquility of this place.The town of Vang Vieng has become a backpacker haven because of the growing number of river bars/parties and the ridiculously cheap food and accommodations.

Although the farm is concerned about the growing numbers turning the town into party central, they decided to make the best of a situation under the philosophy of “If you can’t beat'em, join'em”. They set up a “drinks bar” to cater to the tubers floating along the Nam Song River with some advantages the other bars don’t have:

1. The farm is the first stop on the tubing route along the river
2. All proceeds from the bar go to local community development projects (specifically the school bus)
3. The drinks are all organic, made with the ingredients from the farm

I had time in between feeding the goats and teaching English so bartending became my afternoon contribution. And with plenty of mulberries around, I’m proud to say that I’ve invented the mulberry mojito (patent pending). The signs were soon to follow: DRINK FOR THE CHILDREN, FRESH AND ORGANIC MULBERRY MOJITOS! Once the mojito signs went up, the crowds multiplied and I was immediately deemed the marketing/promotion and graphics department for the farm.

How to Make A Mulberry Mojito
 •  5 lime wedges (squeezed)
 •  8-10 mulberries
 •  Handful of mint leaves
 •  1 shot of sugar cane juice
 •  2 shots of lao lao (homemade rice whiskey)
--Crush ingredients with skewers--
 •  Ice
 •  Club Soda

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