Back in SF, sustainable living was a huge part of our daily lives – we ate local food, biked everywhere and generally tried to be environmentally conscious. We heard about an organic farm about 4km south of Vang Vieng and decided to stop there for one last lunch before we parted ways with our friends, Nikki and Joyce. Following a tasty meal (including phenomenal goat cheese sandwiches), we saw a sign recruiting volunteers and jumped at the opportunity. The next day, after saying a sad farewell to our SF homies, we headed to the farm and got down to work for the first time in 8 months.
Vang Vieng Organic Farm consists of the main restaurant, a goat enclosure and about dozen other buildings situated right on the Nam Song river. We were surrounded by mulberry fields, banana tree orchards and magnificent mountains in an idyllic setting… with a single exception. The farm was directly in the path of a sound tunnel from which you could hear pounding music coming from the tubing bars 100 meters down the river. Between 10am and 6pm, top 100 UK billboard chart songs would blend together and float as a single cacophony across the whole farm. At first it was maddening but after a few days you barely noticed it (unless Fergie was dropped in the mix – horrifying).
Our job was to help out with the construction of a mud house. Mud houses are made from sun-dried bricks and are great at keeping the interior cool in hot weather or warm in cold weather. Plus, they are made just of sand, straw and clay – completely sustainable building materials. When we arrived, the structure itself was nearly complete and just lacked the finishing touches to make the house livable. Surprisingly, there was no leader and no list of projects to be done. The house was the collective creative output of dozens of volunteers who had come through the farm, slowly adding their personal touches toward an unknown finished product. The basic philosophy was, “If you see something that needs doing, do it”. We were free to do anything we wanted and let the creative juices flow. At one point, I decided to build a geodesic sphere chandelier from bamboo that would probably take a few full days and the only feedback I received was, “Sounds cool. Can’t wait to see it.” It was as close to heaven as I can imagine.
We lived with five other volunteers in another mud house and formed a tight knit group that worked during the day and chilled at night. For the first time since starting our trip so long ago we felt at home. Time flew by, and what started as a few days quickly turned into a few weeks. We collectively decided to leave shortly after Christmas but not before throwing a holiday party to show off the new mud house. By some coincidence, all our projects were completed on Christmas Eve, and the house was in full working order – It had a beautiful mosaic on the bathroom floor thanks to Kim and Marjolaine, a complete roof thanks to Kahlyn and Diego, a gorgeous bedroom thanks to Andy, and electricity thanks to yours truly. We got crates of Beerlao, slaughtered a pig – a gory yet educational experience – and invited everyone at the farm. The night is slightly hazy but I can say that we drank plenty of lao hai, ate pork and danced to Lao pop music ’til the wee hours of the morning. A huge thanks to our mud house crew, the owner, Mr. T and the rest of the organic farm staff for this truly fulfilling experience.