Can Tho, the snakes have an economic purpose. Nam Vinh's garden is a case study in the importance of cash crops to Vietnam's economy.
Cocoa pods yield the seeds from which chocolate is made and also produce a sweet liqueur.
Coconut palms 30 feet tall shade several varieties of cocoa trees, laden with green and red seed pods. Black pepper vines wind their way up poles sunk at intervals through the garden. And two lean working cats roam the grounds. The plot, just over an acre, is small even by Vietnamese standards. Yet Vinh's home is twice as large as others in this relatively prosperous area and his income puts him in the top 5 percent of all Mekong Delta farmers.