North Carolina Mini Donkey Crashes Zoom Meetings to the Delight of Attendees
In partnership with: North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
In the last year, virtual meetings have become the new norm for work and socialization, and many Americans are experiencing a bit of fatigue. But a few creative farmers have just the cure. Francie Dunlap, owner of Peace N Peas Farm, discovered a unique virtual opportunity completely by accident. In April 2020, Dunlap was having a Zoom happy hour with friends while sitting on her back porch. After hearing farm noises in the background, her friends clamored to see the animals, so Dunlap took her phone out to the pastures and the group loved it. After putting together a website offering video meetings with her farm animals – as a joke for her friends, initially – Dunlap found it was actually a viable business. Soon enough, Peace N Peas Farm’s resident mini donkey, Mambo – and the idea of inviting an animal guest to a Zoom call – went viral.
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“Most people love it more than they expect to,” says Dunlap, who lives and farms near Charlotte. “In the beginning [of the pandemic], people were stressed about their changes in work, school and life, and the unexpected ‘Zoom-bombing’ donkey brought some much-needed laughs. Now, people simply have Zoom fatigue, and having surprise farm animal guests still gives them joy and brightens their day.”
For a mere $50, anyone can hire Mambo (and friends) to hop on a Zoom call for 10 minutes. “Sometimes the person who invited us doesn’t tell the host or boss and we get kicked off the meeting right away,” Dunlap says. “Sometimes people see us but not everyone does, and then it spreads, and people gradually try to figure out whether what they are seeing is real or not.”
Mambo has graced thousands of screens by now, dropping in on departmental meetings, huge international business meetings, classrooms, happy hours and more.
“People send business and university promotional gear in advance for the animals to wear or display in the meetings,” Dunlap says. “I started this business not even knowing if I could get the animals to cooperate, but I got lucky and it turns out the most popular guest, Mambo the mini donkey, lets me dress him up however I want!”
Dunlap never expected to spend hours with her phone in a donkey’s face and sharing him with the world, but that’s exactly what she’s spent the last year or so doing – and she couldn’t be happier about it.
“Speaking with people all over the world through news and interviews and Zoom calls has been amazingly fun,” she says. “Finding joy and connection where you can is what life is all about.”
To book a virtual visit with Mambo and other farm animals, visit dangrooster.com.