Welcome to Bayeku, a riverine community in Ikorodu, Lagos -- a vivid representation of several riverine communities across Nigeria, communities whose waterways have been infested by an invasive aquatic weed; communities where economic livelihoods have been hampered: fishing, marine transportation and trading; communities where fish yields have diminished; communities where schoolchildren are unable to go to school for days, sometimes weeks, on end. Who would have thought that this plant with round leaves, inflated stems, and showy, lavender flowers would cause such havoc in these communities.
Benvidos a Bayecu, unha comunidade ribeirá en Ikorodu, Lagos unha vívida representación dalgunha das comunidades ribeiregas da Nixeria, comunidades cuxas levadas foron infestadas por unhas plantas acuáticas invasoras; comunidades que viron obstaculizado o sustento económico: a pesca, o transporte marítimo e o comercio; comunidades onde diminuíu a produción de peixe; comunidades onde o alumnado non pode ir á escola durante días, ás veces incluso durante semanas. Quen pensaría que esta planta con follas arredondadas, talo inflado, e rechamantes flores lavanda ía causar tal caos nestas comunidades.
The plant is known as water hyacinth and its botanical name, Eichhornia crassipes. Interestingly, in Nigeria, the plant is also known by other names, names associated with historical events, as well as myths. In some places, the plant is called Babangida. When you hear Babangida, you remember the military and military coups. And you think: fear, restraint. In parts of Nigeria in the Niger Delta, the plant is also known as Abiola. When you hear Abiola, you remember annulled elections and you think: dashed hopes. In the southwestern part of Nigeria, the plant is known as Gbe'borun. Gbe'borun is a Yoruba phrase which translates to "gossip," or "talebearer." When you think of gossip, you think: rapid reproduction, destruction. And in the Igala-speaking part of Nigeria, the plant is known as A Kp'iye Kp'oma, And when you hear that, you think of death. It literally translates to "death to mother and child."
Esta planta coñécese como xacinto de auga e o seu nome botánico é <i>Eichhornia crassipes</i>. En Nixeria, esta planta é coñecida tamén con outros nomes, nomes asociados a eventos históricos, como tamén a mitos. Nalgúns lugares, chámanlle Babangida. Cando oes Babangida, véñenseche á mente a milicia, os golpes militares. E pensas: medo, control. Nas zonas de Nixeria do delta do Níxer, chámanlle Abiola. Cando oes Abiola, lembras eleccións anuladas e pensas: esperanzas rotas. Na parte suroeste de Nixeria, chámanlle Gbe'borun. Gbe'borun é unha frase ioruba que se traduce como "chismes", ou "rexoubeiro". Cando pensas en "chismes", pensas: reprodución rápida, destrución. E na parte de Nixeria onde se fala igala á planta chámanlle A Kp'iye Kp'oma, e cando oes iso, pensas en morte. Tradúcese literalmente como "morte á nai e ao fillo".
I personally had my encounter with this plant in the year 2009. It was shortly after I had relocated from the US to Nigeria. I'd quit my job in corporate America and decided to take this big leap of faith, a leap of faith that came out of a deep sense of conviction that there was a lot of work to do in Nigeria in the area of sustainable development. And so here I was in the year 2009, actually, at the end of 2009, in Lagos on the Third Mainland Bridge.
Eu atopeime persoalmente con esta planta en 2009. Foi pouco despois de trasladarme dos EE. UU. a Nixeria. Deixei o meu traballo nunha entidade americana e decidín dar este gran salto ao baleiro, un salto provocado pola profunda convicción de que había moito por facer en Nixeria na área do desenvolvemento sustentable. Así que alí estaba eu en 2009, de feito, a finais de 2009, en Lagos, na Terceira Ponte Continental.
And I looked to my left and saw this very arresting image. It was an image of fishing boats that had been hemmed in by dense mats of water hyacinth. And I was really pained by what I saw because I thought to myself, "These poor fisherfolk, how are they going to go about their daily activities with these restrictions." And then I thought, "There's got to be a better way." A win-win solution whereby the environment is taken care of by the weeds being cleared out of the way and then this being turned into an economic benefit for the communities whose lives are impacted the most by the infestation of the weed. That, I would say, was my spark moment.
E mirei á miña esquerda e vin esta impresionante imaxe. Era unha imaxe de barcos pesqueiros que ficaran atrapados na matogueira de xacintos de auga. E eu estaba apenada por ver aquilo porque pensei para min, "Estes pobres pescadores, como van facer para continuar coa súa actividade con estas restricións". E logo pensei, "Ten que haber unha forma mellor". Unha solución gañadora onde se coide o medio ambiente eliminando esas malas herbas e logo converténdoas nun beneficio económico para as comunidades máis afectadas por esta infestación. Ese foi o meu momento de inspiración.
And so I did further research to find out more about the beneficial uses of this weed. Out of the several, one struck me the most. It was the use of the plant for handicrafts. And I thought, "What a great idea." Personally, I love handicrafts, especially handicrafts that are woven around a story. And so I thought, "This could be easily deployed within the communities without the requirement of technical skills." And I thought to myself, "Three simple steps to a mega solution."
Así que investiguei máis a fondo para descubrir máis sobre os usos beneficiosos desta planta. Entre varias, unha chamoume especialmente a atención. Foi o uso desta planta para obxectos artesanais. E pensei: "Que boa idea!". Persoalmente, encántame a artesanía, especialmente obxectos artesanais cosidos arredor dunha historia. Así que pensei, "Poderíase pór en marcha isto nas comunidades sen necesidade de habilidades técnicas" E pensei para min, "3 simples pasos para unha gran solución"
First step: Get out into the waterways and harvest the water hyacinth. That way, you create access.
Primeiro: vai aos canais e recolle xacinto de auga. Desa maneira, creas accesos.
Secondly, you dry the water hyacinth stems.
Segundo: seca o talo do xacinto de auga.
And thirdly, you weave the water hyacinth into products.
E terceiro: crea tecendo produtos co xacinto de auga.
The third step was a challenge. See, I'm a computer scientist by background and not someone in the creative arts. And so I began my quest to find out how I can learn how to weave.
O terceiro paso foi un desafío. Eu son unha informática de formación e non alguén de artes creativas. Así que comecei a miña busca para atopar como aprender a tecer.
And this quest took me to a community in Ibadan, where I lived, called Sabo. Sabo translates to "strangers' quarters." And the community is predominantly made up of people from the northern part of the country. So I literally took my dried weeds in hand, there were several more of them, and went knocking from door to door to find out who could teach me how to weave these water hyacinth stems into ropes. And I was directed to the shed of Malam Yahaya. The problem, though, is that Malam Yahaya doesn't speak English and neither did I speak Hausa. But some little kids came to the rescue and helped translate. And that began my journey of learning how to weave and transform these dried water hyacinth stems into long ropes.
Esta busca levoume a unha comunidade en Ibadan, onde eu vivira, chamada Sabo. Sabo tradúcese como "barrios dos estraños". E a comunidade está formada maiormente por persoas da parte norte do país. Así que, literalmente, collín as miñas malas herbas secas, --había moitas máis-- e fun porta por porta intentando atopar quen me ensinase a converter en cordas os talos do xacinto de auga. E mandáronme á cabaña de Malam Yahaya. O problema é que Malam Yahaya non fala inglés e eu tampouco falo hausa. Pero algúns nenos viñeron ao rescate e axudaron coa tradución. E alí comezou a miña viaxe para aprender a tecer e transformar os talos secos do xacinto de auga en cordas longas.
With my long ropes in hand, I was now equipped to make products. And that was the beginning of partnerships. Working with rattan basket makers to come up with products. So with this in hand, I felt confident that I would be able to take this knowledge back into the riverine communities and help them to transform their adversity into prosperity. So taking these weeds and actually weaving them into products that can be sold. So we have pens, we have tableware, we have purses, we have tissue boxes. Thereby, helping the communities to see water hyacinth in a different light. Seeing water hyacinth as being valuable, being aesthetic, being durable, tough, resilient. Changing names, changing livelihoods.
Coas miñas cordas longas na man, estaba xa preparada para facer produtos. E iso foi o comezo de colaboracións. Traballando con cesteiros de ratán para crear novos produtos. Así que, con isto nas mans, sentinme confiada en que debería ser quen de levar este coñecemento ás comunidades ribeirás e axudalas a transformar a adversidade en prosperidade. É dicir, coller estas herbas e convertelas en produtos que se poidan vender. Así que temos bolígrafos, utensilios de mesa, carteiras, caixas para panos. Desta maneira, estábase axudando ás comunidades a ver doutro xeito o xacinto de auga. A ver o xacinto de auga como algo valioso, estético, duradeiro, resistente, elástico. A cambiar nomes, formas de vida.
From Gbe'borun, gossip, to Olusotan, storyteller. And from A Kp'iye Kp'oma, which is "killer of mother and child," to Ya du j'ewn w'Iye kp'Oma, "provider of food for mother and child."
Desde Gbe'borun, chismes, ata Olusotan, contador de historias. E desde A Kp'iye Kp'oma, que é "asasino de nai e fillo", ata Ya du j'ewn w'lye kp'Oma, "Provedor de comida para nai e fillo".
And I'd like to end with a quote by Michael Margolis. He said, "If you want to learn about a culture, listen to the stories. And if you want to change a culture, change the stories."
E gustaríame rematar cunha cita de Michael Margolis. El di: "Se queres aprender sobre a cultura, escoita as historias. E se queres cambiar unha cultura, cambia as historias".
And so, from Makoko community, to Abobiri, to Ewoi, to Kolo, to Owahwa, Esaba, we have changed the story.
Así que, desde a comunidade de Makoko, ata Abobiri, ata Ewoi, ata Kolo, ata Owahwa, Esaba, nós cambiamos a historia.
Thank you for listening.
Grazas por escoitar.
(Applause)
(Aplausos)