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.
Dobrodošli u Bajeku, rečnu zajednicu u Ikoroduu, u Lagosu - živopisni prikaz nekoliko rečnih zajednica širom Nigerije, zajednica čije je vodene tokove zahvatila invazivna vodena trava. To su zajednice u kojima je bila otežana ekonomska egzistencija - ribolov, pomorski saobraćaj i trgovina; zajednice gde su prinosi ribe smanjeni; zajednice gde su đaci sprečeni da idu u školu danima, ponekad i nedeljama uzastopno. Ko bi rekao da će ova biljka sa okruglim listovima, visokim stabljikama i raskošnim cvetovima poput lavande, izazvati takvo rasulo u ovim zajednicama.
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."
Biljka je poznata pod imenom vodeni hijakint i botaničkim imenom Eichhornia crassipes. Zanimljivo je da je u Nigeriji ova biljka poznata i po drugim imenima vezanim za istorijske događaje, kao i mitove. U nekim mestima je zovu babangida. Kada čujete babangida, setite se vojske i vojnih udara i pomislite na strah, ograničavanje. U delovima Nigerije u delti reke Niger, biljka je takođe poznata kao abiola. Kada čujete abiola, setite se poništenih izbora i pomislite: „Zgažena nada.“ U jugozapadnom delu Nigerije, biljka je poznata kao gbeborun. Gbeborun je izraz na jeziku Joruba koji u prevodu znači „trač“ ili „potkazivač“. Kada pomislite na trač, pomislite: „Brzo razmnožavanje, uništavanje.“ A u delu Nigerije u kome se govori Igala jezikom, biljka je poznata kao „akpije kpoma“. Kada to čujete, pomislite na smrt. Bukvalan prevod je „smrt majci i detetu“.
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.
Lično sam se susrela sa ovom biljkom 2009. godine. Bilo je to ubrzo nakon mog preseljenja iz SAD-a u Nigeriju. Napustila sam svoj posao u korporativnoj Americi i odlučila se na veliki skok u nepoznato, skok koji je proizašao iz dubokog uverenja da u Nigeriji ima mnogo toga što treba uraditi u oblasti održivog razvoja. Tako sam se tu našla 2009. godine, zapravo, pri kraju 2009. godine, u Lagosu na Trećem kopnenom mostu.
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.
Pogledala sam sa svoje leve strane i ugledala zapanjujuć prizor. Bio je to prizor ribarskih brodova zarobljenih u gustim prostirkama vodenog hijakinta. Zaista me je zabolelo to što sam videla jer sam pomislila: „Siroti ribari, kako li će nastaviti sa svojim dnevnim aktivnostima uz ova ograničenja?“ A zatim sam pomislila: „Mora da postoji bolji način.“ Dobitno rešenje za sve, u kome je životna sredina sređena tako što je uklonjen korov, a to zatim pretvoreno u ekonomsku dobit za zajednice u kojima su životi najviše pogođeni haranjem ove trave. To je, rekla bih, bio moj trenutak inspiracije.
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."
Zatim sam dodatno istraživala i otkrila nešto više o korisnim upotrebama ove trave. Od nekoliko upotreba, jedna je ostavila najveći utisak na mene. Bilo je to korišćenje biljke za rukotvorine. Pomislila sam: „Baš sjajna ideja.“ Lično volim rukotvorine, naročito one koji su vezane za neku priču. Tako sam pomislila: „To bi se moglo lako uspostaviti u zajednicama bez potrebe za tehničkim veštinama.“ Pomislila sam u sebi: „Tri jednostavna koraka do izuzetnog rešenja.“
First step: Get out into the waterways and harvest the water hyacinth. That way, you create access.
Prvi korak - doći na vodene puteve i sakupiti vodeni hijakint. Na taj način, stvarate prilaz.
Secondly, you dry the water hyacinth stems.
Drugo, osušite stabljike vodenog hijakinta
And thirdly, you weave the water hyacinth into products.
i treće, vodeni hijakint se utka u proizvode.
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.
Treći korak je predstavljao izazov. Vidite, ja sam po zanimanju informatičar, a ne neko ko se bavi kreativnom umetnošću. Tako sam otpočela svoju potragu radi otkrivanja kako da naučim da tkam.
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.
Ta potraga me je dovela u zajednicu u Ibadanu, gde sam živela, po imenu Sabo. Sabo u prevodu znači „strančeve odaje“. Zajednicu pretežno sačinjavaju ljudi iz severnog dela zemlje. Bukvalno sam uzela suve travke u ruku, bilo ih je nešto više, i krenula sam od vrata do vrata da bih našla nekog ko bi me naučio kako da tkam ove stabljike vodenog hijakinta u konopce. Uputili su me u kolibu Malam Jaja. Međutim, problem je bio u tome što Malam Jaja ne govori engleski, a ni ja ne znam jezik hausa, ali su neka dečica pritekla u pomoć i prevodila. Time je otpočelo moje putovanje učenja kako da tkam i pretvorim ove sušene stabljike vodenog hijakinta u dugačke konopce.
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.
Sa dugačkim konopcima u ruci, bila sam opremljena da stvaram proizvode. To je bio početak partnerstava, rada sa tvorcima korpi od ratan palmi kako bismo došli do proizvoda. Sa ovim u ruci, bila sam sigurna da ću moći da odnesem ovo znanje u rečne zajednice i pomognem im da pretvore svoju nedaću u povoljnu okolnost. Dakle, da odnesemo ovu travu i da je utkamo u proizvode koji se mogu prodati. Tako imamo olovke, stoni pribor, tašne, kutije za maramice. Na taj način pomažemo zajednicama da sagledaju vodenog hijakinta u drugačijem svetlu, kao korisnog, estetskog, izdržljivog, jakog, otpornog, koji je promenio imena i promenio sredstva za život,
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."
od gbeboruna - trača, do olušatana - pripovedača. Od „akpije kpoma“ - ubice majke i deteta, do „jadudževn vlije kpoma“ - snabdevača hrane za majku i dete.
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."
Htela bih da završim citatom Majkla Margolisa. Rekao je: „Ako hoćete da naučite o kulturi, slušajte priče. Ako hoćete da promenite kulturu, promenite priče.“
And so, from Makoko community, to Abobiri, to Ewoi, to Kolo, to Owahwa, Esaba, we have changed the story.
I tako smo, od Makoko zajednice, Abobirija, Evoija, sve do Koloa, Ovavae i Esabe promenili priču.
Thank you for listening.
Hvala što ste me saslušali.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)