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.
欢迎来到百耶库, 拉各斯州伊科罗杜市 的一个河岸社区, 这是尼日利亚各地 众多河岸社区的缩影。 这些社区的河道里 被一种水草入侵泛滥成灾; 这些社区的日常经济活动 因此受到阻碍: 捕鱼业,海洋运输, 以及贸易; 这些社区的鱼产量因此缩减; 这些社区的学生因此 连续好几天,甚至好几周, 都无法去上学。 谁会想到,这种有着 圆形叶子,饱满的茎, 和鲜艳淡紫色花朵的植物 会给这些社区带来浩劫?
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."
这种植物就是水葫芦, 学名是凤眼莲。 有趣的是,在尼日利亚, 这种植物还有着一些别称, 有些与历史事件有关, 有些则与神话有关。 在一些地方,这种植物 被称为巴班吉达。 当你听到巴班吉达的时候, 你会想起军队和军事政变, 然后你会想到:恐惧,管制。 在尼日利亚的尼日尔三角洲地区, 这种植物叫做阿比奥拉。 当你听到阿比奥拉的时候, 你会想到无效选举, 然后你会想到:破灭的希望。 在尼日利亚的西南地区, 这种植物被称为贝布鲁, 贝布鲁是约鲁巴语, 意思是“流言”或“告密者”, “流言”会让你想到 快速繁殖,毁灭。 在尼日利亚的伊加拉语地区, 这种植物被称为“阿比伊波玛”。 听到这个词, 你会联想到死亡, 它的字面意思就是 “母亲和孩子的死亡”。
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.
2009年,我亲眼 目睹了这种植物。 那时我刚从美国搬回到 尼日利亚不久。 我辞掉在美国的工作, 决定去实现一个伟大的理想。 这个理想源自于 我深信在尼日利亚 的可持续发展方面 仍有很大发展空间。 所以在2009年的时候, 确切的说, 是在2009年年底。 我来到了拉各斯 的第三大陆桥上。
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.
我向左遥望, 看到触目惊心的一幕, 我看到渔船被水葫芦 密密麻麻地包围起来。 我对眼前的景象 感到痛心疾首, 因为我心里在想, “这些可怜的渔民, 在这种束缚下, 要如何维持日常生计呢?” 然后我想, “一定有更好的办法。” 一定有一个两全其美的方案, 一方面通过清除水草 开通水路以保护环境。 一方面, 为这些深受入侵杂草 困扰的社区 带来经济效益。 可以说,那一刻, 我灵光一现。
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."
接着,我做了进一步研究 来找寻这些杂草更多的价值。 其中,有一个最吸引我。 那就是用植物来做手工艺品。 我想,“这真是个好主意!” 我本身就很喜欢手工艺品, 尤其是有故事底蕴 的手工艺品。 我发现,“这不需要任何专业技能 就能很顺利的在当地社区中推广。” 我对自己说,“要实现这个宏大方案 只要三个简单的步骤。 ”
First step: Get out into the waterways and harvest the water hyacinth. That way, you create access.
第一步,进入河道, 收割水葫芦。 这样,就开通了水道。
Secondly, you dry the water hyacinth stems.
第二步,晾干水葫芦的茎。
And thirdly, you weave the water hyacinth into products.
第三步,把水葫芦编织成工艺品。
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.
第三步是一个挑战。 你看,我实际是个计算机科学家, 并非从事艺术创作的人。 因此我开始探索 如何才能学会编织。
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.
而这个探索将我带到伊巴丹的 一个社区,也是我住的地方, 萨博。 萨博的意思是“陌生人的住所”。 这个社区的居民 主要来自于尼日利亚北部。 毫不夸张的说, 我手捧着这堆晾干的水草, 事实上有好几束, 去挨家挨户敲门, 看谁能教我 如何把这些水葫芦茎 编织成绳子。 有人指引我来到 玛兰•雅哈亚的小屋, 可是问题是, 玛兰•雅哈亚不会说英语, 而我也不会说豪萨语。 所幸是有些小孩子 伸出了援手 帮助我们翻译。 我就是这样开始了 学习编织的旅程, 学会将这种晾干的水葫芦茎 编成长绳。
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.
有了长绳之后, 我现在就有能力 制作产品了。 这也开启了我的合作事业, 和藤篮制作者合作, 一起创造产品。 有它在手,我有信心 能够将这些知识 带回到河岸社区, 帮助他们把灾难变为财富。 把这些杂草编织成 可以出售的产品。 我们做了笔,餐具, 做了钱袋,纸巾盒。 借此也帮助当地社区 从另一个角度看待水葫芦, 将其视为有价值的, 有美感的,耐用的, 坚韧的,以及适应力强的。 改变名称,改变谋生之道。
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."
从贝布鲁,意思是流言, 到欧鲁苏坦, 意思是说故事的人。 从阿比伊波玛, 意思是“杀死母亲和孩子的人”, 变成雅度杰维波玛, 意思是“为母亲和孩子提供食物的人”。
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."
我想引用迈克尔•马戈利斯 的一段话作为结束。 他说,“想了解一种文化, 去聆听他们的故事。 想改变一种文化, 去改写他们的故事。”
And so, from Makoko community, to Abobiri, to Ewoi, to Kolo, to Owahwa, Esaba, we have changed the story.
所以,从马科科社区, 到阿博比利,到艾沃伊, 再到柯洛,奥瓦瓦,伊沙巴, 我们已经改写了故事。
Thank you for listening.
感谢你们的聆听。
(Applause)
(掌声)