Achenyo Idachaba: How I turned a deadly plant into a thriving business | TED

Translator: Maria Serrano Lopez Reviewer: Xosé María Moreno

Welcome to Bayeku,

Benvidos a Bayecu,

a riverine community in Ikorodu, Lagos --

unha comunidade ribeirá en Ikorodu, Lagos

a vivid representation of several riverine communities across Nigeria,

unha vívida representación dalgunha das comunidades ribeiregas da Nixeria,

communities whose waterways have been infested

comunidades cuxas levadas foron infestadas

by an invasive aquatic weed;

por unhas plantas acuáticas invasoras;

communities where economic livelihoods have been hampered:

comunidades que viron obstaculizado o sustento económico:

fishing, marine transportation

a pesca, o transporte marítimo

and trading;

e o comercio;

communities where fish yields have diminished;

comunidades onde diminuíu a produción de peixe;

communities where schoolchildren are unable to go to school

comunidades onde o alumnado non pode ir á escola

for days, sometimes weeks, on end.

durante días, ás veces incluso durante semanas.

Who would have thought that this plant

Quen pensaría que esta planta

with round leaves, inflated stems, and showy, lavender flowers

con follas arredondadas, talo inflado, e rechamantes flores lavanda

would cause such havoc in these communities.

ía causar tal caos nestas comunidades.

The plant is known as water hyacinth

Esta planta coñécese como xacinto de auga

and its botanical name, Eichhornia crassipes.

e o seu nome botánico é Eichhornia crassipes.

Interestingly, in Nigeria, the plant is also known by other names,

En Nixeria, esta planta é coñecida tamén con outros nomes,

names associated with historical events,

nomes asociados a eventos históricos,

as well as myths.

como tamén a mitos.

In some places, the plant is called Babangida.

Nalgúns lugares, chámanlle Babangida.

When you hear Babangida, you remember the military and military coups.

Cando oes Babangida, véñenseche á mente a milicia, os golpes militares.

And you think: fear, restraint.

E pensas: medo, control.

In parts of Nigeria in the Niger Delta, the plant is also known as Abiola.

Nas zonas de Nixeria do delta do Níxer, chámanlle Abiola.

When you hear Abiola, you remember annulled elections

Cando oes Abiola, lembras eleccións anuladas

and you think: dashed hopes.

e pensas: esperanzas rotas.

In the southwestern part of Nigeria,

Na parte suroeste de Nixeria,

the plant is known as Gbe'borun.

chámanlle Gbe'borun.

Gbe'borun is a Yoruba phrase

Gbe'borun é unha frase ioruba

which translates to "gossip," or "talebearer."

que se traduce como "chismes", ou "rexoubeiro".

When you think of gossip, you think: rapid reproduction, destruction.

Cando pensas en "chismes", pensas: reprodución rápida, destrución.

And in the Igala-speaking part of Nigeria,

E na parte de Nixeria onde se fala igala

the plant is known as A Kp'iye Kp'oma,

á planta chámanlle A Kp'iye Kp'oma,

And when you hear that, you think of death.

e cando oes iso, pensas en morte.

It literally translates to "death to mother and child."

Tradúcese literalmente como "morte á nai e ao fillo".

I personally had my encounter with this plant in the year 2009.

Eu atopeime persoalmente con esta planta en 2009.

It was shortly after I had relocated from the US to Nigeria.

Foi pouco despois de trasladarme dos EE. UU. a Nixeria.

I'd quit my job in corporate America

Deixei o meu traballo nunha entidade americana

and decided to take this big leap of faith,

e decidín dar este gran salto ao baleiro,

a leap of faith that came out of a deep sense of conviction

un salto provocado pola profunda convicción

that there was a lot of work to do in Nigeria

de que había moito por facer en Nixeria

in the area of sustainable development.

na área do desenvolvemento sustentable.

And so here I was in the year 2009,

Así que alí estaba eu en 2009,

actually, at the end of 2009,

de feito, a finais de 2009,

in Lagos on the Third Mainland Bridge.

en Lagos, na Terceira Ponte Continental.

And I looked to my left and saw this very arresting image.

E mirei á miña esquerda e vin esta impresionante imaxe.

It was an image of fishing boats

Era unha imaxe de barcos pesqueiros

that had been hemmed in by dense mats of water hyacinth.

que ficaran atrapados na matogueira de xacintos de auga.

And I was really pained by what I saw

E eu estaba apenada por ver aquilo

because I thought to myself,

porque pensei para min,

"These poor fisherfolk,

"Estes pobres pescadores,

how are they going to go about their daily activities

como van facer para continuar coa súa actividade

with these restrictions."

con estas restricións".

And then I thought, "There's got to be a better way."

E logo pensei, "Ten que haber unha forma mellor".

A win-win solution whereby the environment is taken care of

Unha solución gañadora onde se coide o medio ambiente

by the weeds being cleared out of the way

eliminando esas malas herbas

and then this being turned into an economic benefit

e logo converténdoas nun beneficio económico

for the communities whose lives are impacted the most

para as comunidades máis afectadas

by the infestation of the weed.

por esta infestación.

That, I would say, was my spark moment.

Ese foi o meu momento de inspiración.

And so I did further research to find out more

Así que investiguei máis a fondo para descubrir máis

about the beneficial uses of this weed.

sobre os usos beneficiosos desta planta.

Out of the several, one struck me the most.

Entre varias, unha chamoume especialmente a atención.

It was the use of the plant for handicrafts.

Foi o uso desta planta para obxectos artesanais.

And I thought, "What a great idea."

E pensei: "Que boa idea!".

Personally, I love handicrafts,

Persoalmente, encántame a artesanía,

especially handicrafts that are woven around a story.

especialmente obxectos artesanais cosidos arredor dunha historia.

And so I thought, "This could be easily deployed within the communities

Así que pensei, "Poderíase pór en marcha isto nas comunidades

without the requirement of technical skills."

sen necesidade de habilidades técnicas"

And I thought to myself, "Three simple steps to a mega solution."

E pensei para min, "3 simples pasos para unha gran solución"

First step: Get out into the waterways and harvest the water hyacinth.

Primeiro: vai aos canais e recolle xacinto de auga.

That way, you create access.

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.

O terceiro paso foi un desafío.

See, I'm a computer scientist by background

Eu son unha informática de formación

and not someone in the creative arts.

e non alguén de artes creativas.

And so I began my quest

Así que comecei a miña busca

to find out how I can learn how to weave.

para atopar como aprender a tecer.

And this quest took me to a community in Ibadan, where I lived,

Esta busca levoume a unha comunidade en Ibadan, onde eu vivira,

called Sabo.

chamada Sabo.

Sabo translates to "strangers' quarters."

Sabo tradúcese como "barrios dos estraños".

And the community is predominantly made up of people

E a comunidade está formada maiormente por persoas

from the northern part of the country.

da parte norte do país.

So I literally took my dried weeds in hand,

Así que, literalmente, collín as miñas malas herbas secas,

there were several more of them,

--había moitas máis--

and went knocking from door to door to find out who could teach me

e fun porta por porta intentando atopar quen me ensinase

how to weave these water hyacinth stems into ropes.

a converter en cordas os talos do xacinto de auga.

And I was directed to the shed of Malam Yahaya.

E mandáronme á cabaña de Malam Yahaya.

The problem, though, is that Malam Yahaya doesn't speak English

O problema é que Malam Yahaya non fala inglés

and neither did I speak Hausa.

e eu tampouco falo hausa.

But some little kids came to the rescue

Pero algúns nenos viñeron ao rescate

and helped translate.

e axudaron coa tradución.

And that began my journey of learning how to weave

E alí comezou a miña viaxe para aprender a tecer

and transform these dried water hyacinth stems

e transformar os talos secos do xacinto de auga

into long ropes.

en cordas longas.

With my long ropes in hand,

Coas miñas cordas longas na man,

I was now equipped to make products.

estaba xa preparada para facer produtos.

And that was the beginning of partnerships.

E iso foi o comezo de colaboracións.

Working with rattan basket makers to come up with products.

Traballando con cesteiros de ratán para crear novos produtos.

So with this in hand, I felt confident

Así que, con isto nas mans, sentinme confiada

that I would be able to take this knowledge

en que debería ser quen de levar este coñecemento

back into the riverine communities

ás comunidades ribeirás

and help them to transform their adversity into prosperity.

e axudalas a transformar a adversidade en prosperidade.

So taking these weeds and actually weaving them

É dicir, coller estas herbas e convertelas

into products that can be sold.

en produtos que se poidan vender.

So we have pens, we have tableware,

Así que temos bolígrafos, utensilios de mesa,

we have purses, we have tissue boxes.

carteiras, caixas para panos.

Thereby, helping the communities

Desta maneira, estábase axudando ás comunidades

to see water hyacinth in a different light.

a ver doutro xeito o xacinto de auga.

Seeing water hyacinth as being valuable,

A ver o xacinto de auga como algo valioso,

being aesthetic, being durable, tough, resilient.

estético, duradeiro, resistente, elástico.

Changing names, changing livelihoods.

A cambiar nomes, formas de vida.

From Gbe'borun, gossip,

Desde Gbe'borun, chismes,

to Olusotan, storyteller.

ata Olusotan, contador de historias.

And from A Kp'iye Kp'oma, which is "killer of mother and child,"

E desde A Kp'iye Kp'oma, que é "asasino de nai e fillo",

to Ya du j'ewn w'Iye kp'Oma,

ata Ya du j'ewn w'lye kp'Oma,

"provider of food for mother and child."

"Provedor de comida para nai e fillo".

And I'd like to end with a quote by Michael Margolis.

E gustaríame rematar cunha cita de Michael Margolis.

He said, "If you want to learn about a culture, listen to the stories.

El di: "Se queres aprender sobre a cultura, escoita as historias.

And if you want to change a culture, change the stories."

E se queres cambiar unha cultura, cambia as historias".

And so, from Makoko community, to Abobiri, to Ewoi,

Así que, desde a comunidade de Makoko, ata Abobiri, ata Ewoi,

to Kolo, to Owahwa, Esaba,

ata Kolo, ata Owahwa, Esaba,

we have changed the story.

nós cambiamos a historia.

Thank you for listening.

Grazas por escoitar.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)