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

Prevodilac: Ivana Krivokuća Lektor: Tijana Mihajlović

Welcome to Bayeku,

Dobrodošli u Bajeku,

a riverine community in Ikorodu, Lagos --

rečnu zajednicu u Ikoroduu, u Lagosu -

a vivid representation of several riverine communities across Nigeria,

živopisni prikaz nekoliko rečnih zajednica

širom Nigerije,

communities whose waterways have been infested

zajednica čije je vodene tokove zahvatila

by an invasive aquatic weed;

invazivna vodena trava.

communities where economic livelihoods have been hampered:

To su zajednice u kojima je bila otežana ekonomska egzistencija -

fishing, marine transportation

ribolov, pomorski saobraćaj i trgovina;

and trading;

communities where fish yields have diminished;

zajednice gde su prinosi ribe smanjeni;

communities where schoolchildren are unable to go to school

zajednice gde su đaci sprečeni da idu u školu danima,

for days, sometimes weeks, on end.

ponekad i nedeljama uzastopno.

Who would have thought that this plant

Ko bi rekao da će ova biljka

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

sa okruglim listovima, visokim stabljikama i raskošnim cvetovima poput lavande,

would cause such havoc in these communities.

izazvati takvo rasulo u ovim zajednicama.

Biljka je poznata pod imenom vodeni hijakint

The plant is known as water hyacinth

and its botanical name, Eichhornia crassipes.

i botaničkim imenom Eichhornia crassipes.

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

Zanimljivo je da je u Nigeriji ova biljka poznata i po drugim imenima

names associated with historical events,

vezanim za istorijske događaje,

as well as myths.

kao i mitove.

In some places, the plant is called Babangida.

U nekim mestima je zovu babangida.

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

Kada čujete babangida, setite se vojske i vojnih udara

And you think: fear, restraint.

i pomislite na strah, ograničavanje.

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

U delovima Nigerije u delti reke Niger, biljka je takođe poznata kao abiola.

When you hear Abiola, you remember annulled elections

Kada čujete abiola, setite se poništenih izbora

and you think: dashed hopes.

i pomislite: „Zgažena nada.“

In the southwestern part of Nigeria,

U jugozapadnom delu Nigerije,

the plant is known as Gbe'borun.

biljka je poznata kao gbeborun.

Gbe'borun is a Yoruba phrase

Gbeborun je izraz na jeziku Joruba

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

koji u prevodu znači „trač“ ili „potkazivač“.

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

Kada pomislite na trač, pomislite: „Brzo razmnožavanje, uništavanje.“

And in the Igala-speaking part of Nigeria,

A u delu Nigerije u kome se govori Igala jezikom,

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

biljka je poznata kao „akpije kpoma“.

And when you hear that, you think of death.

Kada to čujete, pomislite na smrt.

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

Bukvalan prevod je „smrt majci i detetu“.

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

Lično sam se susrela sa ovom biljkom 2009. godine.

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

Bilo je to ubrzo nakon mog preseljenja iz SAD-a u Nigeriju.

I'd quit my job in corporate America

Napustila sam svoj posao u korporativnoj Americi

and decided to take this big leap of faith,

i odlučila se na veliki skok u nepoznato,

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

skok koji je proizašao iz dubokog uverenja

da u Nigeriji ima mnogo toga što treba uraditi

that there was a lot of work to do in Nigeria

in the area of sustainable development.

u oblasti održivog razvoja.

And so here I was in the year 2009,

Tako sam se tu našla 2009. godine,

actually, at the end of 2009,

zapravo, pri kraju 2009. godine,

u Lagosu na Trećem kopnenom mostu.

in Lagos on the Third Mainland Bridge.

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

Pogledala sam sa svoje leve strane i ugledala zapanjujuć prizor.

It was an image of fishing boats

Bio je to prizor ribarskih brodova

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

zarobljenih u gustim prostirkama vodenog hijakinta.

And I was really pained by what I saw

Zaista me je zabolelo to što sam videla

because I thought to myself,

jer sam pomislila:

"These poor fisherfolk,

„Siroti ribari,

how are they going to go about their daily activities

kako li će nastaviti sa svojim dnevnim aktivnostima

with these restrictions."

uz ova ograničenja?“

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

A zatim sam pomislila: „Mora da postoji bolji način.“

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

Dobitno rešenje za sve, u kome je životna sredina sređena

by the weeds being cleared out of the way

tako što je uklonjen korov,

and then this being turned into an economic benefit

a to zatim pretvoreno u ekonomsku dobit

for the communities whose lives are impacted the most

za zajednice u kojima su životi najviše pogođeni

by the infestation of the weed.

haranjem ove trave.

That, I would say, was my spark moment.

To je, rekla bih, bio moj trenutak inspiracije.

And so I did further research to find out more

Zatim sam dodatno istraživala i otkrila nešto više

about the beneficial uses of this weed.

o korisnim upotrebama ove trave.

Out of the several, one struck me the most.

Od nekoliko upotreba, jedna je ostavila najveći utisak na mene.

It was the use of the plant for handicrafts.

Bilo je to korišćenje biljke za rukotvorine.

And I thought, "What a great idea."

Pomislila sam: „Baš sjajna ideja.“

Personally, I love handicrafts,

Lično volim rukotvorine,

especially handicrafts that are woven around a story.

naročito one koji su vezane za neku priču.

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

Tako sam pomislila: „To bi se moglo lako uspostaviti u zajednicama

without the requirement of technical skills."

bez potrebe za tehničkim veštinama.“

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

Pomislila sam u sebi:

„Tri jednostavna koraka do izuzetnog rešenja.“

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

Prvi korak - doći na vodene puteve i sakupiti vodeni hijakint.

That way, you create access.

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.

Treći korak je predstavljao izazov.

See, I'm a computer scientist by background

Vidite, ja sam po zanimanju informatičar,

and not someone in the creative arts.

a ne neko ko se bavi kreativnom umetnošću.

And so I began my quest

Tako sam otpočela svoju potragu

to find out how I can learn how to weave.

radi otkrivanja kako da naučim da tkam.

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

Ta potraga me je dovela u zajednicu u Ibadanu, gde sam živela,

called Sabo.

po imenu Sabo.

Sabo translates to "strangers' quarters."

Sabo u prevodu znači „strančeve odaje“.

And the community is predominantly made up of people

Zajednicu pretežno sačinjavaju ljudi

from the northern part of the country.

iz severnog dela zemlje.

So I literally took my dried weeds in hand,

Bukvalno sam uzela suve travke u ruku,

there were several more of them,

bilo ih je nešto više,

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

i krenula sam od vrata do vrata da bih našla nekog ko bi me naučio

how to weave these water hyacinth stems into ropes.

kako da tkam ove stabljike vodenog hijakinta u konopce.

And I was directed to the shed of Malam Yahaya.

Uputili su me u kolibu Malam Jaja.

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

Međutim, problem je bio u tome što Malam Jaja ne govori engleski,

and neither did I speak Hausa.

a ni ja ne znam jezik hausa,

But some little kids came to the rescue

ali su neka dečica pritekla u pomoć

and helped translate.

i prevodila.

And that began my journey of learning how to weave

Time je otpočelo moje putovanje učenja kako da tkam

and transform these dried water hyacinth stems

i pretvorim ove sušene stabljike vodenog hijakinta

into long ropes.

u dugačke konopce.

With my long ropes in hand,

Sa dugačkim konopcima u ruci,

I was now equipped to make products.

bila sam opremljena da stvaram proizvode.

And that was the beginning of partnerships.

To je bio početak partnerstava,

Working with rattan basket makers to come up with products.

rada sa tvorcima korpi od ratan palmi kako bismo došli do proizvoda.

So with this in hand, I felt confident

Sa ovim u ruci, bila sam sigurna

that I would be able to take this knowledge

da ću moći da odnesem ovo znanje

back into the riverine communities

u rečne zajednice

and help them to transform their adversity into prosperity.

i pomognem im da pretvore svoju nedaću u povoljnu okolnost.

So taking these weeds and actually weaving them

Dakle, da odnesemo ovu travu i da je utkamo

into products that can be sold.

u proizvode koji se mogu prodati.

So we have pens, we have tableware,

Tako imamo olovke, stoni pribor,

we have purses, we have tissue boxes.

tašne, kutije za maramice.

Thereby, helping the communities

Na taj način pomažemo zajednicama

to see water hyacinth in a different light.

da sagledaju vodenog hijakinta u drugačijem svetlu,

Seeing water hyacinth as being valuable,

kao korisnog,

being aesthetic, being durable, tough, resilient.

estetskog, izdržljivog, jakog, otpornog,

Changing names, changing livelihoods.

koji je promenio imena i promenio sredstva za život,

From Gbe'borun, gossip,

od gbeboruna - trača,

to Olusotan, storyteller.

do olušatana - pripovedača.

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

Od „akpije kpoma“ - ubice majke i deteta,

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

do „jadudževn vlije kpoma“ -

"provider of food for mother and child."

snabdevača hrane za majku i dete.

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

Htela bih da završim citatom Majkla Margolisa.

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

Rekao je: „Ako hoćete da naučite o kulturi, slušajte priče.

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

Ako hoćete da promenite kulturu, promenite priče.“

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

I tako smo, od Makoko zajednice, Abobirija, Evoija,

to Kolo, to Owahwa, Esaba,

sve do Koloa, Ovavae i Esabe

we have changed the story.

promenili priču.

Thank you for listening.

Hvala što ste me saslušali.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)