Welcome to Bayeku, a riverine community in Ikorodu, Lagos
欢迎来到百耶库，拉各斯州伊科罗杜市的一个河岸社区，
a vivid representation of several riverine communities across Nigeria,
这是尼日利亚各地众多河岸社区的缩影。
communities whose waterways have been infested by an invasive aquatic weed;
这些社区的河道里被一种水草入侵泛滥成灾；
communities where economic livelihoods have been hampered: fishing, marine transportation and trading;
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；
communities where fish yields have diminished; communities where schoolchildren are unable to go to school for days, sometimes weeks, on end.
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。
Who would have thought that this plant with round leaves, inflated stems,
谁会想到，这种有着圆形叶子，饱满的茎
and showy, lavender flowers would cause such havoc in these communities.
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.
这种植物就是水葫芦，学名是凤眼莲。
Interestingly, in Nigeria, the plant is also known by other names, names associated with historical events, as well as myths.
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。
In some places, the plant is called Babangida. When you hear Babangida, you remember the military and military coups.
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。
And you think: fear, restraint. In parts of Nigeria in the Niger Delta, the plant is also known as Abiola.
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。
When you hear Abiola, you remember annulled elections and you think: dashed hopes.
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。
In the southwestern part of Nigeria, the plant is known as Gbe'borun.
在尼日利亚的西南地区，这种植物被称为贝布鲁。
Gbe'borun is a Yoruba phrase which translates to "gossip," or "talebearer."
贝布鲁是约鲁巴语，意思是“流言”或“告密者”。
When you think of gossip, you think: rapid reproduction, destruction.
“流言”会让你想到快速繁殖，毁灭。
And in the Igala-speaking part of Nigeria, the plant is known as A Kp'iye Kp'oma.
在尼日利亚的伊加拉语地区，这种植物被称为“阿比伊波玛”。
And when you hear that, you think of death. It literally translates to "death to mother and child."
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.
2009年，我亲眼目睹了这种植物。
It was shortly after I had relocated from the US to Nigeria.
那时我刚从美国搬回到尼日利亚不久。
I'd quit my job in corporate America and decided to take this big leap of faith,
我辞掉在美国的工作，决定去实现一个伟大的理想。
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.
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。
And so here I was in the year 2009, actually, at the end of 2009, in Lagos on the Third Mainland Bridge.
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.
我向左遥望，看到触目惊心的一幕。
It was an image of fishing boats that had been hemmed in by dense mats of water hyacinth.
我看到渔船被水葫芦密密麻麻地包围起来。
And I was really pained by what I saw because I thought to myself,
我对眼前的景象感到痛心疾首，因为我心里在想，
"These poor fisherfolk, how are they going to go about their daily activities with these restrictions."
“这些可怜的渔民，在这种束缚下，要如何维持日常生计呢？”
And then I thought, "There's got to be a better way."
然后我想，“一定有更好的办法。”
A win-win solution whereby the environment is taken care of by the weeds being cleared out of the way
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。
and then this being turned into an economic benefit for the communities whose lives are impacted the most by the infestation of the weed.
一方面，为这些深受入侵杂草困扰的社区带来经济效益。
That, I would say, was my spark moment.
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.
接着，我做了进一步研究来找寻这些杂草更多的价值。
Out of the several, one struck me the most. It was the use of the plant for handicrafts.
其中，有一个最吸引我。那就是用植物来做手工艺品。
And I thought, "What a great idea."
我想，“这真是个好主意！”

Personally, I love handicrafts, especially handicrafts that are woven around a story.
我本身就很喜欢手工艺品，尤其是有故事底蕴的手工艺品。
And so I thought, "This could be easily deployed within the communities without the requirement of technical skills."
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。”
And I thought to myself, "Three simple steps to a mega solution."
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.
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。
And so I began my quest to find out how I can learn how to weave.
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.
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。
Sabo translates to "strangers' quarters."
萨博的意思是“陌生人的住所”。
And the community is predominantly made up of people from the northern part of the country.
这个社区的居民主要来自于尼日利亚北部。
So I literally took my dried weeds in hand, there were several more of them,
毫不夸张的说，我手捧着这堆晾干的水草，事实上有好几束，
and went knocking from door to door to find out who could teach me how to weave these water hyacinth stems into ropes.
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。
And I was directed to the shed of Malam Yahaya.
有人指引我来到玛兰·雅哈亚的小屋。
The problem, though, is that Malam Yahaya doesn't speak English and neither did I speak Hausa.
可是问题是，玛兰·雅哈亚不会说英语，而我也不会说豪萨语。
But some little kids came to the rescue and helped translate.
所幸是有些小孩子伸出了援手帮助我们翻译。
And that began my journey of learning how to weave and transform these dried water hyacinth stems into long ropes.
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.
有了长绳之后，我现在就有能力制作产品了。
And that was the beginning of partnerships. Working with rattan basket makers to come up with products.
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。
So with this in hand, I felt confident that I would be able to take this knowledge back into the riverine communities
有它在手，我有信心能够将这些知识带回到河岸社区，
and help them to transform their adversity into prosperity.
帮助他们把灾难变为财富。
So taking these weeds and actually weaving them into products that can be sold.
把这些杂草编织成可以出售的产品。
So we have pens, we have tableware, we have purses, we have tissue boxes.
我们做了笔，餐具，做了钱袋，纸巾盒。
Thereby, helping the communities to see water hyacinth in a different light.
借此也帮助当地社区从另一个角度看待水葫芦。
Seeing water hyacinth as being valuable, being aesthetic, being durable, tough, resilient.
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。
Changing names, changing livelihoods.
改变名称，改变谋生之道。
From Gbe'borun, gossip, to Olusotan, storyteller.
从贝布鲁，意思是流言，到欧鲁苏坦，意思是说故事的人。
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.
我想引用迈克尔·马戈利斯的一段话作为结束。
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."
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. Thank you for listening.
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。感谢你们的聆听。