×

We use cookies to help make LingQ better. By visiting the site, you agree to our cookie policy.

image

TED Talks, Ludwick Marishane: A bath without water

Ludwick Marishane: A bath without water

So I grew up in Limpopo, on the border of Limpopo and Mpumalanga, a little town called Motetema. Water and electricity supply are as unpredictable as the weather, and growing up in these tough situations, at the age of 17, I was relaxing with a couple of friends of mine in winter, and we were sunbathing. The Limpopo sun gets really hot in winter. So as we were sunbathing, my best friend next to me says, "Man, why doesn't somebody invent something that you can just put on your skin and then you don't have to bathe?" And I sat, and I was like, "Man, I would buy that, eh?" So I went home, and I did a little research, and I found some very shocking statistics. Over 2.5 billion people in the world today do not have proper access to water and sanitation. Four hundred and fifty million of them are in Africa, and five million of them are in South Africa. Various diseases thrive in this environment, the most drastic of which is called trachoma. Trachoma is an infection of the eye due to dirt getting into your eye. Multiple infections of trachoma can leave you permanently blind. The disease leaves eight million people permanently blind each and every year. The shocking part about it is that to avoid being infected with trachoma, all you have to do is wash your face: no medicine, no pills, no injections.

So after seeing these shocking statistics, I thought to myself, "Okay, even if I'm not just doing it for myself and the fact that I don't want to bathe, I at least need to do it to try to save the world." (Laughter) So with my trusty little steed, my Nokia 6234 cell phone -- I didn't have a laptop, I didn't have Internet much, except for the 20-rand-an-hour Internet cafe — I did research on Wikipedia, on Google, about lotions, creams, the compositions, the melting points, the toxicities -- I did high school science -- and I wrote down a little formula on a piece of paper, and it looked like the KFC special spice, you know? So I was like, okay, so we've got the formula ready. Now we need to get this thing into practice. Fast forward four years later, after having written a 40-page business plan on the cell phone, having written my patent on the cell phone, I'm the youngest patent-holder in the country, and — ("No more bathing!") — I can't say any more than that. (Laughter) I had invented DryBath, the world's first bath-substituting lotion. You literally put it on your skin, and you don't have to bathe. (Laughter)

So after having tried to make it work in high school with the limited resources I had, I went to university, met a few people, got it into practice, and we have a fully functioning product that's ready to go to the market. It's actually available on the market. So we learned a few lessons in commercializing and making DryBath available. One of the things we learned was that poor communities don't buy products in bulk. They buy products on demand. A person in Alex doesn't buy a box of cigarettes. They buy one cigarette each day, even though it's more expensive. So we packaged DryBath in these innovative little sachets. You just snap them in half, and you squeeze it out. And the cool part is, one sachet substitutes one bath for five rand. After creating that model, we also learned a lot in terms of implementing the product. We realized that even rich kids from the suburbs really want DryBath. (Laughter) At least once a week. Anyway, we realized that we could save 80 million liters of water on average each time they skipped a bath, and also we would save two hours a day for kids who are in rural areas, two hours more for school, two hours more for homework, two hours more to just be a kid.

After seeing that global impact, we narrowed it down to our key value proposition, which was cleanliness and convenience. DryBath is a rich man's convenience and a poor man's lifesaver. Having put the product into practice, we are actually now on the verge of selling the product onto a multinational to take it to the retail market, and one question I have for the audience today is, on the gravel roads of Limpopo, with an allowance of 50 rand a week, I came up with a way for the world not to bathe. What's stopping you? (Applause) I'm not done yet. I'm not done yet. And another key thing that I learned a lot throughout this whole process, last year Google named me as one of the brightest young minds in the world. I'm also currently the best student entrepreneur in the world, the first African to get that accolade, and one thing that really puzzles me is, I did all of this just because I didn't want to bathe. Thank you. (Applause.)


Ludwick Marishane: A bath without water Ludwick Marishane: Un baño sin agua Ludwick Marishane: Um banho sem água Людвик Маришане: ванна без воды 路德维克-马里尚：无水之浴

So I grew up in Limpopo, on the border of Limpopo and Mpumalanga, a little town called Motetema. Water and electricity supply are as unpredictable as the weather, and growing up in these tough situations, at the age of 17, I was relaxing with a couple of friends of mine in winter, and we were sunbathing. O suprimento de água e eletricidade é tão imprevisível quanto o clima e, quando cresci nessas situações difíceis, aos 17 anos, eu estava relaxando com alguns amigos meus no inverno e estávamos tomando banho de sol. The Limpopo sun gets really hot in winter. So as we were sunbathing, my best friend next to me says, "Man, why doesn't somebody invent something that you can just put on your skin and then you don't have to bathe?" Então, quando estávamos tomando banho de sol, meu melhor amigo ao meu lado diz: "Cara, por que alguém não inventa algo que você pode colocar na pele e depois não precisa tomar banho?" And I sat, and I was like, "Man, I would buy that, eh?" E eu sentei e fiquei tipo, "Cara, eu compraria isso, não é?" So I went home, and I did a little research, and I found some very shocking statistics. Então, fui para casa, fiz uma pequena pesquisa e encontrei algumas estatísticas muito chocantes. Over 2.5 billion people in the world today do not have proper access to water and sanitation. Hoje, mais de 2,5 bilhões de pessoas no mundo não têm acesso adequado a água e saneamento. Four hundred and fifty million of them are in Africa, and five million of them are in South Africa. Quatrocentos e cinquenta milhões deles estão na África e cinco milhões deles estão na África do Sul. Various diseases thrive in this environment, the most drastic of which is called trachoma. Várias doenças prosperam neste ambiente, a mais drástica das quais é chamada tracoma. Trachoma is an infection of the eye due to dirt getting into your eye. O tracoma é uma infecção do olho devido à sujeira que entra no seu olho. Multiple infections of trachoma can leave you permanently blind. Várias infecções de tracoma podem deixar você permanentemente cego. The disease leaves eight million people permanently blind each and every year. A doença deixa oito milhões de pessoas permanentemente cegas a cada ano. The shocking part about it is that to avoid being infected with trachoma, all you have to do is wash your face: no medicine, no pills, no injections. A parte chocante disso é que, para evitar ser infectado pelo tracoma, tudo o que você precisa fazer é lavar o rosto: sem remédios, sem pílulas, sem injeções.

So after seeing these shocking statistics, I thought to myself, "Okay, even if I'm not just doing it for myself and the fact that I don't want to bathe, I at least need to do it to try to save the world." Então, depois de ver essas estatísticas chocantes, pensei: "Tudo bem, mesmo que eu não esteja apenas fazendo isso por mim mesma e pelo fato de não querer tomar banho, pelo menos preciso fazê-lo para tentar salvar o arquivo." mundo." (Laughter) So with my trusty little steed, my Nokia 6234 cell phone -- I didn't have a laptop, I didn't have Internet much, except for the 20-rand-an-hour Internet cafe — I did research on Wikipedia, on Google, about lotions, creams, the compositions, the melting points, the toxicities -- I did high school science -- and I wrote down a little formula on a piece of paper, and it looked like the KFC special spice, you know? (Risos) Então, com meu fiel e pequeno corcel, meu telefone celular Nokia 6234 - eu não tinha laptop, não tinha muita Internet, exceto o cibercafé de 20 rand-a-hora - pesquisei A Wikipedia, no Google, sobre loções, cremes, composições, pontos de fusão, toxicidade - fiz ciência no ensino médio - e escrevi uma pequena fórmula em um pedaço de papel, que parecia o tempero especial do KFC, você sabe? So I was like, okay, so we've got the formula ready. Então eu estava tipo, ok, então nós temos a fórmula pronta. Now we need to get this thing into practice. Fast forward four years later, after having written a 40-page business plan on the cell phone, having written my patent on the cell phone, I'm the youngest patent-holder in the country, and — ("No more bathing!") Avanço rápido, quatro anos depois, depois de escrever um plano de negócios de 40 páginas no celular, depois de escrever minha patente no celular, sou o mais jovem detentor de patentes no país e - ("Chega de tomar banho!" ) — I can't say any more than that. - Não posso dizer mais do que isso. (Laughter) I had invented DryBath, the world's first bath-substituting lotion. You literally put it on your skin, and you don't have to bathe. Você literalmente coloca na sua pele e não precisa tomar banho. (Laughter)

So after having tried to make it work in high school with the limited resources I had, I went to university, met a few people, got it into practice, and we have a fully functioning product that's ready to go to the market. Então, depois de tentar fazê-lo funcionar no ensino médio com os recursos limitados que tinha, fui para a universidade, conheci algumas pessoas, coloquei-o em prática e temos um produto totalmente funcional que está pronto para ser lançado no mercado. It's actually available on the market. So we learned a few lessons in commercializing and making DryBath available. One of the things we learned was that poor communities don't buy products in bulk. Uma das coisas que aprendemos foi que comunidades pobres não compram produtos a granel. They buy products on demand. A person in Alex doesn't buy a box of cigarettes. Uma pessoa em Alex não compra uma caixa de cigarros. They buy one cigarette each day, even though it's more expensive. Eles compram um cigarro por dia, mesmo que seja mais caro. So we packaged DryBath in these innovative little sachets. Por isso, embalamos o DryBath nesses pequenos saquinhos inovadores. You just snap them in half, and you squeeze it out. Você apenas os encaixa ao meio e o aperta. And the cool part is, one sachet substitutes one bath for five rand. E a parte legal é que uma saqueta substitui um banho por cinco rands. After creating that model, we also learned a lot in terms of implementing the product. Depois de criar esse modelo, também aprendemos muito em termos de implementação do produto. We realized that even rich kids from the suburbs really want DryBath. Percebemos que mesmo crianças ricas dos subúrbios realmente querem o DryBath. (Laughter) At least once a week. (Risos) Pelo menos uma vez por semana. Anyway, we realized that we could save 80 million liters of water on average each time they skipped a bath, and also we would save two hours a day for kids who are in rural areas, two hours more for school, two hours more for homework, two hours more to just be a kid. De qualquer forma, percebemos que poderíamos economizar 80 milhões de litros de água em média cada vez que tomavam banho, e também pouparíamos duas horas por dia para crianças que estão em áreas rurais, mais duas horas na escola, mais duas horas na lição de casa , mais duas horas para ser apenas uma criança.

After seeing that global impact, we narrowed it down to our key value proposition, which was cleanliness and convenience. Depois de ver esse impacto global, reduzimos-o à nossa principal proposta de valor, que era limpeza e conveniência. DryBath is a rich man's convenience and a poor man's lifesaver. DryBath é a conveniência de um homem rico e o salva-vidas de um homem pobre. Having put the product into practice, we are actually now on the verge of selling the product onto a multinational to take it to the retail market, and one question I have for the audience today is, on the gravel roads of Limpopo, with an allowance of 50 rand a week, I came up with a way for the world not to bathe. Depois de colocar o produto em prática, estamos atualmente prestes a vender o produto para uma multinacional para levá-lo ao mercado de varejo, e uma pergunta que tenho para o público hoje é, nas estradas de cascalho de Limpopo, com uma franquia de 50 rands por semana, descobri uma maneira de o mundo não tomar banho. What's stopping you? O que está parando você? (Applause) I'm not done yet. (Aplausos) Ainda não terminei. I'm not done yet. And another key thing that I learned a lot throughout this whole process, last year Google named me as one of the brightest young minds in the world. E outra coisa importante que aprendi muito durante todo esse processo: no ano passado, o Google me nomeou como uma das mentes mais brilhantes do mundo. I'm also currently the best student entrepreneur in the world, the first African to get that accolade, and one thing that really puzzles me is, I did all of this just because I didn't want to bathe. Atualmente, também sou o melhor empreendedor estudantil do mundo, o primeiro africano a receber esse prêmio, e uma coisa que realmente me intriga é que fiz tudo isso só porque não queria tomar banho. Thank you. (Applause.)