The diaper dilemma… part 2 – Come, dream with me…
by Chacko Jacob – catalyst at kanthari
A month Ago, Sabriye wrote about the diaper dilemma: the unlikely connection between water hyacinths and disposable diapers. It also served as an introduction to the kanthari diaper project.
I have been excitedly telling everyone I know that I am part of a team that is developing an eco-friendly diaper made of an invasive plant species, which appreciates in value after usage. The reactions vary from highly sceptical or confused ‘yeah, right… good luck’ to envy ‘really? And I get to stare at excel sheets all day…’
But I can totally understand the scepticism. I mean who are we, a team of three with no experience in diapers (none of us have even had children), trying to go up against industry giants and trying to cause a shift in a multibillion dollar market. Aren’t we ill-equipped and inexperienced to do something like this?
Many ideas in their early stages seem ludicrous to outsiders, but they are usually borne out of a personal experience. Like Sristi KC wanting to empower the blind through dance, theatre, fashion and adventure; because when everyone else focused on education and employment, she craved adventure as a young blind woman. Or Tosin wanting to make something valuable from trash she stepped on while she was strolling through the streets contemplating a life of domestic abuse.
When an unconventional idea with great potential pops into your head, a journey has begun.
Allow me to introduce to you, the journey of a dream project, from one station to another:
Station 1: The dream
You only have a vague idea of what it is that you want to do. It is not concrete yet, but you can’t stop thinking about it. How do you know how to take it forward? If the idea consumes you, doesn’t let you sleep, and you are convinced that this crazy idea is worth pursuing, then go for it.
For a while, every day that we went in the lake, Sabriye would pull the plants up and feel the soft, vast roots of the hyacinths, feeling the weight of the plant drop as water was squeezed out of the roots. With a new-born niece on her mind, and her brother’s complaints about the mountains of expensive nappies he had to buy, her thoughts immediately turned to making diapers out of these lake choking plants. The idea burrowed a hole in her mind and wasn’t willing to let go.
Station 2: The likeminded bubble
Get your head out of the clouds!
A habitual daydreamer from an early age, I’ve heard this too many times in school and elsewhere. But at this stage you need to talk with dreamers. Get your head way up in the clouds, and let others dream with you about the possibilities of the idea coming to fruition. It would be a mistake to go to experts and people with years of experience at this stage. You are very likely to be met with a list of reasons as to why your idea is impossible to achieve. We talked to people who would be able to see the vision that we saw, like parents who are feeling both the financial strain and the environmental impact of non-biodegradable nappies. If you find that your idea is inspiring many others and you’re getting even more excited about the whole thing, it’s time to pull into the next station.
Station 3: Concretization
Now that the train is of full of steam and powering ahead with great energy from the first two steps, its time to think about the details. You will immediately start encountering a host of reasons as to why your dream is dead on arrival. But here’s the advantage of the headspace you have put yourself in after the first two stations: all criticism is constructive, there is a solution to every problem, and the vision that is the snow-capped peak on a faraway mountain is clear as ever and higher than any hurdle in front of you. You learn to take feedback in a balanced way. It might be time to get your head out of the clouds and start building from the ground up, but never be discouraged.
We encountered issues with leak proofing, mould, design flaws, finding the right additional materials, flexibility, comfort, financing, figuring out the right harvesting and weaving tools… you name it. While some solutions were easy to come by, others came from textile experts or by experimentation. This whole problem-solving phase also leads us to the next station.
Station 4 Study
Now the three of us had no option but dive headfirst into processing fibre, retting, scouring, design, what is eco-friendly, what is compost friendly, what does biodegradable really mean, heavy metal toxicity, creating custom looms, experimenting with warp and weft, skin sensitivity testing and a whole lot more. You will encounter a lot of critical questions that come from outside and while developing the idea. This is the stage where you study up on all subject matter related to your idea. Where there is information lacking, you must experiment, conduct studies and find out things by yourself. For example, there is no study available on whether the combination of hyacinth roots, urine and feces is irritating to one’s nether regions. So, you have to find out for yourself. Yup. That’s all I’m going to say about that. Choo-choo! Oh, look. It’s the next station already.
Station 5 The concept
Now that you have a fully concrete idea, you can imagine the solution very well and hence are able to be very convincing.
Diapers form up to 3% of everyday waste. That is millions of tonnes of waste every year that takes 200-500 years to decompose. By making use of hyacinth diapers, you not only control the growth of an invasive plant species on our life giving lakes, but you are completely cutting out non-biodegradable diaper waste, and it doesn’t end there: you can also get excellent compost out of it!
Our hyacinth diaper train continues to move ahead with full steam, with more and more people jumping on, eager to support.
Next station: Product launch!
Keep watching this space for more updates.