ABOUT THE SPEAKER
William Kamkwamba - Inventor
To power his family's home, young William Kamkwamba built an electricity-producing windmill from spare parts and scrap -- starting him on a journey detailed in the book and film "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind."

Why you should listen

William Kamkwamba, from Malawi, is a born inventor. When he was 14, he built an electricity-producing windmill from spare parts and scrap, working from rough plans he found in a library book called Using Energy and modifying them to fit his needs. The windmill he built powers four lights and two radios in his family home.

After reading about Kamkwamba on Mike McKay's blog Hactivate (which picked up the story from a local Malawi newspaper), TEDGlobal Conference Director Emeka Okafor spent several weeks tracking him down at his home in Masitala Village, Wimbe, and invited him to attend TEDGlobal on a fellowship. Onstage, Kamkwamba talked about his invention and shared his dreams: to build a larger windmill to help with irrigation for his entire village, and to go back to school.

Following Kamkwamba's moving talk, there was an outpouring of support for him and his promising work. Members of the TED community got together to help him improve his power system (by incorporating solar energy), and further his education through school and mentorships. Subsequent projects have included clean water, malaria prevention, solar power and lighting for the six homes in his family compound; a deep-water well with a solar-powered pump for clean water; and a drip irrigation system. Kamkwamba himself returned to school, and is now attending the African Leadership Academy, a new pan-African prep school outside Johannesburg, South Africa.

Kamkwamba's story is documented in his autobiography, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope. A  documentary about Kamkwamba, called William and the Windmill, won the Documentary Feature Grand Jury award at SXSW in 2013 (watch a trailer ). You can support his work and other young inventors at MovingWindmills.org.


More profile about the speaker
William Kamkwamba | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2009

William Kamkwamba: How I harnessed the wind

Vilhelmo Kamkŭamba: Kiel mi jungis la venton

Filmed:
2,717,871 views

Pelita de malriĉeco kaj malsatego, 14-jara Vilhelmo Kamkŭamba starigis ventoturbinon por sia hejmo kaj familio. La nun 22-jara Malaviano duan fojon prelegas ĉe TED, kaj rakontas propravorte kaj emocie kiel inventaĵo ŝanĝis lian vivon.
- Inventor
To power his family's home, young William Kamkwamba built an electricity-producing windmill from spare parts and scrap -- starting him on a journey detailed in the book and film "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind." Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
Thank you.
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Dankon.
00:15
Two years ago, I stood on the TED stage in Arusha, Tanzania.
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Antaŭ du jaroj, sur la TED-a sceno de Aruŝa, Tanzanio,
00:19
I spoke very briefly about one of my proudest creations.
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mi tre mallonge parolis pri unu el miaj plej prifierindaj kreitaĵoj,
00:24
It was a simple machine that changed my life.
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simpla maŝino, kiu ŝanĝis mian vivon.
00:28
Before that time,
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Antaŭe,
00:30
I had never been away from my home
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mi neniam estis forlasinta mian hejmon
00:33
in Malawi.
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en Malavio.
00:36
I had never used a computer.
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Mi neniam estis uzinta komputilon
00:38
I had never seen an Internet.
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nek estis vidinta interreton.
00:42
On the stage that day, I was so nervous.
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Sursceneje, tiun tagon, tiom nervoza mi estis,
00:47
My English lost,
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ke mi forgesis kiel paroli angle,
00:51
I wanted to vomit.
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kaj sentis emon vomi.
00:53
(Laughter)
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(Ridoj)
00:57
I had never been surrounded by so many azungu,
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Neniam estis vidinta mi tiom da azungu
01:01
white people.
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– blankuloj.
01:03
(Laughter)
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(Ridoj)
01:06
There was a story I wouldn't tell you then.
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Tiam, dramajn cirkonstancojn mi preferis prisilenti.
01:09
But well, I'm feeling good right now.
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Hodiaŭ, kompense, ŝanĝiĝis la situacio,
01:12
I would like to share that story today.
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kaj mi pretas konigi ilin al vi.
01:15
We have seven children in my family.
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Nia familio konsistas el sep geinfanoj,
01:17
All sisters, excepting me.
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ĉiuj filinoj krom mi.
01:21
This is me with my dad when I was a little boy.
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Jen mi estas, bubo, kun mia patro.
01:26
Before I discovered the wonders of science,
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Antaŭ ol malkovri la mirindaĵojn de la scienco,
01:29
I was just a simple farmer
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mi estis nur terkultivisto
01:31
in a country of poor farmers.
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en lando de malriĉaj terkultivistoj.
01:34
Like everyone else, we grew maize.
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Kiel ĉiuj ĉirkaŭ ni, ni kreskigis maizon.
01:38
One year our fortune turned very bad.
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Alvenis jaro, kiam ni tre malbonŝancis.
01:43
In 2001 we experienced an awful famine.
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En 2001, ni travivis teruran malsategon.
01:48
Within five months all Malawians began to starve to death.
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En kvin monatoj, Malavianoj komencis morti pro tio.
01:55
My family ate one meal per day, at night.
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Mia familio manĝis nur unufoje tage, en la vespero.
01:59
Only three swallows of nsima for each one of us.
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Nur tri plenbuŝoj de nsima por ĉiu el ni.
02:03
The food passes through our bodies.
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La manĝaĵo apenaŭ nutris nin.
02:05
We drop down to nothing.
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Ni lante konsumiĝis.
02:09
In Malawi, the secondary school,
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En Malavio, oni devas pagi
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you have to pay school fees.
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por ĉeesti la mezlernejon.
02:14
Because of the hunger, I was forced to drop out of school.
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La malsato devigis min forlasi ĝin.
02:20
I looked at my father
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Rigardante mian patron
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and looked at those dry fields.
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kaj la sekajn kampojn, mi pensis,
02:24
It was the future I couldn't accept.
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ke estontecon tian mi ne povas akcepti.
02:28
I felt very happy to be at the secondary school,
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Mi tre ŝatis la mezlernejon,
02:32
so I was determined to do anything possible
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kaj pretis fari ion ajn
02:37
to receive education.
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por ricevi edukadon.
02:39
So I went to a library.
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Mi tial vizitis bibliotekon.
02:41
I read books, science books, especially physics.
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Mi legis sciencajn librojn, precipe pri fiziko.
02:45
I couldn't read English that well.
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Mi ne tre bone legadis angle,
02:47
I used diagrams and pictures
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kaj lernis vortojn
02:50
to learn the words around them.
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per skemoj kaj bildoj.
02:55
Another book put that knowledge in my hands.
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Iu libro kaptis mian atenton. Ĝi diris,
02:59
It said a windmill could pump water and generate electricity.
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ke ventoturbino povas pumpi akvon kaj generi elektron.
03:05
Pump water meant irrigation,
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Akvopumpado signifas irigacion,
03:08
a defense against hunger,
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ŝirmilo kontraŭ la malsato,
03:10
which we were experiencing by that time.
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kiun ni tiam spertis.
03:14
So I decided I would build one windmill for myself.
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Mi do decidis starigi mem ventoturbinon.
03:18
But I didn't have materials to use,
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Ne havante materialojn,
03:21
so I went to a scrap yard
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mi iris al rubaĵejo, kie
03:23
where I found my materials.
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mi trovis ĉion, kion mi bezonas.
03:26
Many people, including my mother,
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Pluraj, inkluzive de mia patrino,
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said I was crazy.
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diris, ke mi frenezas.
03:32
(Laughter)
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(Ridoj)
03:34
I found a tractor fan,
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Mi trovis traktoran ventolilon,
03:36
shock absorber, PVC pipes.
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amortizilon, plastajn duktojn…
03:38
Using a bicycle frame
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Per bicikla kadro
03:41
and an old bicycle dynamo,
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kaj malnova bicikla dinamo,
03:45
I built my machine.
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mi konstruis mian maŝinon.
03:47
It was one light at first.
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Por unu lampo, komence.
03:50
And then four lights,
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Kaj poste, kvar lampoj,
03:53
with switches, and even a circuit breaker,
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kun ŝaltiloj, kaj eĉ cirkvitrompilo,
03:58
modeled after an electric bell.
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modeligita laŭ elektra sonorilo.
04:02
Another machine pumps water
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Alia maŝino pumpas akvon
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for irrigation.
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por irigacio.
04:09
Queues of people start lining up at my house
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Homoj ekenviciĝis antaŭ mia domo
04:12
(Laughter)
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(Ridoj)
04:14
to charge their mobile phone.
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por reŝargi siajn poŝtelefonojn.
04:16
(Applause)
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(Aplaŭdoj)
04:20
I could not get rid of them.
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Neforigeblaj ili estis.
04:22
(Laughter)
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(Ridoj)
04:24
And the reporters came too,
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Kaj ankaŭ ĵurnalistoj venis,
04:27
which lead to bloggers
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kuntrenante blogistojn,
04:29
and which lead to a call from something called TED.
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kaj baldaŭ mi ricevis alvokon de io nomata TED.
04:34
I had never seen an airplane before.
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Mi neniam estis vidinta aviadilon antaŭe,
04:36
I had never slept in a hotel.
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neniam estis dorminta en hotelo.
04:39
So, on stage that day in Arusha,
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Sursceneje, tiun tagon en Aruŝa,
04:43
my English lost,
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forgesinte kiel paroli angle,
04:46
I said something like,
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mi nur povis balbuti:
04:49
"I tried. And I made it."
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«Mi provis, kaj konstruis ĝin».
04:53
So I would like to say something
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Do mi volas diri ion gravan
04:55
to all the people out there like me
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al ĉiuj, kiuj estas kiel mi,
04:58
to the Africans, and the poor
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al Afrikanoj, kaj malriĉuloj
05:01
who are struggling with your dreams.
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luktantaj por efektivigi siajn revojn.
05:05
God bless.
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Dio benu vin.
05:07
Maybe one day you will watch this on the Internet.
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Eble iam vi vidos tion interrete. Mi diras al vi:
05:11
I say to you, trust yourself and believe.
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fidu al vi mem kaj kredu je viaj revoj.
05:16
Whatever happens, don't give up.
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Sendepende de kio okazas, neniam rezignu.
05:18
Thank you.
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Dankon.
05:20
(Applause)
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(Aplaŭdoj)
Translated by Stéphane Brault
Reviewed by James Piton

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
William Kamkwamba - Inventor
To power his family's home, young William Kamkwamba built an electricity-producing windmill from spare parts and scrap -- starting him on a journey detailed in the book and film "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind."

Why you should listen

William Kamkwamba, from Malawi, is a born inventor. When he was 14, he built an electricity-producing windmill from spare parts and scrap, working from rough plans he found in a library book called Using Energy and modifying them to fit his needs. The windmill he built powers four lights and two radios in his family home.

After reading about Kamkwamba on Mike McKay's blog Hactivate (which picked up the story from a local Malawi newspaper), TEDGlobal Conference Director Emeka Okafor spent several weeks tracking him down at his home in Masitala Village, Wimbe, and invited him to attend TEDGlobal on a fellowship. Onstage, Kamkwamba talked about his invention and shared his dreams: to build a larger windmill to help with irrigation for his entire village, and to go back to school.

Following Kamkwamba's moving talk, there was an outpouring of support for him and his promising work. Members of the TED community got together to help him improve his power system (by incorporating solar energy), and further his education through school and mentorships. Subsequent projects have included clean water, malaria prevention, solar power and lighting for the six homes in his family compound; a deep-water well with a solar-powered pump for clean water; and a drip irrigation system. Kamkwamba himself returned to school, and is now attending the African Leadership Academy, a new pan-African prep school outside Johannesburg, South Africa.

Kamkwamba's story is documented in his autobiography, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope. A  documentary about Kamkwamba, called William and the Windmill, won the Documentary Feature Grand Jury award at SXSW in 2013 (watch a trailer ). You can support his work and other young inventors at MovingWindmills.org.


More profile about the speaker
William Kamkwamba | Speaker | TED.com

Data provided by TED.

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