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

William Kamkwamba: Come ho imbrigliato il vento

Filmed:
2,717,871 views

A 14 anni, un ragazzo del Malawi povero e a rischio di morte per fame ha costruito un mulino a vento per dare energia alla casa della sua famiglia. Ora, a 22 anni, William Kamkwamba, che parla qui a TED per la seconda volta, racconta con parole sue la commovente storia dell'invenzione che ha cambiato la sua vita.
- 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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Grazie.
00:15
Two yearsanni agofa, I stoodsorgeva on the TEDTED stagepalcoscenico in ArushaArusha, TanzaniaTanzania.
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Due anni fa sono intervenuto allo stage TED di Arusha in Tanzania.
00:19
I spokeha parlato very brieflybrevemente about one of my proudestpiù fiero creationscreazioni.
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Ho raccontato molto brevemente la cosa più importante che ho fatto:
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It was a simplesemplice machinemacchina that changedcambiato my life.
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una macchina semplice, che ha cambiato la mia vita.
00:28
Before that time,
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Prima di allora
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I had never been away from my home
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non mi ero mai allontanato da casa mia
00:33
in MalawiMalawi.
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in Malawi.
00:36
I had never used a computercomputer.
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Non avevo mai usato un computer.
00:38
I had never seenvisto an InternetInternet.
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Non mi ero mai collegato a Internet.
00:42
On the stagepalcoscenico that day, I was so nervousnervoso.
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Quel giorno, allo stage di TED, ero molto nervoso.
00:47
My EnglishInglese lostperduto,
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Il mio inglese... dimenticato.
00:51
I wanted to vomitvomito.
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Mi sentivo di vomitare.
00:53
(LaughterRisate)
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(Risate)
00:57
I had never been surroundedcircondato by so manymolti azunguazungu,
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Non avevo mai avuto attorno così tanti azungu,
01:01
whitebianca people.
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bianchi.
01:03
(LaughterRisate)
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(Risate)
01:06
There was a storystoria I wouldn'tno tell you then.
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Avevo una storia, che non sono riuscito a raccontare allora.
01:09
But well, I'm feelingsensazione good right now.
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Ma oggi mi sento molto meglio,
01:12
I would like to shareCondividere that storystoria todayoggi.
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vorrei condividerla con voi oggi.
01:15
We have sevenSette childrenbambini in my familyfamiglia.
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Nella mia famiglia siamo in sette figli.
01:17
All sisterssorelle, exceptingad eccezione di me.
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Sei sorelle ed io.
01:21
This is me with my dadpapà when I was a little boyragazzo.
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Eccomi qui da piccolo con mio padre.
01:26
Before I discoveredscoperto the wondersmeraviglie of sciencescienza,
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Prima di scoprire le meraviglie della scienza,
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I was just a simplesemplice farmercontadino
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ero solo un povero agricoltore
01:31
in a countrynazione of poorpovero farmersagricoltori.
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in un Paese di poveri agricoltori.
01:34
Like everyonetutti elsealtro, we grewè cresciuto maizemais.
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Come tutti gli altri, coltivavamo il mais.
01:38
One yearanno our fortunefortuna turnedtrasformato very badcattivo.
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Un anno la nostra sorte volse al peggio.
01:43
In 2001 we experiencedesperto an awfulterribile faminecarestia.
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Nel 2001 abbiamo sofferto una terribile carestia.
01:48
WithinAll'interno di fivecinque monthsmesi all MalawiansMalawi beganiniziato to starvemorire di fame to deathmorte.
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Nel giro di cinque mesi, in Malawi, abbiamo iniziato a morire di fame.
01:55
My familyfamiglia atemangiò one mealpasto perper day, at night.
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A casa mia si mangiava una volta al giorno, di notte.
01:59
Only threetre swallowsRondini of nsimansima for eachogni one of us.
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Solo tre porzioni di nsima a testa.
02:03
The foodcibo passespassaggi throughattraverso our bodiescorpi.
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Il cibo passa attraverso i nostri corpi.
02:05
We dropfar cadere down to nothing.
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Finiamo in niente.
02:09
In MalawiMalawi, the secondarysecondario schoolscuola,
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In Malawi, alla scuola secondaria,
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you have to paypagare schoolscuola feestasse.
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si pagano le tasse scolastiche.
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Because of the hungerfame, I was forcedcostretto to dropfar cadere out of schoolscuola.
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A causa della carestia, sono stato costretto ad abbandonare la scuola.
02:20
I lookedguardato at my fatherpadre
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Guardavo mio padre,
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and lookedguardato at those dryasciutto fieldsi campi.
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guardavo quei campi brulli.
02:24
It was the futurefuturo I couldn'tnon poteva acceptaccettare.
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Non potevo accettare che quello fosse il mio futuro.
02:28
I feltprovato very happycontento to be at the secondarysecondario schoolscuola,
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Ero così contento di andare alla scuola secondaria.
02:32
so I was determineddeterminato to do anything possiblepossibile
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Perciò ho voluto fare tutto il possibile
02:37
to receivericevere educationeducazione.
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per continuare a imparare.
02:39
So I wentandato to a librarybiblioteca.
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Così sono andato in una biblioteca.
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I readleggere bookslibri, sciencescienza bookslibri, especiallyparticolarmente physicsfisica.
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Ho letto libri di scienza, soprattutto di fisica.
02:45
I couldn'tnon poteva readleggere EnglishInglese that well.
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Non leggevo l'inglese molto bene.
02:47
I used diagramsdiagrammi and picturesimmagini
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Ho usato i diagrammi e le figure
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to learnimparare the wordsparole around them.
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per imparare il significato delle parole che contenevano.
02:55
AnotherUn altro booklibro put that knowledgeconoscenza in my handsmani.
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Un altro libro ha messo quel sapere nelle mie mani.
02:59
It said a windmillMulino a vento could pumppompa wateracqua and generatecreare electricityelettricità.
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Diceva che i mulini a vento possono pompare acqua e generare elettricità.
03:05
PumpPompa wateracqua meantsignificava irrigationirrigazione,
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Pompare acqua significava irrigare:
03:08
a defensedifesa againstcontro hungerfame,
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una difesa conto la fame,
03:10
whichquale we were experiencingsperimentare by that time.
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che pativamo in quei tempi.
03:14
So I decideddeciso I would buildcostruire one windmillMulino a vento for myselfme stessa.
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Così ho deciso di costruire il mio mulino a vento.
03:18
But I didn't have materialsmateriale to use,
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Ma non avevo i pezzi necessari.
03:21
so I wentandato to a scraprottame yardiarda
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Allora sono andato in una discarica
03:23
where I foundtrovato my materialsmateriale.
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e là ho trovato i miei pezzi.
03:26
ManyMolti people, includingCompreso my mothermadre,
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Molti, tra i quali mia madre,
03:30
said I was crazypazzo.
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dicevano che ero pazzo.
03:32
(LaughterRisate)
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(Risate)
03:34
I foundtrovato a tractortrattore fanfan,
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Ho trovato la ventola di un trattore,
03:36
shockshock absorberassorbitore, PVCPVC pipestubi.
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un ammortizzatore, dei tubi di plastica.
03:38
UsingUtilizzando a bicyclebicicletta frametelaio
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Con il telaio
03:41
and an oldvecchio bicyclebicicletta dynamoDinamo,
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e la dinamo di una vecchia bicicletta,
03:45
I builtcostruito my machinemacchina.
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ho costruito la mia macchina.
03:47
It was one lightleggero at first.
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All'inizio alimentava una lampadina soltanto,
03:50
And then fourquattro lightsluci,
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poi quattro,
03:53
with switchesinterruttori, and even a circuitcircuito breakerinterruttore,
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con gli interruttori e perfino un relè,
03:58
modeledmodellata after an electricelettrico bellcampana.
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ricostruiti dallo schema di una bolletta.
04:02
AnotherUn altro machinemacchina pumpspompe wateracqua
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Un'altra macchina pompa l'acqua
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for irrigationirrigazione.
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per l'irrigazione.
04:09
QueuesCode of people startinizio liningrivestimento up at my housecasa
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Un sacco di gente ha iniziato a fare la fila davanti a casa mia
04:12
(LaughterRisate)
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(Risate)
04:14
to chargecarica theirloro mobilemobile phoneTelefono.
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per ricaricare il cellulare.
04:16
(ApplauseApplausi)
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(Applausi)
04:20
I could not get ridliberare of them.
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Non riuscivo a liberarmi di loro.
04:22
(LaughterRisate)
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(Risate)
04:24
And the reportersgiornalisti cameè venuto too,
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Arrivarono anche i giornalisti,
04:27
whichquale leadcondurre to bloggersblogger
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che condussero ai bloggers
04:29
and whichquale leadcondurre to a call from something calledchiamato TEDTED.
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che a loro volta mi fecero arrivare una telefonata da qualcuno chiamato TED.
04:34
I had never seenvisto an airplaneaereo before.
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Non avevo mai visto un aereo prima di allora.
04:36
I had never sleptdormito in a hotelHotel.
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Non avevo mai dormito in un albergo.
04:39
So, on stagepalcoscenico that day in ArushaArusha,
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In quei giorni ad Arusha,
04:43
my EnglishInglese lostperduto,
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il mio inglese è svanito,
04:46
I said something like,
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e ho detto cose come
04:49
"I triedprovato. And I madefatto it."
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"Ci ho provato, e l'ho fatto."
04:53
So I would like to say something
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Vorrei dire qualcosa di più oggi
04:55
to all the people out there like me
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a tutti voi che siete qui, come me,
04:58
to the AfricansAfricani, and the poorpovero
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agli Africani, e ai poveri
05:01
who are strugglinglottando with your dreamssogni.
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che si stanno scontrando con i propri sogni:
05:05
God blessbenedire.
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Dio vi benedica.
05:07
Maybe one day you will watch this on the InternetInternet.
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Forse un giorno vedrete questo video in Internet.
05:11
I say to you, trustfiducia yourselfte stesso and believe.
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Io vi dico: abbiate fiducia in voi stessi e credete.
05:16
WhateverVabbè happensaccade, don't give up.
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Qualunque cosa succeda, non rassegnatevi.
05:18
Thank you.
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Grazie.
05:20
(ApplauseApplausi)
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(Applausi)
Translated by Gaetana Ariu
Reviewed by Annalisa Paini

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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

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