TEDGlobal 2009
William Kamkwamba: How I harnessed the wind
William Kamkwamba: Come ho imbrigliato il vento
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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.
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." Full bio
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 years ago, I stood on the TED stage in Arusha, Tanzania.
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Due anni fa sono intervenuto allo stage TED di Arusha in Tanzania.
00:19
I spoke very briefly about one of my proudest creations.
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Ho raccontato molto brevemente la cosa più importante che ho fatto:
00:24
It was a simple machine that changed 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
00:30
I had never been away from my home
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non mi ero mai allontanato da casa mia
00:33
in Malawi.
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in Malawi.
00:36
I had never used a computer.
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Non avevo mai usato un computer.
00:38
I had never seen an Internet.
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Non mi ero mai collegato a Internet.
00:42
On the stage that day, I was so nervous.
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Quel giorno, allo stage di TED, ero molto nervoso.
00:47
My English lost,
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Il mio inglese... dimenticato.
00:51
I wanted to vomit.
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Mi sentivo di vomitare.
00:53
(Laughter)
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(Risate)
00:57
I had never been surrounded by so many azungu,
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Non avevo mai avuto attorno così tanti azungu,
01:01
white people.
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bianchi.
01:03
(Laughter)
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(Risate)
01:06
There was a story I wouldn't tell you then.
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Avevo una storia, che non sono riuscito a raccontare allora.
01:09
But well, I'm feeling good right now.
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Ma oggi mi sento molto meglio,
01:12
I would like to share that story today.
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vorrei condividerla con voi oggi.
01:15
We have seven children in my family.
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Nella mia famiglia siamo in sette figli.
01:17
All sisters, excepting me.
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Sei sorelle ed io.
01:21
This is me with my dad when I was a little boy.
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Eccomi qui da piccolo con mio padre.
01:26
Before I discovered the wonders of science,
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Prima di scoprire le meraviglie della scienza,
01:29
I was just a simple farmer
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ero solo un povero agricoltore
01:31
in a country of poor farmers.
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in un Paese di poveri agricoltori.
01:34
Like everyone else, we grew maize.
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Come tutti gli altri, coltivavamo il mais.
01:38
One year our fortune turned very bad.
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Un anno la nostra sorte volse al peggio.
01:43
In 2001 we experienced an awful famine.
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Nel 2001 abbiamo sofferto una terribile carestia.
01:48
Within five months all Malawians began to starve to death.
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Nel giro di cinque mesi, in Malawi, abbiamo iniziato a morire di fame.
01:55
My family ate one meal per day, at night.
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A casa mia si mangiava una volta al giorno, di notte.
01:59
Only three swallows of nsima for each one of us.
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Solo tre porzioni di nsima a testa.
02:03
The food passes through our bodies.
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Il cibo passa attraverso i nostri corpi.
02:05
We drop down to nothing.
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Finiamo in niente.
02:09
In Malawi, the secondary school,
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In Malawi, alla scuola secondaria,
02:12
you have to pay school fees.
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si pagano le tasse scolastiche.
02:14
Because of the hunger, I was forced to drop out of school.
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A causa della carestia, sono stato costretto ad abbandonare la scuola.
02:20
I looked at my father
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Guardavo mio padre,
02:22
and looked at those dry fields.
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guardavo quei campi brulli.
02:24
It was the future I couldn't accept.
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Non potevo accettare che quello fosse il mio futuro.
02:28
I felt very happy to be at the secondary school,
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Ero così contento di andare alla scuola secondaria.
02:32
so I was determined to do anything possible
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Perciò ho voluto fare tutto il possibile
02:37
to receive education.
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per continuare a imparare.
02:39
So I went to a library.
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Così sono andato in una biblioteca.
02:41
I read books, science books, especially physics.
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Ho letto libri di scienza, soprattutto di fisica.
02:45
I couldn't read English that well.
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Non leggevo l'inglese molto bene.
02:47
I used diagrams and pictures
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Ho usato i diagrammi e le figure
02:50
to learn the words around them.
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per imparare il significato delle parole che contenevano.
02:55
Another book put that knowledge in my hands.
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Un altro libro ha messo quel sapere nelle mie mani.
02:59
It said a windmill could pump water and generate electricity.
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Diceva che i mulini a vento possono pompare acqua e generare elettricità.
03:05
Pump water meant irrigation,
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Pompare acqua significava irrigare:
03:08
a defense against hunger,
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una difesa conto la fame,
03:10
which we were experiencing by that time.
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che pativamo in quei tempi.
03:14
So I decided I would build one windmill for myself.
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Così ho deciso di costruire il mio mulino a vento.
03:18
But I didn't have materials to use,
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Ma non avevo i pezzi necessari.
03:21
so I went to a scrap yard
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Allora sono andato in una discarica
03:23
where I found my materials.
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e là ho trovato i miei pezzi.
03:26
Many people, including my mother,
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Molti, tra i quali mia madre,
03:30
said I was crazy.
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dicevano che ero pazzo.
03:32
(Laughter)
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(Risate)
03:34
I found a tractor fan,
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Ho trovato la ventola di un trattore,
03:36
shock absorber, PVC pipes.
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un ammortizzatore, dei tubi di plastica.
03:38
Using a bicycle frame
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Con il telaio
03:41
and an old bicycle dynamo,
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e la dinamo di una vecchia bicicletta,
03:45
I built my machine.
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ho costruito la mia macchina.
03:47
It was one light at first.
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All'inizio alimentava una lampadina soltanto,
03:50
And then four lights,
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poi quattro,
03:53
with switches, and even a circuit breaker,
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con gli interruttori e perfino un relè,
03:58
modeled after an electric bell.
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ricostruiti dallo schema di una bolletta.
04:02
Another machine pumps water
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Un'altra macchina pompa l'acqua
04:06
for irrigation.
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per l'irrigazione.
04:09
Queues of people start lining up at my house
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Un sacco di gente ha iniziato a fare la fila davanti a casa mia
04:12
(Laughter)
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(Risate)
04:14
to charge their mobile phone.
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per ricaricare il cellulare.
04:16
(Applause)
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(Applausi)
04:20
I could not get rid of them.
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Non riuscivo a liberarmi di loro.
04:22
(Laughter)
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(Risate)
04:24
And the reporters came too,
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Arrivarono anche i giornalisti,
04:27
which lead to bloggers
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che condussero ai bloggers
04:29
and which lead to a call from something called TED.
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che a loro volta mi fecero arrivare una telefonata da qualcuno chiamato TED.
04:34
I had never seen an airplane before.
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Non avevo mai visto un aereo prima di allora.
04:36
I had never slept in a hotel.
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Non avevo mai dormito in un albergo.
04:39
So, on stage that day in Arusha,
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In quei giorni ad Arusha,
04:43
my English lost,
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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 tried. And I made 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 Africans, and the poor
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agli Africani, e ai poveri
05:01
who are struggling with your dreams.
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che si stanno scontrando con i propri sogni:
05:05
God bless.
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Dio vi benedica.
05:07
Maybe one day you will watch this on the Internet.
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Forse un giorno vedrete questo video in Internet.
05:11
I say to you, trust yourself and believe.
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Io vi dico: abbiate fiducia in voi stessi e credete.
05:16
Whatever happens, don't give up.
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Qualunque cosa succeda, non rassegnatevi.
05:18
Thank you.
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Grazie.
05:20
(Applause)
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(Applausi)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
William Kamkwamba - InventorTo 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.
William Kamkwamba | Speaker | TED.com