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

विल्यम काम्कवांबा: मी वारयाचा वापर कसा केला.

Filmed:
2,717,871 views

वयाच्या चौदाव्या वर्षी, गरिब आणी दुष्काळी परिस्थितीत एका मलावीय मुलाने स्वत:च्या कुटुंबाला वीज पुरवण्यासाठी पवनचक्की बांधली. आता वयाच्या बाविसाव्या वर्षी, विल्यम काम्कवांबा टेड येथे दुसरयांदा बोलतांना स्वत:च्याच शब्दात त्याच्या शोधाची कहाणी सांगत आहे ज्याने त्याचे आयुष्य बदलून टाकले.
- 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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धन्यवाद.
00:15
Two years ago, I stood on the TED stage in Arusha, Tanzania.
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दोन वर्षापुर्वी मी अरुशा, टांझानिया येथील ‘टेड’ परिषदेच्या मंचावर उभा होतो.
00:19
I spoke very briefly about one of my proudest creations.
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मी त्या वेळी अतिशय थोडक्यात माझ्या एका अभिमानास्पद निर्मीती बद्दल बोललो होतो.
00:24
It was a simple machine that changed my life.
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ते एक साधे-सोपे यंत्र होते, ज्याने माझे आयुष्य बदलुन टाकले.
00:28
Before that time,
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त्याआधी,
00:30
I had never been away from my home
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मी माझ्या मलावी येथील घरापासुन
00:33
in Malawi.
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कधीच दूर गेलो नव्हतो.
00:36
I had never used a computer.
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मी कधीही संगणक वापरला नव्हता.
00:38
I had never seen an Internet.
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मी इंटरनेट कधीही पाहिलेले नव्हते.
00:42
On the stage that day, I was so nervous.
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त्या दिवशी मी स्टेज वर घाबरलेला होतो.
00:47
My English lost,
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मी इंग्रजी विसरुन गेलो आणि
00:51
I wanted to vomit.
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मला उलटी कराविशी वाटत होती.
00:53
(Laughter)
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(हशा)
00:57
I had never been surrounded by so many azungu,
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मी कधीही एवढया जास्त प्रमाणात अझुंगु लोकांमध्ये उभा राहिलेलो नव्हतो,
01:01
white people.
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अझुंगु म्हणजे, गौर-वर्णीय.
01:03
(Laughter)
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(हशा)
01:06
There was a story I wouldn't tell you then.
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एक गोष्ट आहे, जी मी त्या वेळी सांगू शकलो नसतो.
01:09
But well, I'm feeling good right now.
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पण, आत्ता मला सांगायला बरे वाटत आहे.
01:12
I would like to share that story today.
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ती गोष्ट मी आज सांगणार आहे.
01:15
We have seven children in my family.
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आमच्या कुटुंबात सात मुलं आहेत.
01:17
All sisters, excepting me.
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मी सोडून बाकी सगळ्या मुली (माझ्या बहिणी) आहेत.
01:21
This is me with my dad when I was a little boy.
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(चित्र दर्शवित) हा मी आहे, माझ्या वडीलांबरोबर, लहान असताना.
01:26
Before I discovered the wonders of science,
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विज्ञानातील अदभूत गोष्टी (मला) समजण्यापुर्वी,
01:29
I was just a simple farmer
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मी एक साधा शेतकरी होतो,
01:31
in a country of poor farmers.
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एका गरीब शेतकरय़ांच्या देशात.
01:34
Like everyone else, we grew maize.
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बाकी सर्वांप्रमाणेच आम्हीही मका उगवत होतो.
01:38
One year our fortune turned very bad.
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एका वर्षी मात्र आमचे दैव फिरले.
01:43
In 2001 we experienced an awful famine.
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इसवी सन २००१ मध्ये आम्हाला अतिशय भयंकर दुष्काळाचा अनुभव आला.
01:48
Within five months all Malawians began to starve to death.
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पाच महिन्यांच्या कालावधीत सर्व मलावीय जनता भुकेने मरायला लागली.
01:55
My family ate one meal per day, at night.
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आम्ही कुटुंबीय फक्त एक वेळ रात्रीचे जेवण घेत असू.
01:59
Only three swallows of nsima for each one of us.
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न्सिमा (मक्याच्या पिठाचा रोजच्या जेवणातला खाद्यपदार्थ) ह्याचे फक्त तीन घास आम्हा प्रत्येकाला मिळत असत.
02:03
The food passes through our bodies.
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अन्न आपल्या शरीरातुन जात असते.
02:05
We drop down to nothing.
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(त्याशिवाय) आपण मरुन जाऊ.
02:09
In Malawi, the secondary school,
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मलावीमध्ये माध्यमिक शाळेसाठी
02:12
you have to pay school fees.
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तुम्हाला फी भरावी लागते.
02:14
Because of the hunger, I was forced to drop out of school.
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उपासमारीमुळें मला इच्छा नसतानाही शाळा सोडावी लागली.
02:20
I looked at my father
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मी माझ्या वडीलांकडे पाहिले,
02:22
and looked at those dry fields.
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आणी त्या कोरडया शेतजमिनींकडे पाहिले.
02:24
It was the future I couldn't accept.
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तो भविष्यकाळ मी मान्य करु शकत नव्हतो.
02:28
I felt very happy to be at the secondary school,
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मला माध्यमिक शाळेमध्ये जायला खूप आवडत होते.
02:32
so I was determined to do anything possible
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त्यामुळे शिक्षण मिळण्यासाठी मी
02:37
to receive education.
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कोणतीही गोष्ट करायला तयार होतो.
02:39
So I went to a library.
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मग मी एका ग्रंथालयामध्ये गेलो.
02:41
I read books, science books, especially physics.
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तिथे मी पुस्तके वाचली, विज्ञानावरची पुस्तके, विशेशत: भौतिकशास्त्र विषयावरील.
02:45
I couldn't read English that well.
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मी इंग्रजी फ़ार चांगल्या पद्धतीने वाचू शकत नव्हतो.
02:47
I used diagrams and pictures
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मी आकृत्या आणी चित्रं हयांचा वापर करुन
02:50
to learn the words around them.
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त्यासंदर्भातील शब्द शिकलो.
02:55
Another book put that knowledge in my hands.
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एका पुस्तकाने माझ्या ज्ञानामध्ये भर घातली.
02:59
It said a windmill could pump water and generate electricity.
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त्यात असे लिहीले होते की पवनचक्की पाणी खेचू शकते आणी विद्युत निर्मीती करु शकते.
03:05
Pump water meant irrigation,
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पाणी खेचता येते याचाच अर्थ त्याने (जमिनीचे) सींचन करता येते.
03:08
a defense against hunger,
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हा उपासमारीपासुन बचाव करण्याचा एक मार्ग (होऊ शकेल),
03:10
which we were experiencing by that time.
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जी (उपासमार) आम्ही त्या वेळी अनुभुवत होतो.
03:14
So I decided I would build one windmill for myself.
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म्हणून मी ठरवले की मी एक पवनचक्की माझ्यासाठी बांधीन.
03:18
But I didn't have materials to use,
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पण माझ्याकडे कोणतीही सामूग्री नव्हती.
03:21
so I went to a scrap yard
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मग मी एका भंगार वस्तुंच्या जागेत गेलो,
03:23
where I found my materials.
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जिथे मला सामग्री मिळाली.
03:26
Many people, including my mother,
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बरेच लोक, माझी आई सुद्धा,
03:30
said I was crazy.
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म्हणाले की मी वेडा आहे.
03:32
(Laughter)
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(हशा)
03:34
I found a tractor fan,
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मला एक ट्र‌‍क्टरचा पंखा,
03:36
shock absorber, PVC pipes.
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धक्का समावेशक (शॊक अबसॊर्बर), पी.वी.सी पाईप मिळाले.
03:38
Using a bicycle frame
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सायकलचा सांगाडा
03:41
and an old bicycle dynamo,
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आणी जुन्या सायकलीचा डायनामो (dynamo) (ज्याने सायकलचा दिवा लागतो) वापरुन
03:45
I built my machine.
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मी माझे यंत्र बनविले.
03:47
It was one light at first.
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पहिल्यांदा (या यंत्राने) फक्त एक दिवा पेटला होता.
03:50
And then four lights,
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नंतर चार दिवे,
03:53
with switches, and even a circuit breaker,
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ज्याला स्विच (switch), आणि सर्किट ब्रेकर (circuit breaker) सुद्धा लावले होते,
03:58
modeled after an electric bell.
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जे विद्युत-घंटेवर आधारित होते.
04:02
Another machine pumps water
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अजून एक यंत्र आहे,
04:06
for irrigation.
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जे जलसिंचनासाठी पाणी खेचते.
04:09
Queues of people start lining up at my house
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माझ्या घराबाहेर लोकांच्या रांगा लागायला लागल्या,
04:12
(Laughter)
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(हशा)
04:14
to charge their mobile phone.
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त्यांचे भ्रमणध्वनी (मोबाईल) चार्ज करण्यासाठी.
04:16
(Applause)
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(टाळ्या)
04:20
I could not get rid of them.
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मी त्यांच्यापासुन सूटका करुन घेउ शकत नव्हतो.
04:22
(Laughter)
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(हशा)
04:24
And the reporters came too,
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आणि मग पत्रकार सुद्धा आले,
04:27
which lead to bloggers
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ज्यामुळे ब्लोगर्स (इंटरनेटच्या माध्यमातून लेखन करणारे) आले,
04:29
and which lead to a call from something called TED.
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आणि त्यामुळे मग टेड परिषदेमधुन मला बोलावणे आले.
04:34
I had never seen an airplane before.
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मी ह्या पूर्वी कधीच विमान पाहिलेले नव्हते.
04:36
I had never slept in a hotel.
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मी कधीच हौटेल मध्ये झोपलेलो नव्हतो.
04:39
So, on stage that day in Arusha,
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मग त्या दिवशी अरुशा येथील (टेडच्या) मंचावर
04:43
my English lost,
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मी इंग्रजी विसरलो (आणि)
04:46
I said something like,
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असे काहीसे म्हणालो
04:49
"I tried. And I made it."
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"मी प्रयत्न केला. आणि मी बनविले."
04:53
So I would like to say something
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मला सगळ्या लोकांना काहीतरी सांगायचे आहे,
04:55
to all the people out there like me
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जे माझ्यासारखे आहेत,
04:58
to the Africans, and the poor
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जे अफ्रिकन आहेत, आणि गरीब लोक
05:01
who are struggling with your dreams.
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जे त्यांच्या स्वप्नांसाठी लढत आहेत,
05:05
God bless.
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देवाचा तुमच्यावर आशिर्वाद असो.
05:07
Maybe one day you will watch this on the Internet.
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कदाचित एक दिवस तुम्ही हे (भाषण) इंटरनेटवर पहाल.
05:11
I say to you, trust yourself and believe.
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माझे तुम्हाला सांगणे आहे की, स्वत:वर विश्वास ठेवा.
05:16
Whatever happens, don't give up.
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काहीही झाले तरी प्रयत्न सोडू नका.
05:18
Thank you.
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धन्यवाद.
05:20
(Applause)
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(टाळ्या)
Translated by Shantanu Pavgi
Reviewed by Amit Rege

▲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

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