TEDGlobal 2009
William Kamkwamba: How I harnessed the wind
William Kamkwamba : Comment j'ai exploité le vent
Filmed:
Readability: 2.8
2,717,871 views
A 14 ans, touché par la famine et la pauvreté, un jeune garçon a construit au Malawi une éolienne pour alimenter la maison familiale. Maintenant, à 22 ans, William Kamkwamba, qui parle ici à TED pour la seconde fois, partage avec ses propres mots l'histoire émouvante de cette invention qui a changé sa vie.
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.
0
0
3000
Merci.
00:15
Two years ago, I stood on the TED stage in Arusha, Tanzania.
1
3000
4000
Il y a 2 ans, j’étais sur la scène de TED à Arusha en Tanzanie.
00:19
I spoke very briefly about one of my proudest creations.
2
7000
5000
J’ai parlé brièvement de la création dont je suis le plus fier.
00:24
It was a simple machine that changed my life.
3
12000
4000
C’est une machine simple qui a changé ma vie.
00:28
Before that time,
4
16000
2000
Avant cela,
00:30
I had never been away from my home
5
18000
3000
je ne m'étais jamais éloigné de chez moi
00:33
in Malawi.
6
21000
3000
au Malawi.
00:36
I had never used a computer.
7
24000
2000
Je n’avais jamais utilisé un ordinateur.
00:38
I had never seen an Internet.
8
26000
4000
Je n’avais jamais vu ce qu’est Internet.
00:42
On the stage that day, I was so nervous.
9
30000
5000
Ce jour-là sur scène, j’étais si nerveux.
00:47
My English lost,
10
35000
4000
J’avais perdu mon anglais.
00:51
I wanted to vomit.
11
39000
2000
J’avais envie de vomir.
00:53
(Laughter)
12
41000
4000
(Rires)
00:57
I had never been surrounded by so many azungu,
13
45000
4000
Je n’avais jamais été entouré de tant d’Azungu,
01:01
white people.
14
49000
2000
des blancs.
01:03
(Laughter)
15
51000
3000
(Rires)
01:06
There was a story I wouldn't tell you then.
16
54000
3000
Il y avait une histoire que je n'ai pas pu vous raconter à ce moment là.
01:09
But well, I'm feeling good right now.
17
57000
3000
Mais bon, maintenant je m’en sens capable.
01:12
I would like to share that story today.
18
60000
3000
Je voudrais partager avec vous cette histoire aujourd’hui.
01:15
We have seven children in my family.
19
63000
2000
Il y a 7 enfants dans ma famille.
01:17
All sisters, excepting me.
20
65000
4000
Que des filles, sauf moi.
01:21
This is me with my dad when I was a little boy.
21
69000
5000
Me voila avec mon père quand j’étais petit.
01:26
Before I discovered the wonders of science,
22
74000
3000
Avant de découvrir les merveilles de la science,
01:29
I was just a simple farmer
23
77000
2000
j’étais juste un simple fermier
01:31
in a country of poor farmers.
24
79000
3000
dans un pays de pauvres fermiers.
01:34
Like everyone else, we grew maize.
25
82000
4000
Comme tout le monde, nous cultivions du maïs.
01:38
One year our fortune turned very bad.
26
86000
5000
Une année le sort s’est acharné.
01:43
In 2001 we experienced an awful famine.
27
91000
5000
En 2001, nous avons connu une terrible famine.
01:48
Within five months all Malawians began to starve to death.
28
96000
7000
En 5 mois, tous les habitants au Malawi ont commencé à mourir de faim.
01:55
My family ate one meal per day, at night.
29
103000
4000
Ma famille ne mangeait qu’un repas par jour, en soirée.
01:59
Only three swallows of nsima for each one of us.
30
107000
4000
Trois bouchées de nsima (NdT : bouillie de maïs) pour chacun.
02:03
The food passes through our bodies.
31
111000
2000
La nourriture traversait notre corps.
02:05
We drop down to nothing.
32
113000
4000
Il ne restait plus rien.
02:09
In Malawi, the secondary school,
33
117000
3000
Au Malawi, à l'école secondaire,
02:12
you have to pay school fees.
34
120000
2000
il faut payer des frais de scolarité.
02:14
Because of the hunger, I was forced to drop out of school.
35
122000
6000
À cause de la famine, j’ai dû arrêter l’école.
02:20
I looked at my father
36
128000
2000
J’ai regardé mon père,
02:22
and looked at those dry fields.
37
130000
2000
et j’ai regardé ces champs arides.
02:24
It was the future I couldn't accept.
38
132000
4000
C’était une destinée que je pouvais accepter.
02:28
I felt very happy to be at the secondary school,
39
136000
4000
Je me sentais très heureux d’être dans le secondaire.
02:32
so I was determined to do anything possible
40
140000
5000
J’étais déterminé à faire tout mon possible
02:37
to receive education.
41
145000
2000
pour recevoir une éducation.
02:39
So I went to a library.
42
147000
2000
Je suis donc allé à la bibliothèque.
02:41
I read books, science books, especially physics.
43
149000
4000
J’ai lu des livres, des livres de science, en particulier de physique.
02:45
I couldn't read English that well.
44
153000
2000
Je ne pouvais pas bien lire l’anglais.
02:47
I used diagrams and pictures
45
155000
3000
J’ai utilisé les diagrammes et les images
02:50
to learn the words around them.
46
158000
5000
pour apprendre les mots écrits autour.
02:55
Another book put that knowledge in my hands.
47
163000
4000
Un autre livre a mis ce savoir dans mes mains.
02:59
It said a windmill could pump water and generate electricity.
48
167000
6000
Cela disait qu’une éolienne pouvait pomper l’eau et générer de l’électricité.
03:05
Pump water meant irrigation,
49
173000
3000
Pomper l’eau, ça voulait dire irrigation.
03:08
a defense against hunger,
50
176000
2000
Un moyen d’éviter la famine
03:10
which we were experiencing by that time.
51
178000
4000
que nous vivions à ce moment-là.
03:14
So I decided I would build one windmill for myself.
52
182000
4000
Alors j’ai décidé que je construirai une éolienne pour moi.
03:18
But I didn't have materials to use,
53
186000
3000
Mais je n’avais pas de matériaux pour le faire.
03:21
so I went to a scrap yard
54
189000
2000
Je suis allé à la décharge
03:23
where I found my materials.
55
191000
3000
où j’ai trouvé mes matériaux.
03:26
Many people, including my mother,
56
194000
4000
Beaucoup de gens, y compris ma mère,
03:30
said I was crazy.
57
198000
2000
disaient que j’étais fou.
03:32
(Laughter)
58
200000
2000
(Rires)
03:34
I found a tractor fan,
59
202000
2000
J’ai trouvé un ventilateur de tracteur,
03:36
shock absorber, PVC pipes.
60
204000
2000
un amortisseur, des tubes en PVC.
03:38
Using a bicycle frame
61
206000
3000
En utilisant un cadre de vélo
03:41
and an old bicycle dynamo,
62
209000
4000
et une vielle dynamo,
03:45
I built my machine.
63
213000
2000
j’ai construit ma machine.
03:47
It was one light at first.
64
215000
3000
Cela alimentait une ampoule au début.
03:50
And then four lights,
65
218000
3000
Puis 4 ampoules
03:53
with switches, and even a circuit breaker,
66
221000
5000
avec des interrupteurs, et même un disjoncteur
03:58
modeled after an electric bell.
67
226000
4000
conçu d’après une facture d’électricité.
04:02
Another machine pumps water
68
230000
4000
Une autre machine pompe l’eau
04:06
for irrigation.
69
234000
3000
pour l’irrigation.
04:09
Queues of people start lining up at my house
70
237000
3000
Les gens ont commencé à faire la queue devant chez moi
04:12
(Laughter)
71
240000
2000
(Rires)
04:14
to charge their mobile phone.
72
242000
2000
pour recharger leur téléphone portable.
04:16
(Applause)
73
244000
4000
(Applaudissements)
04:20
I could not get rid of them.
74
248000
2000
Je n’arrivais pas à m’en débarrasser.
04:22
(Laughter)
75
250000
2000
(Rires)
04:24
And the reporters came too,
76
252000
3000
Et puis les journalistes sont venus aussi,
04:27
which lead to bloggers
77
255000
2000
ce qui a amené des bloggers,
04:29
and which lead to a call from something called TED.
78
257000
5000
ce qui a fait que j’ai reçu un appel de quelque chose appelé TED.
04:34
I had never seen an airplane before.
79
262000
2000
Je n’avais jamais vu d’avion auparavant.
04:36
I had never slept in a hotel.
80
264000
3000
Je n’avais jamais dormi dans un hôtel.
04:39
So, on stage that day in Arusha,
81
267000
4000
Alors, sur scène ce jour-là à Arusha,
04:43
my English lost,
82
271000
3000
mon anglais s'est évanoui,
04:46
I said something like,
83
274000
3000
j’ai quand même du dire quelque chose du style :
04:49
"I tried. And I made it."
84
277000
4000
"J’ai essayé. Et je l’ai fait."
04:53
So I would like to say something
85
281000
2000
Je voudrais dire quelque chose
04:55
to all the people out there like me
86
283000
3000
à tous les gens, comme moi,
04:58
to the Africans, and the poor
87
286000
3000
aux Africains et aux pauvres
05:01
who are struggling with your dreams.
88
289000
4000
qui luttez avec vos rêves,
05:05
God bless.
89
293000
2000
Que Dieu vous exauce.
05:07
Maybe one day you will watch this on the Internet.
90
295000
4000
Peut-être qu’un jour vous verrez cette vidéo sur internet.
05:11
I say to you, trust yourself and believe.
91
299000
5000
Je vous le dis, ayez confiance en vous et croyez-y.
05:16
Whatever happens, don't give up.
92
304000
2000
Quoi qu’il arrive ne renoncez pas.
05:18
Thank you.
93
306000
2000
Merci.
05:20
(Applause)
94
308000
30000
(Applaudissements)
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