TEDGlobal 2007
William Kamkwamba: How I built a windmill
William Kamkwaba construindo um moinho de vento
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Quando tinha somente 14 anos, o inventor malauiano William Kamkwamba construiu para sua família um moinho gerador de eletricidade usando peças de ferro velho e seguindo um livro que encontrou na biblioteca.
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.
00:29
Chris Anderson: William, hi. Good to see you.
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Chris Anderson: William, oi. Bom te ver.
00:31
William Kamkwamba: Thanks.
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William Kamkwamba: Obrigado.
00:32
CA: So, we've got a picture, I think? Where is this?
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CA: Temos uma foto, eu acho? Onde é?
00:37
WK: This is my home. This is where I live.
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WK: Esta é minha casa. É onde moro.
00:41
CA: Where? What country?
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CA: Onde? Que país?
00:43
WK: In Malawi, Kasungu. In Kasungu. Yeah, Mala.
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Wk: Em Malaui, Kasungu. Em Kasungu. Sim. Mala.
00:46
CA: OK. Now, you're 19 now?
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CA: Ok. Você tem 19 anos agora?
00:49
WK: Yeah. I'm 19 years now.
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WK: Sim. Tenho 19 anos agora.
00:51
CA: Five years ago you had an idea. What was that?
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CA: Cinco anos atrás você teve uma ideia. Qual foi?
00:54
WK: I wanted to make a windmill.
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WK: Eu quis fazer um moinho de vento.
00:56
CA: A windmill?
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CA: Um moinho de vento?
00:57
WK: Yeah.
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WK: Sim.
00:58
CA: What, to power -- for lighting and stuff?
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CA: E então -- o que -- para energia -- iluminar? Algo assim?
01:02
WK: Yeah.
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WK: Sim.
01:04
CA: So what did you do? How did you realize that?
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CA: Então o que você fez? Como você fez isso?
01:07
WK: After I dropped out of school, I went to library,
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WK: Depois de sair da escola, eu fui para biblioteca,
01:11
and I read a book that would -- "Using Energy,"
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e li um livro que iria -- "Usando Energia,"
01:15
and I get information about doing the mill.
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e consegui informação para fazer um moinho de vento.
01:18
And I tried, and I made it.
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E tentei e fiz um.
01:20
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
01:30
CA: So you copied -- you exactly copied the design in the book.
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CA: Então copiou -- você copiou exatamente o design do livro.
01:34
WK: Ah, no. I just --
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WK: Ah, não. Eu só --
01:36
CA: What happened?
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CA: O que aconteceu?
01:38
WK: In fact, a design of the windmill that was in the book,
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Wk: De fato, um design do moinho que estava no livro,
01:42
it has got four -- ah -- three blades,
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tinha quatro -- ah -- três lâminas,
01:46
and mine has got four blades.
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e o meu tinha quatro lâminas.
01:49
CA: The book had three, yours had four.
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CA: O livro tinha três, o seu tinha quatro.
01:51
WK: Yeah.
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WK: É.
01:52
CA: And you made it out of what?
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CA: E fez o moinho com o quê?
01:54
WK: I made four blades, just because I want to increase power.
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WK: Eu fiz quatro lâminas, só para aumentar a força.
01:59
CA: OK.
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CA: OK.
02:00
WK: Yeah.
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WK: É.
02:01
CA: You tested three, and found that four worked better?
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CA: Você testou três e achou que quatro funcionava melhor?
02:03
WK: Yeah. I test.
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WK: Sim. Eu testei.
02:05
CA: And what did you make the windmill out of?
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CA: E o que usou para fazer o moinho?
02:08
What materials did you use?
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O que -- materiais você usou?
02:10
WK: I use a bicycle frame, and a pulley, and plastic pipe, what then pulls --
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WK: Eu usei um quadro de bicicleta, e uma roldana, um tubo plástico, que então puxa
02:16
CA: Do we have a picture of that? Can we have the next slide?
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CA: Temos fotos disso? Podemos ver o próximo slide?
02:19
WK: Yeah. The windmill.
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WK: Sim. O moinho de vento.
02:21
CA: And so, and that windmill, what -- it worked?
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CA: E então, e aquele moinho de vento, que -- Funcionou?
02:25
WK: When the wind blows, it rotates and generates.
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Wk: Quando o vento sopra, ele roda e gera.
02:30
CA: How much electricity?
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CA: Quanta eletricidade?
02:31
WK: 12 watts.
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WK: 12 watts.
02:33
CA: And so, that lit a light for the house? How many lights?
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CA: E então, acendeu uma luz na casa? Quantas luzes?
02:38
WK: Four bulbs and two radios.
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WK: Quatro lâmpadas e dois rádios.
02:40
CA: Wow.
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CA: Nossa.
02:41
WK: Yeah.
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WK: É.
02:42
(Applause) CA: Next slide --
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CA: E então -- (Aplausos) -- próximo slide --
02:52
so who's that?
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Quem são esses?
02:54
WK: This is my parents, holding the radio.
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WK: Esses são meus pais, comprando o rádio.
02:57
CA: So what did they make of -- that you were 14, 15 at the time --
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CA: Então o que eles pensam -- que você tinha 14, 15 anos na época --
03:01
what did they make of this? They were impressed?
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O que eles pensam disso? Estavam impressionados?
03:04
WK: Yeah.
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WK: Sim.
03:05
CA: And so what's your -- what are you going to do with this?
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CA: E qual é o seu -- O que vai fazer com isso?
03:07
WK: Um --
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WK: Um--
03:09
CA: What do you -- I mean -- do you want to build another one?
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CA: O que você -- Quero dizer -- Quer construir outro?
03:13
WK: Yeah, I want to build another one --
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WK: Sim, quero construir outro --
03:16
to pump water and irrigation for crops.
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para bombear água e irrigar -- irrigação para plantação.
03:21
CA: So this one would have to be bigger?
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CA: Então esse outro teria de ser maior?
03:23
WK: Yeah.
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Wk: Sim.
03:24
CA: How big?
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CA: Quão maior?
03:25
WK: I think it will produce more than 20 the watts.
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WK: Eu acho que produzirá mais que 20 watts.
03:31
CA: So that would produce irrigation for the entire village?
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CA: Isso irrigaria a vila toda?
03:35
WK: Yeah.
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WK:Sim.
03:37
CA: Wow. And so you're talking to people here at TED
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CA: Nossa. Então você está falando com o pessoal aqui no TED
03:40
to get people who might be able to help in some way
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para conseguir pessoas que possam ajudar de alguma forma --
03:44
to realize this dream?
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a concretizar seu sonho?
03:46
WK: Yeah, if they can help me with materials, yeah.
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WK: Sim, se puderem ajudar -- com materiais, sim.
03:50
CA: And as you think of your life going forward,
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CA: E pensando em sua vida no futuro,
03:53
you're 19 now,
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você tem 19 anos agora, você
03:56
do you picture continuing with this dream of working in energy?
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vê uma continuação desse sonho, trabalhando com energia?
04:00
WK: Yeah. I'm still thinking to work on energy.
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WK: Sim. Ainda estou trabalhando com energia.
04:05
CA: Wow. William, it's a real honor to have you at the TED conference.
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CA: Nossa. William, é uma honra tê-lo aqui no TED.
04:09
Thank you so much for coming.
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Muito obrigado por vir.
04:11
WK: Thank you.
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WK: Obrigado.
04:13
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
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