TEDGlobal 2009
William Kamkwamba: How I harnessed the wind
William Kamkwamba: Hur jag tämjde vinden
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Vid 14 års ålder, under fattigdom och svält, byggde en Malawisk pojke ett vindkraftverk för att driva sin familjs hem. Nu 22 år gammal, talar William Kamkwamba vid TED för andra gången. Han delar i egna ord med sig av en rörande berättelse om innovation vilken förändrade hans liv.
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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Tack.
00:15
Two years ago, I stood on the TED stage in Arusha, Tanzania.
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För två år sedan stod jag på TED's scen i Arusha, Tanzania.
00:19
I spoke very briefly about one of my proudest creations.
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Jag talade kort om en av mina skapelser jag är mest stolt över.
00:24
It was a simple machine that changed my life.
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Det var en enkel maskin som förändrade mitt liv.
00:28
Before that time,
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Innan dess
00:30
I had never been away from my home
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hade jag aldrig varit borta från mitt hem
00:33
in Malawi.
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i Malawi.
00:36
I had never used a computer.
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Jag hade aldrig använt en dator.
00:38
I had never seen an Internet.
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Jag hade aldrig sett Internet.
00:42
On the stage that day, I was so nervous.
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På scen den dagen var jag så nervös.
00:47
My English lost,
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Jag glömde min engelska.
00:51
I wanted to vomit.
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Jag ville kräkas.
00:53
(Laughter)
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(skratt)
00:57
I had never been surrounded by so many azungu,
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Jag hade aldrig varit omringad av så många azungu,
01:01
white people.
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vita människor.
01:03
(Laughter)
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(skratt)
01:06
There was a story I wouldn't tell you then.
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Det var en sak som jag inte ville berätta då.
01:09
But well, I'm feeling good right now.
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Men, just nu mår jag bra.
01:12
I would like to share that story today.
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Jag vill berätta det idag.
01:15
We have seven children in my family.
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Vi är sju syskon i min familj.
01:17
All sisters, excepting me.
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Alla systrar förutom jag.
01:21
This is me with my dad when I was a little boy.
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Detta är jag med min pappa när jag var en liten pojke.
01:26
Before I discovered the wonders of science,
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Innan jag upptäckte vetenskapens underverk,
01:29
I was just a simple farmer
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var jag bara en enkel bonde
01:31
in a country of poor farmers.
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i ett land av fattiga bönder.
01:34
Like everyone else, we grew maize.
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Som alla andra odlade vi majs.
01:38
One year our fortune turned very bad.
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Ett år vände sig vår lycka till det sämre.
01:43
In 2001 we experienced an awful famine.
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Under 2001 upplevde vi en fruktansvärd svält.
01:48
Within five months all Malawians began to starve to death.
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Inom fem månader började alla Malawier att svälta till döds.
01:55
My family ate one meal per day, at night.
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Min familj åt en gång om dagen, på natten.
01:59
Only three swallows of nsima for each one of us.
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Endast tre munnar nsima för var och en av oss.
02:03
The food passes through our bodies.
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Maten passerade rakt genom våra kroppar
02:05
We drop down to nothing.
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och vi magrade till ingenting.
02:09
In Malawi, the secondary school,
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I Malawi, för högstadiet
02:12
you have to pay school fees.
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måste du betala skolavgifter.
02:14
Because of the hunger, I was forced to drop out of school.
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På grund av svälten tvingades jag sluta skolan.
02:20
I looked at my father
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Jag tittade på min pappa,
02:22
and looked at those dry fields.
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och tittade på de torra åkrarna.
02:24
It was the future I couldn't accept.
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Det var en framtid jag inte kunde acceptera.
02:28
I felt very happy to be at the secondary school,
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jag trivdes mycket bra med att gå i skolan.
02:32
so I was determined to do anything possible
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Så jag var bestämd på att göra vad som helst
02:37
to receive education.
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för att få utbildning.
02:39
So I went to a library.
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Så jag gick till biblioteket.
02:41
I read books, science books, especially physics.
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Jag läste böcker, vetenskapliga böcker, särskilt fysik.
02:45
I couldn't read English that well.
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Jag var inte så bra på att läsa engelska.
02:47
I used diagrams and pictures
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Så därför använde jag diagram och bilder
02:50
to learn the words around them.
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för att lära mig orden runt dem.
02:55
Another book put that knowledge in my hands.
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En annan bok som gav mig kunskap
02:59
It said a windmill could pump water and generate electricity.
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talade om att en vindsnurra kunde pumpa vatten och skapa elektricitet.
03:05
Pump water meant irrigation,
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Att pumpa vatten betydde bevattning.
03:08
a defense against hunger,
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Ett försvar mot hunger,
03:10
which we were experiencing by that time.
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vilket var vad vi upplevde vid denna tid.
03:14
So I decided I would build one windmill for myself.
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Så jag bestämde mig för att själv bygga ett vindkraftverk.
03:18
But I didn't have materials to use,
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Men jag hade inget material att använda.
03:21
so I went to a scrap yard
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Så jag gick till en soptipp
03:23
where I found my materials.
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där jag hittade mitt material.
03:26
Many people, including my mother,
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Många människor, inklusive min mamma,
03:30
said I was crazy.
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sa att jag var galen.
03:32
(Laughter)
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(Skratt)
03:34
I found a tractor fan,
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Jag hittade en traktorfläkt,
03:36
shock absorber, PVC pipes.
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stötdämpare, PVC-rör.
03:38
Using a bicycle frame
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Med en cykelram
03:41
and an old bicycle dynamo,
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och en gammal cykeldynamo,
03:45
I built my machine.
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byggde jag min maskin.
03:47
It was one light at first.
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Först var det en glödlampa.
03:50
And then four lights,
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Och sedan fyra glödlampor,
03:53
with switches, and even a circuit breaker,
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med brytare, och även en huvudbrytare,
03:58
modeled after an electric bell.
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utformad efter en mätartavla.
04:02
Another machine pumps water
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En annan maskin pumpar vatten
04:06
for irrigation.
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till bevattning.
04:09
Queues of people start lining up at my house
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Köer av folk började rada upp sig utanför mitt hus
04:12
(Laughter)
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(Skratt)
04:14
to charge their mobile phone.
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för att ladda sin mobiltelefon.
04:16
(Applause)
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(Applåder)
04:20
I could not get rid of them.
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Jag kunde inte bli av med dem.
04:22
(Laughter)
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(Skratt)
04:24
And the reporters came too,
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Och journalister kom också,
04:27
which lead to bloggers
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vilket ledde till bloggare,
04:29
and which lead to a call from something called TED.
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vilket ledde till ett samtal från något kallat TED.
04:34
I had never seen an airplane before.
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Jag hade aldrig sett ett flygplan tidigare.
04:36
I had never slept in a hotel.
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Jag hade aldrig sovit på hotell.
04:39
So, on stage that day in Arusha,
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Så på scenen i Arusha den dagen,
04:43
my English lost,
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glömde jag min engelska.
04:46
I said something like,
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Jag sa någonting liknande
04:49
"I tried. And I made it."
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"Jag försökte. Och jag gjorde det."
04:53
So I would like to say something
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Så jag skulle vilja säga någonting
04:55
to all the people out there like me
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till alla människor där ute, som mig,
04:58
to the Africans, and the poor
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till afrikanerna, och till de fattiga
05:01
who are struggling with your dreams.
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som kämpar med era drömmar,
05:05
God bless.
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Gud välsigne er.
05:07
Maybe one day you will watch this on the Internet.
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Kanske ser ni detta på Internet nån gång.
05:11
I say to you, trust yourself and believe.
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Jag säger till er att tro på er själva.
05:16
Whatever happens, don't give up.
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Ge aldrig upp vad som än händer.
05:18
Thank you.
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Tack.
05:20
(Applause)
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(Applåder)
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