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 2007

William Kamkwamba: How I built a windmill

William Kamkwamba om, hvordan man bygger en vindmølle

Filmed:
2,952,899 views

Da han var blot 14 år gammel, byggede den malawiske opfinder William Kamkwamba en elektricitetsproducerende vindmølle ud af reservedele, til sin familie, ved hjælp af råskitser han fandt i en biblioteksbog.
- 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.

00:29
ChrisChris AndersonAnderson: WilliamWilliam, hiHej. Good to see you.
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Chris Anderson: William, hej. Godt at se dig.
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WilliamWilliam KamkwambaKamkwamba: ThanksTak.
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William Kamkwamba: Tak.
00:32
CACA: So, we'vevi har got a picturebillede, I think? Where is this?
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CA: Så, vi har et billede her, tror jeg nok? Hvor er dette?
00:37
WKWK: This is my home. This is where I livelevende.
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WK: Dette er mit hjem. Det er, hvor jeg kommer fra.
00:41
CACA: Where? What countryLand?
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CA: Hvor? Hvilket land?
00:43
WKWK: In MalawiMalawi, KasunguKasungu. In KasunguKasungu. Yeah, MalaMala.
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WK: Malawi, Kasungu. I Kasungu. Ja, Mala.
00:46
CACA: OK. Now, you're 19 now?
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CA: OK. Så, du er 19 år nu?
00:49
WKWK: Yeah. I'm 19 yearsflere år now.
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WK: Ja. Jeg er 19 år nu.
00:51
CACA: FiveFem yearsflere år agosiden you had an ideaide. What was that?
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CA: For fem år siden fik du en ide. Hvad var det for en?
00:54
WKWK: I wanted to make a windmillvindmølle.
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WK: Jeg ville bygge en vindmølle.
00:56
CACA: A windmillvindmølle?
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CA: En vindmølle?
00:57
WKWK: Yeah.
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WK: Ja.
00:58
CACA: What, to powerstrøm -- for lightingbelysning and stuffting og sager?
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CA: For hvad, at drive lys og sådan?
01:02
WKWK: Yeah.
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WK: Ja.
01:04
CACA: So what did you do? How did you realizerealisere that?
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CA: Så hvad gjorde du så? Hvordan fik du realiseret det?
01:07
WKWK: After I droppeddroppet out of schoolskole, I wentgik to librarybibliotek,
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WK: Efter jeg droppede ud af skolen, gik jeg ned på biblioteket
01:11
and I readlæse a bookBestil that would -- "UsingVed hjælp af EnergyEnergi,"
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og læste en bog om at -- "Bruge Energi,"
01:15
and I get informationinformation about doing the millmølle.
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og jeg fandt information om, hvordan man laver en mølle.
01:18
And I triedforsøgt, and I madelavet it.
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Og jeg prøvede, og jeg lavede en.
01:20
(ApplauseBifald)
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(Klapsalver)
01:30
CACA: So you copiedkopieret -- you exactlyNemlig copiedkopieret the designdesign in the bookBestil.
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CA: Så kopierede -- du kopierede præcist designet i bogen.
01:34
WKWK: AhAh, no. I just --
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WK: Ah, nej. Jeg gjorde bare --
01:36
CACA: What happenedskete?
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CA: Hvad skete?
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WKWK: In factfaktum, a designdesign of the windmillvindmølle that was in the bookBestil,
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WK: Egenligt, det design af vindmøllen, som var i den bog,
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it has got fourfire -- ahah -- threetre bladesklinger,
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den havde fire -- nej -- tre vinger,
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and minemine has got fourfire bladesklinger.
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og min har 4 vinger.
01:49
CACA: The bookBestil had threetre, yoursdine had fourfire.
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CA: Bogen havde 3, din havde 4.
01:51
WKWK: Yeah.
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WK: ja
01:52
CACA: And you madelavet it out of what?
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CA: Og du lavede den ud af hvad?
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WKWK: I madelavet fourfire bladesklinger, just because I want to increaseøge powerstrøm.
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WK: Jeg brugte fire blade, fordi jeg ville have mere kraft.
01:59
CACA: OK.
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CA: OK.
02:00
WKWK: Yeah.
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WK: Ja
02:01
CACA: You testedtestet threetre, and foundfundet that fourfire workedarbejdet better?
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CA: Du testede med tre, og fandt ud af, at fire var bedre?
02:03
WKWK: Yeah. I testprøve.
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WK: Ja. Jeg testede.
02:05
CACA: And what did you make the windmillvindmølle out of?
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CA: Og hvad lavede du vindmøllen af?
02:08
What materialsmaterialer did you use?
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Hvilke materialer brugte du?
02:10
WKWK: I use a bicyclecykel frameramme, and a pulleytrisse, and plasticplast piperør, what then pullstrækker --
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WK: Jeg brugte et cykelstel, en talje, og plasticrør, hvilket så trækker --
02:16
CACA: Do we have a picturebillede of that? Can we have the nextNæste slideglide?
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CA: Har du et billede af det? Kan vi venligst se næste billede?
02:19
WKWK: Yeah. The windmillvindmølle.
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WK: Ja. Vindmøllen.
02:21
CACA: And so, and that windmillvindmølle, what -- it workedarbejdet?
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CA: Så, det er vindmøllen, hvad -- fungerede den?
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WKWK: When the windvind blowsslag, it rotatesroterer and generatesgenererer.
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WK: Når vinden blæser, roterer den og laver strøm.
02:30
CACA: How much electricityelektricitet?
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CA: Hvor meget strøm?
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WKWK: 12 wattswatt.
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WK: 12 watt.
02:33
CACA: And so, that litlit a lightlys for the househus? How manymange lightslys?
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CA: Og, det giver så lys i huset? Hvor mange lamper?
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WKWK: FourFire bulbspærer and two radiosradioer.
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WK: fire pærer og to radioer.
02:40
CACA: WowWow.
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CA: Wow.
02:41
WKWK: Yeah.
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WK: Ja.
02:42
(ApplauseBifald) CACA: NextNæste slideglide --
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(Klapsalver) CA: Næste billede --
02:52
so who'shvem der er that?
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så hvem er det?
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WKWK: This is my parentsforældre, holdingbedrift the radioradio.
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WK: Det er mine forældre, som holder radioen.
02:57
CACA: So what did they make of -- that you were 14, 15 at the time --
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CA: Så hvad syntes de om det -- du var jo 14, 15 år på det tidspunkt --
03:01
what did they make of this? They were impressedimponeret?
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hvad syntes de om det? Var de imponerede?
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WKWK: Yeah.
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WK: Ja.
03:05
CACA: And so what's your -- what are you going to do with this?
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CA: Hvad er så din -- hvad gør du med det her?
03:07
WKWK: UmUM --
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WK: Øhm --
03:09
CACA: What do you -- I mean -- do you want to buildbygge anotheren anden one?
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CA: Hvad har du tænkt dig -- jeg mener -- vil du bygge flere?
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WKWK: Yeah, I want to buildbygge anotheren anden one --
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WK: Ja, jeg vil bygge en mere --
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to pumppumpe watervand and irrigationkunstvanding for cropsafgrøder.
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til at pumpe vand og vande -- til vanding af afgrøder.
03:21
CACA: So this one would have to be biggerstørre?
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CA: Så den næste er nødt til at blive større?
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WKWK: Yeah.
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WK: Ja.
03:24
CACA: How bigstor?
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CA: Hvor stor?
03:25
WKWK: I think it will producefremstille more than 20 the wattswatt.
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WK: Jeg tror den kommer til at producere mere end 20 watts.
03:31
CACA: So that would producefremstille irrigationkunstvanding for the entirehel villagelandsby?
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CA: Så den kan producere vanding for hele landsbyen?
03:35
WKWK: Yeah.
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WK: Ja.
03:37
CACA: WowWow. And so you're talkingtaler to people here at TEDTED
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CA: Wow. Og derfor kommer du her og giver din tale til TED
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to get people who mightmagt be ablei stand to help in some way
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for at møde folk, der måske kan hjælpe dig på en eller anden måde
03:44
to realizerealisere this dreamdrøm?
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at realisere din drøm?
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WKWK: Yeah, if they can help me with materialsmaterialer, yeah.
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WK: Ja, hvis de kan hjælpe mig med byggematerialer ja.
03:50
CACA: And as you think of your life going forwardfrem,
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CA: Og hvordan forstiller du dit liv længere fremme i tiden,
03:53
you're 19 now,
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du er 19 nu,
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do you picturebillede continuingfortsættende with this dreamdrøm of workingarbejder in energyenergi?
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forestiller du dig med denne drøm fremover, at arbejde med energi?
04:00
WKWK: Yeah. I'm still thinkingtænker to work on energyenergi.
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WK: Ja, jeg planlægger at arbejde med energi fremover.
04:05
CACA: WowWow. WilliamWilliam, it's a realægte honorære to have you at the TEDTED conferencekonference.
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CA: Wow. William, det er en ære at have dig her på TED Konferencen.
04:09
Thank you so much for comingkommer.
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Mange tak fordi du ville komme.
04:11
WKWK: Thank you.
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WK: Tak
04:13
(ApplauseBifald)
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(Klapsalver)

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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