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

William Kamkwamba: Bagaimana saya memanfaatkan angin

Filmed:
2,717,871 views

Pada usia 14 tahun, dalam kemiskinan dan paceklik, seorang anak Malawi membuat kincir angin untuk menyediakan listrik ke rumah keluarganya. Sekarang pada usia 22 tahun, William Kamkwamba, yang berbicara di TED, disini, untuk kedua kalinya, akan membagi dengan kata-katanya sendiri cerita tentang penemuan yang mengubah hidupnya.
- 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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Terima kasih.
00:15
Two yearstahun agolalu, I stoodberdiri on the TEDTED stagetahap in ArushaArusha, TanzaniaTanzania.
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Dua tahun yang lalu saya berdiri di panggung TED di Arusha, Tanzania.
00:19
I spokeberbicara very brieflysecara singkat about one of my proudestmembanggakan creationskreasi.
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Saya berbicara singkat sekali tentang salah satu karya saya yang paling membanggakan.
00:24
It was a simplesederhana machinemesin that changedberubah my life.
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Yaitu sebuah mesin sederhana yang mengubah hidup saya.
00:28
Before that time,
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Sebelum itu
00:30
I had never been away from my home
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Saya tidak pernah bepergian jauh dari rumah
00:33
in MalawiMalawi.
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di Malawi.
00:36
I had never used a computerkomputer.
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Saya tidak pernah menggunakan komputer.
00:38
I had never seenterlihat an InternetInternet.
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Saya tidak pernah melihat Internet.
00:42
On the stagetahap that day, I was so nervousgugup.
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Di panggung hari itu, saya sungguh gugup.
00:47
My EnglishInggris lostkalah,
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Kemampuan berbahasa inggris saya hilang,
00:51
I wanted to vomitmuntah.
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Saya ingin muntah.
00:53
(LaughterTawa)
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(Tertawa)
00:57
I had never been surroundedterkepung by so manybanyak azunguazungu,
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Saya tidak pernah dikelilingi oleh banyak sekali azungu,
01:01
whiteputih people.
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orang kulit putih.
01:03
(LaughterTawa)
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(Tertawa)
01:06
There was a storycerita I wouldn'ttidak akan tell you then.
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Ada sebuah cerita yang tidak bisa saya sampaikan waktu itu.
01:09
But well, I'm feelingperasaan good right now.
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Tapi, saya merasa baik-baik saja sekarang.
01:12
I would like to shareBagikan that storycerita todayhari ini.
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Saya ingin membagi cerita tersebut hari ini.
01:15
We have seventujuh childrenanak-anak in my familykeluarga.
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Kami mempunyai tujuh anak dalam keluarga saya.
01:17
All sisterssaudara perempuan, exceptingkecuali me.
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Semuanya perempuan, kecuali saya.
01:21
This is me with my dadayah when I was a little boyanak laki-laki.
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Ini saya bersama ayah ketika saya masih kecil.
01:26
Before I discoveredditemukan the wonderskeajaiban of scienceilmu,
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Sebelum saya menemukan keajaiban dari ilmu pengetahuan,
01:29
I was just a simplesederhana farmerpetani
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saya hanyalah seorang petani sederhana
01:31
in a countrynegara of poormiskin farmerspetani.
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di sebuah negara dari petani-petani miskin.
01:34
Like everyonesemua orang elselain, we grewtumbuh maizejagung.
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Seperti orang lain, kami menanam jagung.
01:38
One yeartahun our fortunenasib turnedberbalik very badburuk.
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Suatu tahun nasib kami berubah sangat buruk.
01:43
In 2001 we experiencedberpengalaman an awfulmengerikan faminekelaparan.
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Pada 2001 kami mengalami paceklik yang mengerikan.
01:48
WithinDalam fivelima monthsbulan all MalawiansMalawi beganmulai to starvekelaparan to deathkematian.
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Dalam lima bulan semua orang Malawi mulai kelaparan.
01:55
My familykeluarga atemakan one mealmakan perper day, at night.
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Keluarga saya makan satu kali per hari, di malam hari.
01:59
Only threetiga swallowsmenelan of nsimansima for eachsetiap one of us.
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Hanya tiga suap nsima untuk tiap orang.
02:03
The foodmakanan passesmelewati throughmelalui our bodiestubuh.
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Makanan itu seakan hanya melewati tubuh kami.
02:05
We droppenurunan down to nothing.
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Kami tidak merasakan apa-apa.
02:09
In MalawiMalawi, the secondarysekunder schoolsekolah,
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Di Malawi, sekolah menengah,
02:12
you have to paymembayar schoolsekolah feesbiaya.
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anda harus membayar iuran sekolah.
02:14
Because of the hungerkelaparan, I was forcedterpaksa to droppenurunan out of schoolsekolah.
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Karena kelaparan, saya terpaksa putus sekolah.
02:20
I lookedtampak at my fatherayah
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Saya melihat ayah saya,
02:22
and lookedtampak at those drykering fieldsladang.
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and melihat ladang-ladang kering itu.
02:24
It was the futuremasa depan I couldn'ttidak bisa acceptmenerima.
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Itu adalah masa depan yang tidak dapat saya terima.
02:28
I feltmerasa very happysenang to be at the secondarysekunder schoolsekolah,
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Saya merasa sangat bahagia saat di sekolah menegah.
02:32
so I was determinedbertekad to do anything possiblemungkin
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Sehingga saya memutuskan untuk melakukan apapun yang mungkin
02:37
to receivemenerima educationpendidikan.
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untuk mendapatkan pendidikan.
02:39
So I wentpergi to a libraryPerpustakaan.
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Jadi saya pergi ke perpustakaan.
02:41
I readBaca baca booksbuku, scienceilmu booksbuku, especiallyterutama physicsfisika.
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Saya membaca buku, buku-buku tentang ilmu pengetahuan, terutama fisika.
02:45
I couldn'ttidak bisa readBaca baca EnglishInggris that well.
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Saya tidak bisa membaca bahasa inggris dengan baik.
02:47
I used diagramsdiagram and picturesfoto-foto
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Saya menggunakan diagram dan gambar
02:50
to learnbelajar the wordskata-kata around them.
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untuk mempelajari kata-kata disekitarnya.
02:55
AnotherLain bookBook put that knowledgepengetahuan in my handstangan.
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Sebuah buku lain memberikan pengetahuan kepada saya.
02:59
It said a windmillkincir angin could pumppompa waterair and generatemenghasilkan electricitylistrik.
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Buku tersebut mengatakan sebuah kincir angin dapat memompa air dan membangkitkan listrik.
03:05
PumpPompa waterair meantberarti irrigationirigasi,
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Memompa air berarti irigasi.
03:08
a defensepertahanan againstmelawan hungerkelaparan,
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Pertahanan melawan kelaparan,
03:10
whichyang we were experiencingmengalami by that time.
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yang sedang kami hadapi saat itu.
03:14
So I decidedmemutuskan I would buildmembangun one windmillkincir angin for myselfdiri.
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Lalu saya memutuskan saya akan membangun sebuah kincir angin untuk saya sendiri.
03:18
But I didn't have materialsbahan to use,
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Tapi saya tidak punya material yang bisa dipakai.
03:21
so I wentpergi to a scrapmembatalkan yardHalaman
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Lalu saya pergi ke tempat rongsokan
03:23
where I foundditemukan my materialsbahan.
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di mana saya temukan bahan-bahan berguna.
03:26
ManyBanyak people, includingtermasuk my motheribu,
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Banyak orang, termasuk ibu saya,
03:30
said I was crazygila.
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berkata saya gila.
03:32
(LaughterTawa)
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(Tertawa)
03:34
I foundditemukan a tractortraktor fanpenggemar,
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Saya menemukan kipas traktor,
03:36
shocksyok absorberAbsorber, PVCPVC pipespipa.
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peredam kejut, pipa-pipa PVC.
03:38
UsingMenggunakan a bicyclesepeda framebingkai
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Menggunakan sebuah rangka sepeda
03:41
and an oldtua bicyclesepeda dynamoDinamo,
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dan sebuah dinamo sepeda tua,
03:45
I builtdibangun di my machinemesin.
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Saya membangun mesin saya.
03:47
It was one lightcahaya at first.
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Pertamanya hanya sebuah lampu.
03:50
And then fourempat lightslampu,
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Lalu empat lampu,
03:53
with switchesswitch, and even a circuitsirkuit breakerpemecah,
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dengan saklar-saklar dan bahkan sebuah circuit breaker,
03:58
modeleddimodelkan after an electriclistrik bellbel.
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dibuat setelah sebuah tagihan listrik.
04:02
AnotherLain machinemesin pumpspompa waterair
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Mesin yang lain memompa air
04:06
for irrigationirigasi.
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untuk irigasi.
04:09
QueuesAntrian of people startmulai lininglapisan up at my houserumah
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Orang-orang mulai mengantri dirumah saya
04:12
(LaughterTawa)
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(Tertawa)
04:14
to chargebiaya theirmereka mobilemobile phonetelepon.
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untuk mengisi baterai ponsel mereka.
04:16
(ApplauseTepuk tangan)
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(Tepuk tangan)
04:20
I could not get ridmembersihkan of them.
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Saya tidak dapat mengusir mereka.
04:22
(LaughterTawa)
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(Tertawa)
04:24
And the reporterswartawan camedatang too,
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Dan reporter datang juga,
04:27
whichyang leadmemimpin to bloggersblogger
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yang berlanjut ke blogger-blogger
04:29
and whichyang leadmemimpin to a call from something calledbernama TEDTED.
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dan sampai ke sebuah panggilan dari sesuatu yang bernama TED.
04:34
I had never seenterlihat an airplanepesawat terbang before.
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Saya tidak pernah melihat pesawat terbang sebelumnya.
04:36
I had never slepttidur in a hotelhotel.
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Saya tidak pernah tidur di hotel.
04:39
So, on stagetahap that day in ArushaArusha,
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Jadi, di panggung hari itu di Arusha,
04:43
my EnglishInggris lostkalah,
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Kemampuan berbahasa inggris saya hilang,
04:46
I said something like,
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Saya mengatakan sesuatu seperti,
04:49
"I triedmencoba. And I madeterbuat it."
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"Saya mencoba. Dan saya membuatnya"
04:53
So I would like to say something
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Jadi saya ingin mengatakan sesuatu
04:55
to all the people out there like me
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kepada semua orang diluar sana, yang seperti saya,
04:58
to the AfricansAfrika, and the poormiskin
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kepada orang-orang Afrika, dan orang-orang miskin
05:01
who are strugglingberjuang with your dreamsmimpi.
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yang sedang berjuang dengan impian masing-masing,
05:05
God blessmemberkati.
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Semoga Tuhan memberkati.
05:07
Maybe one day you will watch this on the InternetInternet.
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Mungkin suatu hari anda akan melihat ini di internet.
05:11
I say to you, trustkepercayaan yourselfdirimu sendiri and believe.
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Saya katakan kepada anda, percayalah pada diri sendiri.
05:16
WhateverApa pun happensterjadi, don't give up.
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Apapun yang terjadi jangan menyerah.
05:18
Thank you.
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Terima kasih.
05:20
(ApplauseTepuk tangan)
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(Tepuk tangan)

▲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