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

विलिएम काम्कवाम्बा: म कसरी हावा दोहन गर्छु

Filmed:
2,717,871 views

जम्मा १४ वर्षको उमेर, अनि कसरी गरीबी र भोकमरी, एउटा मलावीको किशोरले विन्डमिलको निर्माण गरेर आफ्नो घरको बिधुत आवस्कतालाई पूर्ति गरे| अहिले २२ बर्षको उमेरमा, विलिएम काम्कवाम्बा, जो यहाँ टेडमा दोश्रो पटक बोल्दैछन, उनको आफ्नै जीवनलाई परिवर्तन गर्ने आबिस्कारको त्यो सनसनीपूर्ण कथा आज आफ्नै शब्दमा सुनाउदैछन्|
- 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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धन्यबाद |
00:15
Two years ago, I stood on the TED stage in Arusha, Tanzania.
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दुइ वर्ष अगाडि म तान्जानियाको अरुशामा 'टेड' को मंचमा बोलेको थिएँ,
00:19
I spoke very briefly about one of my proudest creations.
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मैले एकदमै संक्षेपमा मेरो एउटा बिशिस्ठ सिर्जनाको बारेमा बोलेको थिएँ|
00:24
It was a simple machine that changed my life.
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यो एउटा सामान्य मेशिन थियो जसले मेरो जिन्दगि नै परिवर्तन गरिदियो|
00:28
Before that time,
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त्यो भन्दा अगाडि
00:30
I had never been away from my home
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म कहिले पनि मेरो मलावीमा भएको घरबाट बाहिर
00:33
in Malawi.
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हिडेको थिईन|
00:36
I had never used a computer.
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मैले कहिल्यै कम्पुटर प्रयोग गरेको पनि थिईन|
00:38
I had never seen an Internet.
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मैले कहिल्यै इन्टरनेट भन्ने पनि देखेको थिईन|
00:42
On the stage that day, I was so nervous.
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अनि त्यो दिन, मंचमा म निकै अत्तालिएको थिएँ|
00:47
My English lost,
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मेरो बोली हरायो|
00:51
I wanted to vomit.
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म बान्ता गर्न चाहन्थे|
00:53
(Laughter)
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(हाँसो)
00:57
I had never been surrounded by so many azungu,
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म त्यती धेरै खैरा र गोरा मान्छेहरुबाट कहिल्यै पनि
01:01
white people.
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घेरिएको थिईन/
01:03
(Laughter)
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(हाँसो)
01:06
There was a story I wouldn't tell you then.
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त्यहाँ एउटा यस्तो कथा थियो कि जुन मैले सुनाउने थिईन|
01:09
But well, I'm feeling good right now.
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तर ठिकै छ, अहिले त म राम्रै अनुभव गर्दै छु |
01:12
I would like to share that story today.
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म त्यो कथा आज भन्न चाहन्छु |
01:15
We have seven children in my family.
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हामी सात जना बच्चाहरु छौ हाम्रो परिवारमा|
01:17
All sisters, excepting me.
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सबै बहिनिहरु, म बाहेक |
01:21
This is me with my dad when I was a little boy.
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यो चाही म हु मेरो बुबासँग, जतिखेर म बच्चा थिएँ |
01:26
Before I discovered the wonders of science,
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मैले बिज्ञानको चमत्कार पत्ता लगाउनु भन्दा पहिले,
01:29
I was just a simple farmer
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म एउटा सामान्य किसान थिएँ
01:31
in a country of poor farmers.
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एउटा गरीब किसानहरुको देशको/
01:34
Like everyone else, we grew maize.
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अरुहरुले जस्तै, हामीले मकै खेति गर्थ्यौ/
01:38
One year our fortune turned very bad.
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एउटा वर्षमा चाही हाम्रो भाग्य एकदमसँग बिग्रियो|
01:43
In 2001 we experienced an awful famine.
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सन् २००१ मा हामीले साह्रै नराम्रो खडेरी बेहोर्नु पर्यो|
01:48
Within five months all Malawians began to starve to death.
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त्यसको पाँच महिना भित्र सबै मलावीका जनता भोकमरीले मर्न थाले|
01:55
My family ate one meal per day, at night.
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हाम्रो परिवारले दिनमा एक छाक मात्र खान्थ्यौँ, बेलुका मात्र|
01:59
Only three swallows of nsima for each one of us.
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त्यो पनि हरेकको लागि जम्मा तीन गास मकैको ढिडो मात्र|
02:03
The food passes through our bodies.
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र त्यो खाना हाम्रो शरीरमा सिंचित त हुन्थ्यो
02:05
We drop down to nothing.
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तर पेटसम्म पुग्न पाउदैनथ्यो|
02:09
In Malawi, the secondary school,
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मलावीमा, माध्यमिक शिक्षाको लागि
02:12
you have to pay school fees.
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पैसा तिर्नु पर्छ|
02:14
Because of the hunger, I was forced to drop out of school.
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भोकमरी लागेपछि, म स्कुलबाट निक्लिन बाध्य भएँ|
02:20
I looked at my father
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मैले आफ्नो बुबालाई हेरें,
02:22
and looked at those dry fields.
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अनि त्यो सुख्खा खेतलाई हेरें|
02:24
It was the future I couldn't accept.
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र यो नै मेरो भबिष्य थियो जुन म स्वीकार गर्न सक्दिनथे|
02:28
I felt very happy to be at the secondary school,
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म माध्यमिक तहमा भर्ना हुदा निकै खुसि थिएँ|
02:32
so I was determined to do anything possible
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त्यसैले म शिक्षाको लागि जे पनि गर्न सक्छु भन्ने
02:37
to receive education.
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कुरामा प्रतिबद्ध थिएँ|
02:39
So I went to a library.
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त्यसैले म पुस्तकालय गएँ,
02:41
I read books, science books, especially physics.
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मैले किताबहरु पढे, बिज्ञानका , बिशेषतः भौतिक शास्त्रका|
02:45
I couldn't read English that well.
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मैले अंग्रेजी पढ्न त्यती राम्रो जान्दिनथें|
02:47
I used diagrams and pictures
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त्यसैले मैले चित्र र तस्बिरहरुको सहारामा
02:50
to learn the words around them.
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त्यहाँ लेखेका शब्द हरु बुझ्दथें |
02:55
Another book put that knowledge in my hands.
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एउटा किताबले मलाई यो दिव्यज्ञान मेरो हत्केलामा राखिदियो|
02:59
It said a windmill could pump water and generate electricity.
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यसमा भनिएको थियो कि विन्डमिलले पानीलाई पम्प गरेर बिधुत पैदा गर्न सक्छ|
03:05
Pump water meant irrigation,
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पानी पम्प गरिनु अर्थात् सिचाई
03:08
a defense against hunger,
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भोकमरीकोको प्रतिरक्षा,
03:10
which we were experiencing by that time.
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जुन हामीले त्यो समयमा सामना गरि राखेका थियौं |
03:14
So I decided I would build one windmill for myself.
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त्यसैले मैले मेरो निम्ति एउटा विन्डमिल बनाउछु भन्ने निधो गरे|
03:18
But I didn't have materials to use,
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तर मसँग सरसामग्री त केही पनि थिएन |
03:21
so I went to a scrap yard
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त्यसैले म कवाडीखानामा गएँ|
03:23
where I found my materials.
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जहाँ मैले मेरा सरसामग्रीहरु फेला पारें|
03:26
Many people, including my mother,
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थुप्रै मान्छेहरुले, मेरो आमाले पनि,
03:30
said I was crazy.
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मलाई बौल्हायो भने|
03:32
(Laughter)
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(हाँसो)
03:34
I found a tractor fan,
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मैले एउटा टेक्टरको पंखा
03:36
shock absorber, PVC pipes.
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कम्पन नियन्त्रक, पिभिसी पाइप भेट्टाएँ|
03:38
Using a bicycle frame
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एउटा साइकलको फ्रेम
03:41
and an old bicycle dynamo,
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र एउटा थोत्रो साइकलको डाइनामो
03:45
I built my machine.
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प्रयोग गरि मैले मेरो मेसिन बनाएँ|
03:47
It was one light at first.
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पहिले एउटा बत्ति बल्यो|
03:50
And then four lights,
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र त्यस पछि चार ओटा,
03:53
with switches, and even a circuit breaker,
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स्वीच सर्किट ब्रेकर सहित,
03:58
modeled after an electric bell.
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सबै संरचना बिधुतिय घन्टी जस्तै गरि बनाइएको थियो|
04:02
Another machine pumps water
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अर्को मेसिनले चाही सिंचाइको लागि
04:06
for irrigation.
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पानी पम्प गर्थ्यो|
04:09
Queues of people start lining up at my house
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मान्छेहरुको लामो लर्को मेरो घरको अगाडी देखा पर्न थाल्यो
04:12
(Laughter)
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(हाँसो)
04:14
to charge their mobile phone.
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मोबाइल चार्ज गर्नको लागि|
04:16
(Applause)
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(ताली)
04:20
I could not get rid of them.
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मैले तिनीहरुबाट छुटकारा पाउन सकिन|
04:22
(Laughter)
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(हाँसो)
04:24
And the reporters came too,
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अनि पत्रकारहरु पनि आए,
04:27
which lead to bloggers
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तिनीहरु बाट ब्लगरहरु तानिए
04:29
and which lead to a call from something called TED.
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अनि ति सबै कुराहरुले मलाई यो टेड भन्ने ठाउँबाट कल आउने बनाए|
04:34
I had never seen an airplane before.
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मैले कहिल्यै हवाइजहाज देखेको थिइन पहिले|
04:36
I had never slept in a hotel.
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म कहिल्यै होटेलमा पनि सुतेको थिईन |
04:39
So, on stage that day in Arusha,
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त्यसैले, त्यो दिन अरुशाको त्यो मंचमा,
04:43
my English lost,
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मेरो बोली हरायो|
04:46
I said something like,
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मैले यति मात्रै भनें कि,™
04:49
"I tried. And I made it."
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"मैले प्रयास गरें, अनि यसलाई बनाएँ|"
04:53
So I would like to say something
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त्यसैले म यो भन्न चाहन्छु कि
04:55
to all the people out there like me
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ति सबै मानिसहरुलाई, म जस्तै
04:58
to the Africans, and the poor
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अफ्रिकनहरुलाई, र ती सबै गरीबहरू
05:01
who are struggling with your dreams.
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जो आफ्नो सपनाको खातिर संघर्स गर्दै छन,
05:05
God bless.
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भगवानले आसिर्बाद दिऊन|
05:07
Maybe one day you will watch this on the Internet.
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सायद तपाईंहरु कुनैदिन यो इन्टरनेटमा हेर्नु हुनेछ |
05:11
I say to you, trust yourself and believe.
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म तपाईंहरुलाई भन्छु कि, आफुप्रति विश्वास राख्नुस|
05:16
Whatever happens, don't give up.
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जे सुकै होस् तर हरेस नखानुस|
05:18
Thank you.
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धन्यबाद
05:20
(Applause)
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(ताली)
Translated by Deepak Basyal
Reviewed by Raaz Shrestha

▲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