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: Como domei o vento

Filmed:
2,717,871 views

Aos 14 anos, em pobreza e fome, um menino Malauiano construiu um moinho de vento para fornecer energia à casa da sua família. Agora, aos 22 anos, William Kamkwamba, que discursa aqui na TED pela segunda vez, partilha a comovente história da invenção que mudou a sua vida.
- 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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Obrigado.
00:15
Two yearsanos agoatrás, I stoodficou on the TEDTED stageetapa in ArushaArusha, TanzaniaTanzânia.
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Há dois anos atrás, estive no palco da TED em Arusha, na Tanzânia.
00:19
I spokefalou very brieflybrevemente about one of my proudestmaior orgulho creationscriações.
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Falei brevemente sobre uma das criações de que mais me orgulho.
00:24
It was a simplesimples machinemáquina that changedmudou my life.
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Foi uma máquina simples que mudou a minha vida.
00:28
Before that time,
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Antes disso,
00:30
I had never been away from my home
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nunca tinha estado longe de casa,
00:33
in MalawiMalawi.
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no Malauí.
00:36
I had never used a computercomputador.
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Nunca tinha usado um computador.
00:38
I had never seenvisto an InternetInternet.
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Nunca tinha visto a Internet.
00:42
On the stageetapa that day, I was so nervousnervoso.
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Em palco, nesse dia, eu estava muito nervoso.
00:47
My EnglishInglês lostperdido,
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Perdi o meu inglês,
00:51
I wanted to vomitVoMiT.
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e queria vomitar.
00:53
(LaughterRiso)
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(Risos)
00:57
I had never been surroundedcercado by so manymuitos azunguazungu,
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Nunca tinha estado rodeado por tantos azungu,
01:01
whitebranco people.
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pessoas brancas.
01:03
(LaughterRiso)
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(Risos)
01:06
There was a storyhistória I wouldn'tnão seria tell you then.
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Há uma história que não vos contei na altura.
01:09
But well, I'm feelingsentindo-me good right now.
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Mas estou-me a sentir bem agora,
01:12
I would like to sharecompartilhar that storyhistória todayhoje.
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e gostaria de partilhar essa história hoje.
01:15
We have sevenSete childrencrianças in my familyfamília.
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Temos sete crianças na minha família.
01:17
All sistersirmãs, exceptingcom exceção de me.
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Todas irmãs, excepto eu.
01:21
This is me with my dadPapai when I was a little boyGaroto.
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Isto sou eu com o meu pai quando eu era pequeno.
01:26
Before I discovereddescobriu the wondersmaravilhas of scienceCiência,
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Antes de descobrir as maravilhas da ciência,
01:29
I was just a simplesimples farmeragricultor
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eu era um simples agricultor,
01:31
in a countrypaís of poorpobre farmersagricultores.
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num país de agricultores pobres.
01:34
Like everyonetodos elseoutro, we grewcresceu maizemilho.
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Tal como toda a gente, cultivávamos milho.
01:38
One yearano our fortunefortuna turnedvirou very badmau.
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Num ano, a nossa sorte transformou-se em azar.
01:43
In 2001 we experiencedcom experiência an awfulhorrível faminefome.
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Em 2001 passámos por uma terrível fome.
01:48
WithinDentro fivecinco monthsmeses all MalawiansMalauianos begancomeçasse to starvemorrer de fome to deathmorte.
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Em cinco meses, todos os Malauianos começaram a morrer de fome.
01:55
My familyfamília atecomeu one mealrefeição perpor day, at night.
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A minha família comia uma refeição por dia, à noite.
01:59
Only threetrês swallowsandorinhas of nsimansima for eachcada one of us.
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Apenas três tragos de nsima (papa de milho) para cada um de nós.
02:03
The foodComida passespassa throughatravés our bodiescorpos.
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A comida passava pelos nossos corpos.
02:05
We dropsolta down to nothing.
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Perdemos muito peso.
02:09
In MalawiMalawi, the secondarysecundário schoolescola,
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No Malauí, para frequentar a escola secundária,
02:12
you have to paypagamento schoolescola feeshonorários.
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temos que pagar propinas.
02:14
Because of the hungerfome, I was forcedforçado to dropsolta out of schoolescola.
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Por causa da fome, vi-me obrigado a desistir da escola.
02:20
I lookedolhou at my fatherpai
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Olhei para o meu pai,
02:22
and lookedolhou at those dryseco fieldsCampos.
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e olhei para aqueles campos secos.
02:24
It was the futurefuturo I couldn'tnão podia acceptaceitar.
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Era um futuro que eu não conseguia aceitar.
02:28
I feltsentiu very happyfeliz to be at the secondarysecundário schoolescola,
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Sentia-me muito feliz por estar na escola secundária.
02:32
so I was determineddeterminado to do anything possiblepossível
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Por isso eu estava completamente determinado a fazer tudo o que fosse possível
02:37
to receivereceber educationEducação.
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para receber educação.
02:39
So I wentfoi to a librarybiblioteca.
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Por isso fui a uma biblioteca.
02:41
I readler bookslivros, scienceCiência bookslivros, especiallyespecialmente physicsfísica.
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Li livros, livros de ciência, principalmente de Física.
02:45
I couldn'tnão podia readler EnglishInglês that well.
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Não sabia ler inglês lá muito bem.
02:47
I used diagramsdiagramas and picturesAs fotos
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Usava os diagramas e as fotografias
02:50
to learnaprender the wordspalavras around them.
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para aprender as palavras à volta delas.
02:55
AnotherOutro booklivro put that knowledgeconhecimento in my handsmãos.
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Outro livro pôs esse conhecimento nas minhas mãos.
02:59
It said a windmillmoinho de vento could pumpbomba wateragua and generategerar electricityeletricidade.
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Dizia que um moinho podia bombear água e gerar electricidade.
03:05
PumpBomba wateragua meantsignificava irrigationirrigação,
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Bombear água significava irrigação.
03:08
a defensedefesa againstcontra hungerfome,
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Uma defesa contra a fome,
03:10
whichqual we were experiencingexperimentando by that time.
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pela qual estávamos a passar nessa altura.
03:14
So I decideddecidiu I would buildconstruir one windmillmoinho de vento for myselfEu mesmo.
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Por isso decidi construir um moinho para mim.
03:18
But I didn't have materialsmateriais to use,
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Mas não tinha os materiais necessários.
03:21
so I wentfoi to a scrapsucatear yardjardim
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Por isso fui a uma sucata
03:23
where I foundencontrado my materialsmateriais.
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onde encontrei os materiais
03:26
ManyMuitos people, includingIncluindo my mothermãe,
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Muitas pessoas, incluindo a minha mãe,
03:30
said I was crazylouco.
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disseram-me que eu era maluco.
03:32
(LaughterRiso)
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(Risos)
03:34
I foundencontrado a tractortrator fanventilador,
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Encontrei uma ventoinha de um tractor.
03:36
shockchoque absorberabsorvente de, PVCPVC pipestubos.
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um amortecedor, canos de PVC.
03:38
UsingUsando a bicyclebicicleta framequadro, armação
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Usei o esqueleto de uma bicicleta
03:41
and an oldvelho bicyclebicicleta dynamoDínamo,
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e um dínamo de bicicleta velho,
03:45
I builtconstruído my machinemáquina.
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e construí a minha máquina.
03:47
It was one lightluz at first.
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Primeiro foi uma lâmpada.
03:50
And then fourquatro lightsluzes,
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Depois quatro lâmpadas,
03:53
with switchescomuta, and even a circuito circuito breakerdisjuntor,
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com interruptores e até um disjuntor,
03:58
modeledmodelado after an electricelétrico bellSino.
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modelado a partir de uma conta de electricidade.
04:02
AnotherOutro machinemáquina pumpsbombas wateragua
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Outra máquina bombeia água
04:06
for irrigationirrigação.
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para irrigação.
04:09
QueuesFilas of people startcomeçar liningforro up at my housecasa
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Filas de pessoas começaram a formar-se à porta da minha casa
04:12
(LaughterRiso)
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(Risos)
04:14
to chargecarregar theirdeles mobileMóvel phonetelefone.
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para carregarem os telemóveis.
04:16
(ApplauseAplausos)
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(Aplausos)
04:20
I could not get ridlivrar of them.
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Não conseguia ver-me livre deles.
04:22
(LaughterRiso)
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(Risos)
04:24
And the reportersrepórteres cameveio too,
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E os jornalistas também começaram a aparecer,
04:27
whichqual leadconduzir to bloggersblogueiros
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o que levou aos bloggers.
04:29
and whichqual leadconduzir to a call from something calledchamado TEDTED.
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que levaram a um telefonema de algo chamado TED.
04:34
I had never seenvisto an airplaneavião before.
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Nunca tinha visto um avião.
04:36
I had never sleptdormisse in a hotelhotel.
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Nunca tinha dormido num hotel.
04:39
So, on stageetapa that day in ArushaArusha,
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Por isso, em palco nesse dia em Arusha,
04:43
my EnglishInglês lostperdido,
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perdi o meu inglês
04:46
I said something like,
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e disse qualquer coisa como
04:49
"I triedtentou. And I madefeito it."
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"Tentei. E fi-lo."
04:53
So I would like to say something
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Por isso gostaria de dizer uma coisa
04:55
to all the people out there like me
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a todas as pessoas por aí fora, como eu,
04:58
to the AfricansAfricanos, and the poorpobre
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aos africanos e aos pobres,
05:01
who are strugglinglutando with your dreamssonhos.
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com dificuldades para realizar os seus sonhos.
05:05
God blessabençoe.
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Deus vos abençoe.
05:07
Maybe one day you will watch this on the InternetInternet.
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Talvez um dia venham a ver isto na Internet.
05:11
I say to you, trustConfiar em yourselfvocê mesmo and believe.
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Digo-vos a vocês: confiem em vocês mesmos e acreditem.
05:16
WhateverO que quer happensacontece, don't give up.
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O que quer que aconteça, não desistam.
05:18
Thank you.
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Obrigado.
05:20
(ApplauseAplausos)
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(Aplausos)
Translated by Inês Pereira
Reviewed by Bruno Gomes

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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