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 ( Villiam Kamkvamba) : Men shamolni qanday egarlaganim haqida

Filmed:
2,717,871 views

14 yoshida, Malaviyalik bola, kambag'allik va ocharchilikda, oilasini, uyini elektr bilan ta'minlash maqsadida shamol tegirmonini yasaydi. Hozir u William Kamkwamba ( Villiam Kamkvamba) 22 yoshda va TED da ikkinchi marta , o'z so'zlari bilan hayotini o'zgartirgan ta'sirchan voqeani hikoya qiladi.
- 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.
0
0
3000
Rahmat.
00:15
Two years ago, I stood on the TED stage in Arusha, Tanzania.
1
3000
4000
Ikki yil avval men Arusha, Tanzaniyada TED sahnasida turgandim.
00:19
I spoke very briefly about one of my proudest creations.
2
7000
5000
Men eng faxr bilan yaratgan narsam haqida juda qisqacha gapirib o'tdim.
00:24
It was a simple machine that changed my life.
3
12000
4000
U mening hayotimni o'zgartirgan oddiy bir uskuna edi.
00:28
Before that time,
4
16000
2000
Undan oldin men
00:30
I had never been away from my home
5
18000
3000
Malavidagi uyimdan
00:33
in Malawi.
6
21000
3000
hech uzoqda bo'lmaganman.
00:36
I had never used a computer.
7
24000
2000
Mening hech qachon kompyuterim bo'lmagandi.
00:38
I had never seen an Internet.
8
26000
4000
Internetni ham ko'rmagandim.
00:42
On the stage that day, I was so nervous.
9
30000
5000
O'sha kuni sahnada turib men juda hayajonda edim.
00:47
My English lost,
10
35000
4000
Men Ingliz tilini unutib,
00:51
I wanted to vomit.
11
39000
2000
Ko'nglim aynib turgandi.
00:53
(Laughter)
12
41000
4000
(Kulgi)
00:57
I had never been surrounded by so many azungu,
13
45000
4000
Men hech qachon shuncha ko'p oq tanli
01:01
white people.
14
49000
2000
odamlar orasida bo'lmagandim.
01:03
(Laughter)
15
51000
3000
(Kulgi)
01:06
There was a story I wouldn't tell you then.
16
54000
3000
Mening o'sha paytda sizga aytolmagan hikoyam bor edi.
01:09
But well, I'm feeling good right now.
17
57000
3000
Men hozir o'zimni yaxshi his qilayapman.
01:12
I would like to share that story today.
18
60000
3000
Va bugun sizga hikoyamni aytib bermoqchiman.
01:15
We have seven children in my family.
19
63000
2000
Oilamda 7 farzandmiz.
01:17
All sisters, excepting me.
20
65000
4000
mendan boshqa hammasi opa singillarim.
01:21
This is me with my dad when I was a little boy.
21
69000
5000
Bu rasmda mening otam va men kickhina bolaligimda.
01:26
Before I discovered the wonders of science,
22
74000
3000
Ilm fanning hayratlari haqida bilmasimdan oldin
01:29
I was just a simple farmer
23
77000
2000
men kambag'al dehqonlar
01:31
in a country of poor farmers.
24
79000
3000
davlatida oddiy bir dehqon edim.
01:34
Like everyone else, we grew maize.
25
82000
4000
hamma qatori biz ham jo'xori ekardik.
01:38
One year our fortune turned very bad.
26
86000
5000
Bir yili omadimiz kelmadi.
01:43
In 2001 we experienced an awful famine.
27
91000
5000
2001 yilda bizda juda yomon ocharchilik bo'ldi.
01:48
Within five months all Malawians began to starve to death.
28
96000
7000
besh oy ichida Malaviyaliklar ochidan o'la boshlashdi.
01:55
My family ate one meal per day, at night.
29
103000
4000
Mening oilam har kuni bir mahal ovqat yerdi, kechqurunlari.
01:59
Only three swallows of nsima for each one of us.
30
107000
4000
har birimiz atigi uch qultumdan jo'xori bo'tqa yerdik.
02:03
The food passes through our bodies.
31
111000
2000
Ovqat tanamizdan o'tib,
02:05
We drop down to nothing.
32
113000
4000
biz holsiz yotardik.
02:09
In Malawi, the secondary school,
33
117000
3000
Malavida, o'rta maktabga borish uchun
02:12
you have to pay school fees.
34
120000
2000
pul to'lashingiz kerak.
02:14
Because of the hunger, I was forced to drop out of school.
35
122000
6000
Ochlik sababli men maktabni tashlashga majbur bo'ldim.
02:20
I looked at my father
36
128000
2000
Men otamga qarab, quruq dalalarga
02:22
and looked at those dry fields.
37
130000
2000
qaradim va men bunday
02:24
It was the future I couldn't accept.
38
132000
4000
kelajakni qabul qila olmadim.
02:28
I felt very happy to be at the secondary school,
39
136000
4000
Men o'rta maktabda juda hursand edim.
02:32
so I was determined to do anything possible
40
140000
5000
Va ta'lim olish uchun nima qilish
02:37
to receive education.
41
145000
2000
kerak bo'lsa bariga tayyor edim.
02:39
So I went to a library.
42
147000
2000
Va shuning uchun men kutubxonaga bordim.
02:41
I read books, science books, especially physics.
43
149000
4000
men ilmiy kitoblar o'qidim, ayniqsa Fizika kitoblarini.
02:45
I couldn't read English that well.
44
153000
2000
Men Ingliz tilini uncha yaxshi o'qiy olmasdim.
02:47
I used diagrams and pictures
45
155000
3000
Va men rasmlar va diagrammalardan foydalanib
02:50
to learn the words around them.
46
158000
5000
ular atrofidagi so'zlarni o'rgandim.
02:55
Another book put that knowledge in my hands.
47
163000
4000
Kitoblarning biri o'sha bilimni qo'limga tutqazdi.
02:59
It said a windmill could pump water and generate electricity.
48
167000
6000
unga ko'ra shamol tegirmoni yerdan suv torta oladi va elektr toki ishlab chiqaradi degandi.
03:05
Pump water meant irrigation,
49
173000
3000
Suv tortib chiqarish degani sug'orish mumkin bo'ladi deganidir.
03:08
a defense against hunger,
50
176000
2000
bu biz o'sha paytda boshdan kechirayotgan
03:10
which we were experiencing by that time.
51
178000
4000
ochlikka qarshi chora edi.
03:14
So I decided I would build one windmill for myself.
52
182000
4000
Va men o'zim uchun bir shamol tegirmoni qurishga qaror qildim.
03:18
But I didn't have materials to use,
53
186000
3000
Lekin menda uni yasash uchun materiallar yo'q edi.
03:21
so I went to a scrap yard
54
189000
2000
Shuning uchun men bir tashlandiqlar
03:23
where I found my materials.
55
191000
3000
yig'ilgan joyga borib kerakli materiallarni topdim.
03:26
Many people, including my mother,
56
194000
4000
Ko'p odamlar, va xatto mening onam ham
03:30
said I was crazy.
57
198000
2000
menga esingni yeb qo'yibsan deb aytishdi.
03:32
(Laughter)
58
200000
2000
(Kulgi)
03:34
I found a tractor fan,
59
202000
2000
men u yerda traktorning ventilyatori
03:36
shock absorber, PVC pipes.
60
204000
2000
amortizator, plastik trubalar topdim.
03:38
Using a bicycle frame
61
206000
3000
Velosiped shakli va eski velosiped
03:41
and an old bicycle dynamo,
62
209000
4000
dinamo- generatori yordamida
03:45
I built my machine.
63
213000
2000
men asbobimni qurdim.
03:47
It was one light at first.
64
215000
3000
Boshida u bilan bir chiroq yonardi,
03:50
And then four lights,
65
218000
3000
keyin to'rtta chiroq yoqadigan bo'ldi,
03:53
with switches, and even a circuit breaker,
66
221000
5000
elektr qo'ng'irog'i modelidagidek
03:58
modeled after an electric bell.
67
226000
4000
tokninq yo'nalishini uzqartiruvchi, uzuvchi va saqlaydigan qismlari bor edi.
04:02
Another machine pumps water
68
230000
4000
ikkinchi bir uskuna
04:06
for irrigation.
69
234000
3000
sug'orish uchun suv tortib chiqaradi.
04:09
Queues of people start lining up at my house
70
237000
3000
uyim oldida odamlar qatorlasha boshlashdi.
04:12
(Laughter)
71
240000
2000
(Kulgi)
04:14
to charge their mobile phone.
72
242000
2000
ular uyali telefonlarini zaryadlash uchun kelardi.
04:16
(Applause)
73
244000
4000
( Qarsaklar)
04:20
I could not get rid of them.
74
248000
2000
Men ulardan qutula olmadim.
04:22
(Laughter)
75
250000
2000
(Kulgi)
04:24
And the reporters came too,
76
252000
3000
Keyin jurnalistlar ham kelishdi,
04:27
which lead to bloggers
77
255000
2000
keyin internetda blog yozuvchilariga yetib bordi
04:29
and which lead to a call from something called TED.
78
257000
5000
va undan keyin TED degan bir narsadan qo'ng'iroq qilishdi.
04:34
I had never seen an airplane before.
79
262000
2000
Men ilgari hech qachon samolet ko'rmagandim.
04:36
I had never slept in a hotel.
80
264000
3000
Hech qachon Mehmonxonada uxlamagandim.
04:39
So, on stage that day in Arusha,
81
267000
4000
Va o'sha kuni Arushada sahnada turganimda,
04:43
my English lost,
82
271000
3000
Ingliz tilini yo'qotib,
04:46
I said something like,
83
274000
3000
men shunga o'xhshash bir narsa dedim,
04:49
"I tried. And I made it."
84
277000
4000
" men harakat qildim va uni yasadim"
04:53
So I would like to say something
85
281000
2000
Men hammaga bir narsa aytmoqchiman,
04:55
to all the people out there like me
86
283000
3000
menga o'xshaganlarga, Afrikaliklarga
04:58
to the Africans, and the poor
87
286000
3000
kambag'al odamlarga, orzulariga
05:01
who are struggling with your dreams.
88
289000
4000
yetishishga qiynalayotgan odamlarga,
05:05
God bless.
89
293000
2000
Xudo sizni yorlaqasin, madad bersin.
05:07
Maybe one day you will watch this on the Internet.
90
295000
4000
Balkim bir kuni siz buni internetda ko'rarsiz.
05:11
I say to you, trust yourself and believe.
91
299000
5000
Mening aytar so'zim shuki, o'zingizga ishoning.
05:16
Whatever happens, don't give up.
92
304000
2000
Nima bo'lsa ham, hech qachon harakat qilishdan to'xtamang.
05:18
Thank you.
93
306000
2000
Rahmat.
05:20
(Applause)
94
308000
30000
(Qarsaklar)
Translated by Nafissa Yakubova
Reviewed by Gulnoza Yakubova

▲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