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

विल्यम काम्क्वम्बा: विल्यम काम्क्वम्बा पवनचक्की उभारणीवर

Filmed:
2,952,899 views

केवळ १४ वर्षांचा असताना, मालावीयन शोधक विल्यम काम्क्वम्बा याने आपल्या कुटुंबासाठी वीज निर्माण करणारी पवनचक्की बांधली. काही सुटे भाग वापरून. वाचनालयातल्या एका पुस्तकात सापडलेल्या कच्च्या आराखड्यावरून.
- 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
Chris Anderson: William, hi. Good to see you.
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ख्रिस ए. : विल्यम, तुला पाहून बरे वाटले.
00:31
William Kamkwamba: Thanks.
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वि.काम्क्वम्बा : आभार
00:32
CA: So, we've got a picture, I think? Where is this?
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क्रि. ए. : तर, मला वाटते
आपल्याजवळ एक चित्र आहे,
कुठे आहे हे ?
00:37
WK: This is my home. This is where I live.
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वि. का.: हे माझे घर आहे.
इथे मी राहतो.
00:41
CA: Where? What country?
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क्रि. ए.: कुठे? कुठल्या देशात?
00:43
WK: In Malawi, Kasungu. In Kasungu. Yeah, Mala.
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वि. का.: मालावी मध्ये कुसंगु.
कुसंगु मध्ये. होय मालावी.
00:46
CA: OK. Now, you're 19 now?
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क्रि. ए.: बरं, तू आत्ता १९ वर्षांचा आहेस ?
00:49
WK: Yeah. I'm 19 years now.
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वि. का.: होय. मी १९ वर्षांचा आहे आत्ता.
00:51
CA: Five years ago you had an idea. What was that?
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क्रि. ए.: पाच वर्षापूर्वी
तुला एक युक्ती सुचली. काय होती ती?
00:54
WK: I wanted to make a windmill.
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वि. का.: मला पवन चक्की बांधायची होती.
00:56
CA: A windmill?
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क्रि. ए.: पवनचक्की?
00:57
WK: Yeah.
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वि. का.: होय
00:58
CA: What, to power -- for lighting and stuff?
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क्रि. ए.: कशासाठी,
वीज व इतर गोष्टींसाठी?
01:02
WK: Yeah.
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वि. का.: होय
01:04
CA: So what did you do? How did you realize that?
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क्रि. ए.: तर कसे केलेस तू हे?
कसे काय समजले तुला?
01:07
WK: After I dropped out of school, I went to library,
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वि. का.: मी शाळा सोडल्यानंतर,
मी वाचनालयामध्ये गेलो
01:11
and I read a book that would -- "Using Energy,"
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आणि मी एक पुस्तक वाचले -- "युझिंग एनर्जी"
01:15
and I get information about doing the mill.
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आणि मला पवनचक्की बद्दल तिथे माहिती मिळाली.
01:18
And I tried, and I made it.
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आणि मी प्रयत्न केला आणि बनवले.
01:20
(Applause)
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(टाळ्या)
01:30
CA: So you copied -- you exactly copied the design in the book.
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क्रि. ए. : तर तू नक्कल केलीस --
तू तंतोतंत पुस्तकामध्ये दिल्याप्रमाणे
रचना केलीस.
01:34
WK: Ah, no. I just --
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वि. का.: अंम, नाही. मी फक्त--
01:36
CA: What happened?
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क्रि. ए. : काय झालं?
01:38
WK: In fact, a design of the windmill that was in the book,
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वि. का.: खरं तर,
पुस्तकामधील पवनचक्कीच्या रचनेत,
01:42
it has got four -- ah -- three blades,
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त्याला चार -- अं-- तीन पाती आहेत.
01:46
and mine has got four blades.
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आणि माझ्यात चार पाती लागली आहेत.
01:49
CA: The book had three, yours had four.
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क्रि. ए. : पुस्तकात तीन होती,
तर तुझी चार.
01:51
WK: Yeah.
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वि. का.: होय.
01:52
CA: And you made it out of what?
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क्रि. ए. : आणि तू ते कशापासून बनवलेस?
01:54
WK: I made four blades, just because I want to increase power.
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वि. का.: मी चार पाती वापरली
कारण मला जास्त वीज पाहिजे होती.
01:59
CA: OK.
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क्रि. ए. : बरं.
02:00
WK: Yeah.
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वि. का.: होय.
02:01
CA: You tested three, and found that four worked better?
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क्रि. ए. : तू तीन पडताळलीस
पण चार आवडली?
02:03
WK: Yeah. I test.
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वि. का.: होय. चाचणी केली.
02:05
CA: And what did you make the windmill out of?
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क्रि. ए. : आणि तू पवनचक्की
कशापासून तयार केलीस?
02:08
What materials did you use?
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तू कुठली साधन सामग्री वापरलीस?
02:10
WK: I use a bicycle frame, and a pulley, and plastic pipe, what then pulls --
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वि. का.: मी वापरली सायकलची चौकट, कप्पी,
आणि प्लास्टिक पाईप, जो खेचतो..
02:16
CA: Do we have a picture of that? Can we have the next slide?
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क्रि. ए. : आपल्याकडे त्याचे चित्र आहे का?
पुढची स्लाईड पाहूया?
02:19
WK: Yeah. The windmill.
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वि. का.: हां. पवनचक्की.
02:21
CA: And so, and that windmill, what -- it worked?
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क्रि. ए. : आणि तर, ही पवनचक्की,
काय चालते का?
02:25
WK: When the wind blows, it rotates and generates.
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वि. का.: वारा जेव्हा वाहतो,
तेव्हा ती फिरू लागते आणि वीज तयार होते.
02:30
CA: How much electricity?
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क्रि. ए. : किती वीज तयार होते?
02:31
WK: 12 watts.
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वि. का.: १२ वॅट.
02:33
CA: And so, that lit a light for the house? How many lights?
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क्रि. ए. : तर, ती वीज घरात
विजेचे दिवे लावते? किती दिवे?
02:38
WK: Four bulbs and two radios.
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वि. का.: चार विजेचे दिवे आणि दोन रेडिओ .
02:40
CA: Wow.
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क्रि. ए. : उत्तम.
02:41
WK: Yeah.
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वि. का.: होय
02:42
(Applause) CA: Next slide --
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(टाळ्या)-- क्रि. ए. : पुढची चित्रफीत --
02:52
so who's that?
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ते कोण आहेत?
02:54
WK: This is my parents, holding the radio.
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वि. का.: ते माझे पालक आहेत,
रेडिओ हातात घेतलेले.
02:57
CA: So what did they make of -- that you were 14, 15 at the time --
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क्रि. ए. : त्यांना याबद्दल काय वाटले?
-- जेंव्हा तू १४,१५ वर्षांचा होतास--
03:01
what did they make of this? They were impressed?
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त्यांना काय वाटले? ते प्रभावित झाले का?
03:04
WK: Yeah.
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वि. का.: होय.
03:05
CA: And so what's your -- what are you going to do with this?
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क्रि. ए. : आणि तू काय करणार आहेस यापासून?
03:07
WK: Um --
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वि. का.: अं--
03:09
CA: What do you -- I mean -- do you want to build another one?
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क्रि. ए. : मला म्हणायचे होते की
तुला अजून एक बांधायची आहे का?
03:13
WK: Yeah, I want to build another one --
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वि. का.: हां. मला अजून एक बांधायची आहे--
03:16
to pump water and irrigation for crops.
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पाणी उपसण्यासाठी आणि पिकांच्या सिंचनासाठी.
03:21
CA: So this one would have to be bigger?
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क्रि. ए. : तर ही मोठी असावी लागणार?
03:23
WK: Yeah.
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वि. का.: हां.
03:24
CA: How big?
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क्रि. ए. : किती मोठी?
03:25
WK: I think it will produce more than 20 the watts.
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वि. का.: मला वाटते की
जी २० वॅट पेक्षा अधिक वीज तयार करेल.
03:31
CA: So that would produce irrigation for the entire village?
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क्रि. ए. : तर ती संपूर्ण गावाच्या
सिंचनासाठी असेल का?
03:35
WK: Yeah.
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वि. का.: होय.
03:37
CA: Wow. And so you're talking to people here at TED
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क्रि. ए. : उत्तम. आणि तू लोकांसमोर
बोलत आहेस इथे टेड मध्ये
03:40
to get people who might be able to help in some way
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काही लोक जे तुला मदत करू शकतील
03:44
to realize this dream?
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स्वप्नपूर्ती साठी?
03:46
WK: Yeah, if they can help me with materials, yeah.
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वि. का.: हां. जर ते मला साधनसामग्री साठी
मदत करू शकतील. होय.
03:50
CA: And as you think of your life going forward,
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क्रि. ए. : आणि भविष्याचा विचार करता,
03:53
you're 19 now,
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तू आत्ता १९ वर्षांचा आहेस,
03:56
do you picture continuing with this dream of working in energy?
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तू विचार करू शकतोस का,
उर्जेवर काम करण्याचं स्वप्न पुढे नेण्याचा?
04:00
WK: Yeah. I'm still thinking to work on energy.
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वि. का.: होय. मी अजून
उर्जेवर काम करण्याचा विचार करत आहे.
04:05
CA: Wow. William, it's a real honor to have you at the TED conference.
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क्रि. ए. : छान. विल्यम, तुझी
टेड परिषदेमधील उपस्थिती सन्माननीय आहे.
04:09
Thank you so much for coming.
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आल्याबद्दल खूप आभार.
04:11
WK: Thank you.
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वि. का.: धन्यवाद.
04:13
(Applause)
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(टाळ्या)
Translated by Abhinav Garule
Reviewed by Smita Kantak

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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