To power his family's home, young William Kamkwamba built an electricity-producing windmill from spare parts and scrap.
Why you should listen to him:
19-year-old 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 a blog (which picked up the story from a local Malawi newspaper), TEDGlobal Conference Director Emeka Okafor spent several weeks tracking him down (though his home has electricity, William's family had neither a phone nor email access) and invited him to attend TEDGlobal on a fellowship. Invited to the stage, 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 modest but hugely 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. You can read the ongoing details on his blog (which he keeps with help from his mentor).
Blog Posts on TED
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William Kamkwamba in the Wall Street Journal – December 12, 2007
William Kamkwamba, a young Malawi man who designed and built a windmill for his family when he was 14 -- and who spoke so memorably at TEDGlobal Africa this June -- is profiled on the front page of today's Wall Street Journal in a story headined "A Young Tinkerer Builds a Windmill, Electrifying a Nation." Writer Sarah Childress adds detail to the story that Kamkwamba told onstage in Tanzania:
Mr. Kamkwamba's wind obsession started six years ago. He wasn't going to school anymore because his family couldn't afford the $80-a-year tuition.
When he wasn't helping his family farm groundnuts and soybeans, he was reading. He stumbled onto a photograph of a windmill in a text donated to the local library and started to build one himself.
There's also a great 2-minute video that shows the updates Kamkwamba has made to his family's home power system, and talks about what's next for him:
Video: Writer Sarah Childress from the Wall Street Journal talks to William Kamkwamba, a 20-year-old Malawian who built a windmill to power his family's home. Image courtesy Wall Street Journal
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Premiere: William Kamkwamba on building a windmill – August 1, 2007
When he was just 14 years old, Malawian inventor William Kamkwamba built his family an electricity-generating windmill from spare parts, working from rough plans he found in a library book. In conversation with TED Curator Chris Anderson, Kamkwamba, now 19, tells a moving story of ingenuity and adaptation, and shares his dreams: To build a larger windmill to help with irrigation for his entire village, and to find the funds to go back to school. This talk inspired outpourings of support from the TED community and in the blogosphere. (Recorded June 2007 in Arusha, Tanzania. Duration: 04:23.)
Watch William Kamkwamba's talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances.
Read more about William Kamkwamba on TED.com.
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