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Interactive Transcript
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Chris Anderson: William, hi. Good to see you.
CA: So, we've got a picture, I think? Where is this?
WK: This is my home. This is where I live.
WK: In Malawi, Kasungu. In Kasungu. Yeah, Mala.
CA: Five years ago you had an idea. What was that?
WK: I wanted to make a windmill.
CA: What, to power -- for lighting and stuff?
CA: So what did you do? How did you realize that?
WK: After I dropped out of school, I went to library, and I read a book that would -- "Using Energy," and I get information about doing the mill. And I tried, and I made it.
CA: So you copied -- you exactly copied the design in the book.
WK: In fact, a design of the windmill that was in the book, it has got four -- ah -- three blades, and mine has got four blades.
CA: The book had three, yours had four.
CA: And you made it out of what?
WK: I made four blades, just because I want to increase power.
CA: You tested three, and found that four worked better?
CA: And what did you make the windmill out of? What materials did you use?
WK: I use a bicycle frame, and a pulley, and plastic pipe, what then pulls --
CA: Do we have a picture of that? Can we have the next slide?
CA: And so, and that windmill, what -- it worked?
WK: When the wind blows, it rotates and generates.
CA: And so, that lit a light for the house? How many lights?
WK: Four bulbs and two radios.
(Applause) CA: Next slide -- so who's that?
WK: This is my parents, holding the radio.
CA: So what did they make of -- that you were 14, 15 at the time -- what did they make of this? They were impressed?
CA: And so what's your -- what are you going to do with this?
CA: What do you -- I mean -- do you want to build another one?
WK: Yeah, I want to build another one -- to pump water and irrigation for crops.
CA: So this one would have to be bigger?
WK: I think it will produce more than 20 the watts.
CA: So that would produce irrigation for the entire village?
CA: Wow. And so you're talking to people here at TED to get people who might be able to help in some way to realize this dream?
WK: Yeah, if they can help me with materials, yeah.
CA: And as you think of your life going forward, you're 19 now, do you picture continuing with this dream of working in energy?
WK: Yeah. I'm still thinking to work on energy.
CA: Wow. William, it's a real honor to have you at the TED conference. Thank you so much for coming.
About The Speaker
To power his family's home, young William Kamkwamba built an electricity-producing windmill from spare parts and scrap -- starting him on a surprising journey detailed in the new book, "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind."
Full bio and more links
About This Talk
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.
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