William Kamkwamba: How I built a windmill

1,257,922 views ・ 2007-08-01

TED


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

00:29
Chris Anderson: William, hi. Good to see you.
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00:31
William Kamkwamba: Thanks.
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00:32
CA: So, we've got a picture, I think? Where is this?
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00:37
WK: This is my home. This is where I live.
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00:41
CA: Where? What country?
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00:43
WK: In Malawi, Kasungu. In Kasungu. Yeah, Mala.
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00:46
CA: OK. Now, you're 19 now?
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00:49
WK: Yeah. I'm 19 years now.
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00:51
CA: Five years ago you had an idea. What was that?
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00:54
WK: I wanted to make a windmill.
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00:56
CA: A windmill?
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00:57
WK: Yeah.
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00:58
CA: What, to power -- for lighting and stuff?
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01:02
WK: Yeah.
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01:04
CA: So what did you do? How did you realize that?
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01:07
WK: After I dropped out of school, I went to library,
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01:11
and I read a book that would -- "Using Energy,"
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01:15
and I get information about doing the mill.
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01:18
And I tried, and I made it.
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01:20
(Applause)
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01:30
CA: So you copied -- you exactly copied the design in the book.
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01:34
WK: Ah, no. I just --
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01:36
CA: What happened?
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01:38
WK: In fact, a design of the windmill that was in the book,
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01:42
it has got four -- ah -- three blades,
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and mine has got four blades.
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01:49
CA: The book had three, yours had four.
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01:51
WK: Yeah.
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01:52
CA: And you made it out of what?
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01:54
WK: I made four blades, just because I want to increase power.
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01:59
CA: OK.
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02:00
WK: Yeah.
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02:01
CA: You tested three, and found that four worked better?
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02:03
WK: Yeah. I test.
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02:05
CA: And what did you make the windmill out of?
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02:08
What materials did you use?
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02:10
WK: I use a bicycle frame, and a pulley, and plastic pipe, what then pulls --
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02:16
CA: Do we have a picture of that? Can we have the next slide?
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02:19
WK: Yeah. The windmill.
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02:21
CA: And so, and that windmill, what -- it worked?
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02:25
WK: When the wind blows, it rotates and generates.
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02:30
CA: How much electricity?
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02:31
WK: 12 watts.
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02:33
CA: And so, that lit a light for the house? How many lights?
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02:38
WK: Four bulbs and two radios.
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02:40
CA: Wow.
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02:41
WK: Yeah.
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02:42
(Applause) CA: Next slide --
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02:52
so who's that?
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02:54
WK: This is my parents, holding the radio.
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02:57
CA: So what did they make of -- that you were 14, 15 at the time --
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03:01
what did they make of this? They were impressed?
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03:04
WK: Yeah.
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03:05
CA: And so what's your -- what are you going to do with this?
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03:07
WK: Um --
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03:09
CA: What do you -- I mean -- do you want to build another one?
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03:13
WK: Yeah, I want to build another one --
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to pump water and irrigation for crops.
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03:21
CA: So this one would have to be bigger?
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03:23
WK: Yeah.
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03:24
CA: How big?
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03:25
WK: I think it will produce more than 20 the watts.
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03:31
CA: So that would produce irrigation for the entire village?
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03:35
WK: Yeah.
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03:37
CA: Wow. And so you're talking to people here at TED
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to get people who might be able to help in some way
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to realize this dream?
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03:46
WK: Yeah, if they can help me with materials, yeah.
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03:50
CA: And as you think of your life going forward,
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you're 19 now,
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03:56
do you picture continuing with this dream of working in energy?
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04:00
WK: Yeah. I'm still thinking to work on energy.
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04:05
CA: Wow. William, it's a real honor to have you at the TED conference.
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04:09
Thank you so much for coming.
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04:11
WK: Thank you.
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04:13
(Applause)
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