William and the windmill

Summary

At the age of 14 in 2002, the speaker built their first windmill from scrap materials after dropping out of school due to financial hardship. Initially seen as crazy by their community, the windmill became a valuable tool for generating electricity and pumping water for irrigation. The windmill improved their family's quality of life by replacing harmful kerosene lamps that caused illness. The speaker's resourcefulness and determination highlight the power of innovation in overcoming adversity and solving real-world problems, showing that even simple ideas can have a significant impact on a community.

Takeaways

• 😀 The speaker built their first windmill in 2002 at the age of 14.
• 😀 Many people in the speaker's community initially thought they were crazy for attempting to build a windmill.
• 😀 Over time, the community appreciated the ability to generate electricity through wind energy.
• 😀 The speaker's decision to build the windmill coincided with dropping out of school due to financial hardship in their family.
• 😀 The idea to build the windmill came from a picture in a book, despite the book not providing instructions on how to build it.
• 😀 The windmill was seen as a solution to the family’s water irrigation and electricity problems.
• 😀 The speaker gathered parts for the windmill from a junkyard, repurposing materials to build the windmill.
• 😀 The windmill was built to generate electricity for the speaker’s family, who previously relied on kerosene lamps.
• 😀 The kerosene lamps were harmful, causing smoke that led to frequent illness in the family.
• 😀 After building the windmill, the family no longer had to deal with the harmful effects of kerosene lamps, and the speaker found building the windmill easier than expected.

Q & A

How old was the person when they started building the windmill?

The person was 14 years old when they began building the windmill.

What did people in the person's area think when they started building the windmill?

Initially, many people in the area thought the person was going crazy, but later, most appreciated that the windmill could generate electricity through wind power.

Why did the person drop out of school?

The person dropped out of school because their parents couldn't afford to send them due to financial hardships, including hunger in that particular year.

How did the person learn about windmills despite limited resources?

The person learned about windmills from a book, where they saw pictures of the windmill, but the book did not provide detailed instructions on how to build one.

What was the main motivation behind building the windmill?

The person was motivated to build the windmill to solve the problem of irrigation for a second crop, which would help address the hunger issues they were facing.

Where did the person gather materials to build the windmill?

The person collected the necessary materials for the windmill from a junkyard.

What was the purpose of the windmill once it was completed?

The windmill was built to generate electricity for the person's parents' house and to provide lighting, replacing the harmful kerosene lamps that caused smoke-related health issues.

What issues did the family face before the windmill was built?

Before the windmill, the family relied on kerosene lamps, which produced smoke that caused frequent sickness in the household.

How did building the windmill impact the family's health?

After building the windmill, the family no longer used kerosene lamps, which reduced the smoke exposure and helped improve their health.

Does the person think building a windmill is difficult?

No, the person believes that building a windmill is relatively easy and doesn't think it's difficult.