William Kamkwamba: How I built a windmill

TED

1 Aug 200706:09

Summary

TLDRIn this TED Talk, 19-year-old William Kamkwamba from Malawi shares his inspiring journey of building a windmill at age 14 to provide electricity for his family's home. Using materials like a bicycle frame and a plastic pipe, he crafted a four-blade windmill that generated 12 watts of power, enough to light four bulbs and power two radios. Despite dropping out of school, he was driven by a book from the library to harness energy. His next ambition is to construct a larger windmill to pump water for irrigation, potentially benefiting his entire village. Kamkwamba seeks assistance with materials to realize this dream and expresses his ongoing passion for working in energy.

Takeaways

🌍 William Kamkwamba is from Malawi, Kasungu.
🎓 At the age of 19, he had already built a windmill.
📚 He got the idea to build a windmill after reading a book from the library titled 'Using Energy'.
🔧 His first windmill had four blades, compared to the three-bladed design in the book, to increase power.
🔩 He constructed the windmill using a bicycle frame, a pulley, and a plastic pipe.
⚙️ The windmill generated 12 watts of electricity, enough to power four light bulbs and two radios.
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 His parents were impressed with his achievement.
💡 William's next goal was to build a larger windmill to pump water for irrigation.
🌱 The new windmill was expected to produce more than 20 watts of power, benefiting the entire village.
🤝 He sought help at TED to acquire materials and support for his energy projects.
🔭 William aspires to continue working in the field of energy.

Q & A

Where is William Kamkwamba from?
-William Kamkwamba is from Malawi, specifically from Kasungu.
How old is William Kamkwamba in the script?
-William Kamkwamba is 19 years old in the script.
What was William's idea when he was younger?
-William's idea was to make a windmill.
What was the purpose of the windmill William wanted to build?
-The purpose of the windmill was to generate electricity for lighting and other uses.
How did William learn about building a windmill?
-William learned about building a windmill from a book titled 'Using Energy' that he read at the library after dropping out of school.
What was unique about the design of William's windmill compared to the one in the book?
-The design in the book had three blades, but William's windmill had four blades to increase power.
What materials did William use to construct his windmill?
-William used a bicycle frame, a pulley, and a plastic pipe to construct his windmill.
How much electricity did William's windmill generate?
-William's windmill generated 12 watts of electricity.
What could the electricity generated by the windmill power?
-The electricity generated could power four bulbs and two radios.
What was the reaction of William's parents to his windmill project?
-William's parents were impressed with his windmill project.
What is William's next goal regarding windmill construction?
-William's next goal is to build a larger windmill to pump water for irrigation of crops, which would produce more than 20 watts.
How does William hope to achieve his next windmill project?
-William hopes to achieve his next windmill project with the help of people at TED who might be able to provide materials.
What are William's future aspirations in the field of energy?
-William aspires to continue working in the field of energy.