William Kamkwamba: How I built a windmill

TL;DR

William Kamkwamba, a 19-year-old from Malawi, built a windmill from scratch to generate electricity for his home using a design he read about in a book, and now he dreams of building a bigger windmill for irrigation and hopes to find support at TED.

Transcript

Chris Anderson: William, hi. Good to see you. William Kamkwamba: Thanks. CA: So, we've got a picture, I think? Where is this? WK: This is my home. This is where I live. CA: Where? What country? WK: In Malawi, Kasungu. In Kasungu. Yeah, Mala. CA: OK. Now, you're 19 now? WK: Yeah. I'm 19 years now. CA: Five years ago you had an idea. What was that? W... Read More

Key Insights

• 🌍 Chris Anderson is interviewing William Kamkwamba, a young inventor from Malawi.
• 💡 William's initial idea was to build a windmill to generate electricity for lighting and other household needs.
• 📚 William gained knowledge from a book on using energy at the library, which inspired him to create the windmill.
• 🪂 William modified the design from the book by adding an extra blade to increase power production.
• ♂️ The windmill was constructed using a bicycle frame, a pulley, and plastic pipes.
• 💡 The windmill successfully generated 12 watts of electricity, enough to power four bulbs and two radios in William's house.
• 🌱 William's next goal is to build a larger windmill that can pump water for irrigation, benefiting the entire village.
• 👥 William is seeking support from the TED audience to realize his dream by providing materials for the new windmill.

Questions & Answers

Q: How did William Kamkwamba's windmill project begin?

William Kamkwamba's windmill project began after he dropped out of school and found inspiration in a book about energy.

Q: What modification did Kamkwamba make to the windmill design he found in the book?

Kamkwamba modified the windmill design by adding an extra blade, making it a four-blade windmill for increased power.

Q: How much electricity did Kamkwamba's windmill generate?

Kamkwamba's windmill generated 12 watts of electricity, enough to light up four bulbs and power two radios.

Q: What does Kamkwamba hope to achieve with his windmill project in the future?

Kamkwamba hopes to build a bigger windmill for irrigation and use it to pump water for crops in his village, with the potential to produce more than 20 watts of electricity.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• William Kamkwamba, at the age of 14, dropped out of school and decided to build a windmill to generate electricity for his home in Malawi.

• Using a design he read about in a book, he modified it by making the windmill with four blades instead of three for increased power.

• With a bicycle frame, pulley, and plastic pipe, Kamkwamba successfully built the windmill, generating 12 watts of electricity, lighting up four bulbs and powering two radios in his house.