Inspiration of the Day: William Kamkwamba on building a windmill

Inspiration of the Day: William Kamkwamba on building a windmill

Our lecture today in our “Introduction to Renewable Energy Class” at Yale University this summer session was on Wind Power. I could not help but think about a TED video that I had discovered years ago on William Kamkwamba that still gives me goosebumps to date.

William Kamkwamba from Malawi started life with his family eating only one meal a day.  As a matter of fact, life was getting so hard, in his own words, “because of hunger, I was forced to drop out of school.” At the age of 14, William wanted to change his life and that of his family's. With the little knowledge that he had of English, he decided to go and visit his local library. He found a book on wind energy and made the decision to build his family an electricity-generating windmill from spare parts, working from rough plans he found in the library book. He succeeded in building this windmill and powered a few light bulbs and a radio in his home. Despite his circumstance, and with limited resources, he was still able to improve his and his family’s life. Please watch his incredible story in this TED video:

William Kamkwamba on building a windmill

William Kamkwamba: How I harnessed the wind

Now at 22, William Kamkwamba, who speaks at TED, here, for the second time, shares in his own words the moving tale of invention that changed his life.