How a Malawian teenager harnessed the power of the wind

OldComputerGuy7 · 14 Oct 2009 at 18:33

I thought this was a great story and amazing what he managed to achieve with so little.

William Kamkwamba’s parents couldn’t afford the $80 yearly tuition for their son’s school. The boy sneaked into the classroom anyway, dodging administrators for a few weeks until they caught him. Still emaciated from the recent deadly famine that had killed friends and neighbors, he went back to work on his family’s corn and tobacco farm in rural Malawi, Africa.

With no hope of getting the funds to go back to school, William continued his education by teaching himself, borrowing books from the small library at the elementary school in his village. One day, when William was 14, he went to the library searching for an English-Chichewa dictionary to find out what the English word “grapes” meant, and came across a fifth-grade science book called Using Energy. Describing this moment in his autobiography, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (co-written with Bryan Mealer), William wrote, “The book has since changed my life.”

Using Energy described how windmills could be used to generate electricity. Only two percent of Malawians have electricity, and the service is notoriously unreliable. William decided an electric windmill was something he wanted to make. Illuminating his house and the other houses in his village would mean that people could read at night after work. A windmill to pump water would mean that they could grow two crops a year rather than one, grow vegetable gardens, and not have to spend two hours a day hauling water. “A windmill meant more than just power,” he wrote, “it was freedom.”

http://www.good.is/post/african-dynamo/?GT1=48001

Tefal · 14 Oct 2009 at 18:37

Impressive to say the least.

teaboy5 · 14 Oct 2009 at 18:42

very good indeed.

Sad to say, that someone will come and knock it all down on him

Berserker · 14 Oct 2009 at 18:42

Thankyou.

Tefal · 14 Oct 2009 at 18:43

Berserker said:
Thankyou.

Damn immigrant :mad:

!

Berserker · 14 Oct 2009 at 18:44

Well, I guess someone had to lower the tone.

Rich1988 · 14 Oct 2009 at 19:09

damned impressive stuff!

Jock Dodds · 14 Oct 2009 at 19:15

I saw this kid being interviewed by Jon Stewart, he talked about discovering Google in 2007 and said (paraphrased)

I wish I knew about google 5 years ago, I would have looked up 'windmill' and saved myself a lot of time

That got a

out of me.

V4NT0M · 14 Oct 2009 at 19:21

Man makes windmill, epic news.

ChroniC · 14 Oct 2009 at 19:26

It has always striked me as rather odd that this is not common place in poor nations. I suppose the lack of science books may make it harder, as inventing a dynamo is immensely harder than just reading a book and building one, but the old saying give him a fish etc, should still apply.
Why the hell don't people in deprived areas get taught or get given books on how to adapt to their environment, rather than some raggedy old clothes, its frigin hot there anyway.

This to me seem looks like someone has used his common sense, and given it a go, whilst at the same time making the best of a bad situation (which if you're in a bad situation, should be your prime goal in life) and at the same time, made his fellow villagers look like muppets.
If he can, what's stopping them all from trying.
It reminds me of that advert. "Sam had to walk fifteen miles to get the water this morning". Why the hell has Sam chosen to live 15m from the nearest water source, is Sam an idiot?

mollymoo · 14 Oct 2009 at 19:35

ChroniC said:
It reminds me of that advert. "Sam had to walk fifteen miles to get the water this morning". Why the hell has Sam chosen to live 15m from the nearest water source, is Sam an idiot?

I hate myself but that made me chuckle

Le_Petit_Lapin · 14 Oct 2009 at 19:36

ChroniC said:
It reminds me of that advert. "Sam had to walk fifteen miles to get the water this morning". Why the hell has Sam chosen to live 15m from the nearest water source, is Sam an idiot?

No, Sam's not an idiot, its just clean water wells are reasonably far apart in Africa, and his family probably has to live 15miles away form the nearest one because that's where the nearest untaken arable land is.

ChroniC · 14 Oct 2009 at 19:40

Le_Petit_Lapin said:
No, Sam's not an idiot, its just clean water wells are reasonably far apart in Africa, and his family probably has to live 15miles away form the nearest one because that's where the nearest untaken arable land is.

Then live near the water and transport a bunch of men to get soil. Making the area around the water more habitable is far more intelligent than a 15m treck each day. Or join the village who has the water, and if they won't let you, get a lot of water stored and move to one that is available.
Water is far more important.

Tefal · 14 Oct 2009 at 19:43

ChroniC said:
Then live near the water and transport a bunch of men to get soil. Making the area around the water more habitable is far more intelligent than a 15m treck each day. Or join the village who has the water, and if they won't let you, get a lot of water stored and move to one that is available.
Water is far more important.

And how do you pay those men and feed yourself for the many months requires to make a patch of land actually usable.

ChroniC · 14 Oct 2009 at 19:45

It a community, not a business, if they want to a better life, then club together for the greater good.

HeadlessChicken · 14 Oct 2009 at 19:49

Yeah it's all that easy when 1% of the population can read, and 50% are malnourished.

It's a completely different life to what you and I live, so it's not even possible to say "why not just do this, or that".

Matt · 14 Oct 2009 at 19:50

Here's his TED video:
http://www.ted.com/talks/william_kamkwamba_how_i_harnessed_the_wind.html

smyth · 14 Oct 2009 at 20:02

I thought it was going to be a story about a teenager with the super power to control wind

Very impressive though

CaptainComedy · 14 Oct 2009 at 20:19

smyth said:
I thought it was going to be a story about a teenager with the super power to control wind

Very impressive though

Thank god Im not the only one

Tefal · 16 Oct 2009 at 20:05

actually i take it back

THIS is impressive

Hamzter said:
This is genius...