5 ms·

The 14 year old boy from Malawi who taught himself to build windmills

62 points by milkshakes 15y ago

milkshakes 15y ago
..using blue gum trees, bicycle parts, and materials collected in a local scrapyard[1] my problem was that i didn't have much money to buy parts to construct the windmill. over time, i found materials that had been discarded by other farmers or by the nearby tobacco plantations. and i bought a few parts with money i scraped together[2] he's also invented a solar-powered water pump, written a book, spoken at TED, been featured in a museum exhibit, and matriculated to Dartmouth. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Kamkwamba http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Kamkwamba [2] http://movingwindmills.org/img/Diagram_storypage1.jpg http://movingwindmills.org/img/Diagram_storypage1.jpg
heydenberk 15y ago
Sort of bummed that this is a $100k+ collection for a feel-good (albeit well-intentioned) documentary, instead of for that guy and/or people like him
- olb1ue 15y ago
  But think of the impact it will have if it is as well put together as the trailer. And think of where the first got the guy. Dartmouth isn't too bad right?
- nir 15y ago
  Most of these projects, from a small documentary to multi-billion dollar aid projects, are feel-good projects. The impact on the ground is often doubtful, sometimes downright negative. They don't scale, because you don't build a scalable economy by handouts and cheerleading. Ask Africans who work with these organizations what they think. Read Bill Easterly. See here: http://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_mwenda_takes_a_new_look_at_africa.html http://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_mwenda_takes_a_new_look_at_a...
drstrangevibes 15y ago
100k raised for a film to raise awareness of his project, how much has been raised for the project exactly
zyad 15y ago
$100k for what ? They said they are finished with principal photography... More editing? It's really a shame
jamiemill 15y ago
That $100k would go a lot further in the boy's hands than the filmmakers'. Do the backers realise which they are donating to?
TomAnthony 15y ago
The extra $60K will help us edit to our rough cut over 75% faster and better as we'll be able to afford more editing resources. So their goal was $40k, but for an additional $60k they'll do the editing in a little over half the time? I have to agree with the other commenters - the $40k so the documentary can get out there and raise awareness is great. However, the $60k additional just to speed it up seems like it could be spend better elsewhere (on the boy and his projects, or another documentary or on a similar cause). Fantastic story of the young man though, and if people were happy to contribute for the documentary, then that is brilliant. Raising awareness of these stories is an ongoing battle.
zotz 15y ago
Send William a few bucks if so moved: http://williamkamkwamba.typepad.com http://williamkamkwamba.typepad.com

62 points by milkshakes 15y ago

..using blue gum trees, bicycle parts, and materials collected in a local scrapyard[1] my problem was that i didn't have much money to buy parts to construct the windmill. over time, i found materials that had been discarded by other farmers or by the nearby tobacco plantations. and i bought a few parts with money i scraped together[2] he's also invented a solar-powered water pump, written a book, spoken at TED, been featured in a museum exhibit, and matriculated to Dartmouth. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Kamkwamba http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Kamkwamba [2] http://movingwindmills.org/img/Diagram_storypage1.jpg http://movingwindmills.org/img/Diagram_storypage1.jpg

heydenberk 15y ago

Sort of bummed that this is a $100k+ collection for a feel-good (albeit well-intentioned) documentary, instead of for that guy and/or people like him

olb1ue 15y ago
But think of the impact it will have if it is as well put together as the trailer. And think of where the first got the guy. Dartmouth isn't too bad right?
nir 15y ago
Most of these projects, from a small documentary to multi-billion dollar aid projects, are feel-good projects. The impact on the ground is often doubtful, sometimes downright negative. They don't scale, because you don't build a scalable economy by handouts and cheerleading. Ask Africans who work with these organizations what they think. Read Bill Easterly. See here: http://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_mwenda_takes_a_new_look_at_africa.html http://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_mwenda_takes_a_new_look_at_a...

drstrangevibes 15y ago

100k raised for a film to raise awareness of his project, how much has been raised for the project exactly

zyad 15y ago

$100k for what ? They said they are finished with principal photography... More editing? It's really a shame

jamiemill 15y ago

That $100k would go a lot further in the boy's hands than the filmmakers'. Do the backers realise which they are donating to?

TomAnthony 15y ago

The extra $60K will help us edit to our rough cut over 75% faster and better as we'll be able to afford more editing resources. So their goal was $40k, but for an additional $60k they'll do the editing in a little over half the time? I have to agree with the other commenters - the $40k so the documentary can get out there and raise awareness is great. However, the $60k additional just to speed it up seems like it could be spend better elsewhere (on the boy and his projects, or another documentary or on a similar cause). Fantastic story of the young man though, and if people were happy to contribute for the documentary, then that is brilliant. Raising awareness of these stories is an ongoing battle.

zotz 15y ago

Send William a few bucks if so moved: http://williamkamkwamba.typepad.com http://williamkamkwamba.typepad.com