William Kamkwamba's Ambitious Next Project

We originally reported on Malawi inventor William Kamkwamba's remarkable achievement a few months ago. At the tender age of 14, using nothing more than his wit, spare parts and scrap, he constructed a bare-bones but fully functional electricity-producing windmill — which provided enough energy to power 4 lights and 2 radios.

Now aged 19, he is setting his sights on building a larger windmill to help pump water and provide irrigation for his family's vegetable garden. Eventually he hopes to generate enough power to irrigate all the crops in his village (be sure to check out his in-depth blog posting on the project here). In this moving video, William describes how he first came up with the idea to build the windmill, how he did it and what his future goals are.

Thanks to the widespread attention he garnered through his talk, Kamkwamba got enough support to help him improve his power system by incorporating solar energy and received enough donations to fund mentorships and his education. You can't help but feel inspired by this young man's vision.

Via ::TED: Talks William Kamkwamba: How I built my family a windmill (news website), :: William Kamkwamba's Malawi Windmill Blog: Surveying for water (blog)