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Moving Windmills Project

@movingwindmills

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From "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" 👉🏾 real work in Kasungu, Malawi 🇲🇼
💧water ☀️solar 🧠innovation via hands-on learning by change makers. Support👇🏾

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William Kamkwamba, inventor and educator, widely known from his memoir and film “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind,” shares the story behind his extraordinary journey in his powerful keynote.

In his talk, he uplifts his newest mission: designing an Innovation Center in Malawi, the Moving Windmills Project, a place where young people can access tools, mentorship, and space to turn ideas into real solutions for agriculture, energy, and everyday life. He is currently collaborating with MASS to bring this center to life.

This is a story of possibility, of what becomes achievable when young people are trusted with resources, dignity, and the freedom to imagine.

Check out the link in our bio to watch William’s full talk.

This recording was made possible through our partners at @gbhforumnetwork by @movingwindmills

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10 months ago

✨The time is now -- watch now and join the movement. Check out our upcoming Innovation Center, designed in partnership with @massdesigngroup ✨ by @movingwindmills

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a year ago

The Moving Windmills Project in Malawi empowers local youth through hands-on innovation in renewable energy, clean water, and sustainable agriculture, turning ideas into lasting community infrastructure and expanding opportunities for communities to thrive. Rooted in creativity, sustainability, and self-determination, the project invests in the next generation of problem-solvers and leaders.

We are honored to welcome William Kamkwamba, Co-Founder of the Moving Windmills Project, to speak in the Belonging session at Abundant Futures / Live. William transforms his story of building a windmill from scrap into a lifelong mission to expand opportunity and innovation for young people across Malawi, reminding us that belonging grows when creativity and access are shared.

🗓️ Watch live on November 10, 2025, filmed at the ICA Boston
🎟️ Livestream tickets available at AFLive.org
🔗 Livestreaming available through GBH, our exclusive public media partner

Renderings made in @lumionofficial by @movingwindmills

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a year ago

For World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, we're highlighting The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind, the incredible true story of a thirteen-year-old boy who finds an unconventional way to save his family and village in Malawi from famine. Our free teaching resources for this engaging film explore desertification causes and solutions.

Check out the link in our bio to learn more and share this engaging film with your learning community.

#StemEducation #StemLearning #StemTeacher #ScienceTeacher #ScienceEducation by @movingwindmills

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4 months ago

My first TED conference in Vancouver, and just wow!

Yes, the talks are extraordinary (8 in a row, multiple times a day, including a powerful one by @dwaynebetts). But what stayed with me most was the hospitality, the feeling that everyone is genuinely open, curious, and ready to connect.

Highlights:
✨ TED Fellows, led by Lily Strong Olds—and meeting artists like Tushrik Fredericks
✨ Learning about Eve’s Ark with Pirate Yurttas Beim and Melanie Allen
✨ Being there with William Kamkwamba

William’s story keeps evolving, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is now a musical in London, and he and Olivia Scott Kamkwamba are building the Moving Windmills Innovation Center in Malawi, opportunity of a lifetime!

Also: serendipitous #LoebLife fun# with brilliant friends Dario Calmese, Janet Echelman, Chee Pearlman, Robin Chase.

And maybe most of all, Jacob Collier’s week of curation. Pure joy.

Still processing, but leaving inspired by what’s possible when ideas meet community. taken in Vancouver, British Columbia by @movingwindmills

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6 months ago

🌱 We’re Hiring: Safety & Security Services Provider – Kasungu, Malawi

Moving Windmills Project is seeking a values-aligned partner to coordinate Safety and Security (SNS) services at our two sites in Kasungu.

We’re looking for more than just a traditional security company. We want a collaborator who can help us recruit, supervise, and support individuals who will serve as stewards of our spaces—people who are invested in safety, site care, and creating a welcoming environment for our community.

🔐 What the Role Involves:
The selected provider will manage a team of three SNS staff per site, covering 8-hour shifts to ensure 24/7 presence. Responsibilities go beyond monitoring—staff will also support daily operations, assist with visitor check-in, report maintenance needs, and help care for our gardens and grounds.

🌍 Who We’re Looking For:
A local partner who shares our values of integrity, respect, responsibility, and care. You’ll recruit and supervise individuals who are reliable, community-minded, and committed to protecting and nurturing the spaces where our students, staff, and visitors learn and grow.

📅 Pilot Period:
Initial contract is for 3 months, with potential for extension based on performance.

If this sounds like you or your organization, we’d love to hear from you.
📌 Express interest here: https://forms.gle/RFurHbXg1qZci1oM9
📧 Questions? Email us at: engagement@movingwindmills.org

#communitydevelopment #safetyandsecurity #socialImpact #nonprofitjobs #procurement by @movingwindmills

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6 months ago

You can tell when something clicks for a young person the moment they realise this is theirs to take care of.

A seedling asks for patience, attention, small decisions every day. You watch someone begin to think ahead, to adjust when something doesn’t go as planned, to stay with something long enough to see it grow into a tree.

That’s where the real learning sits.

🪏Independence starts to form because no one else can do it for you
👷🏾‍♀️Problem solving becomes practical because the outcome is right in front of you.
🌱Care becomes instinct because what you’re nurturing responds to how you show up.
📝Planning becomes necessary because growth takes time.

Give young people something real to hold, and they rise to meet it in ways you can’t teach in theory.

🫵🏽 What did you learn early on that still shapes how you move today?

#youthinaction #communityroots #learningbydoing #futurebuilders #growyourown taken in Kasungu, Malawi by @movingwindmills

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7 months ago

A bulb that can light up using a magnet and a motor without being connected to a battery.

Talent is universal.

#kasungu #malawi #movingwindmillsproject #theboywhoharnessedthewind #stemeducation taken in Kasungu, Malawi by @movingwindmills

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7 months ago

Why this? Why now?

Because the idea has already been proven.

Young people in Kasungu have shown what happens when they’re trusted with tools, training, and the space to build —they don’t just imagine solutions, they create them.

Because that kind of talent hasn’t disappeared. It’s still here —in young people experimenting, fixing, trying, building with what they have.

And because right now, that momentum is fragile.

Some of the work continues.
Some of it is waiting on the support to keep going and grow into something bigger.

This is the moment where that gap either widens —or gets closed.

Talent is universal.
Opportunity is rare.

#movingwindmillsproject #malawi #youthinnovation #communityinnovation #africaninnovation by @movingwindmills

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7 months ago

A lot of people know William Kamkwamba.

But he wasn’t the only kid figuring things out like this.

There are many like him —experimenting, building, trying— with whatever they have. Because:

Talent is universal.
Opportunity is rare.

And that gap is exactly why the Moving Windmills Innovation Center needs to be built —so kids like these have the tools, space, and support to keep going.

What do you think they’re making here?

#stemlearning #tinkering #youthinnovation #africaninnovation #makerspace taken in Malawi by @movingwindmills

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7 months ago

Grace House after the rains.

For a time, apprentices here were running programs for their own communities —with training, resources, and support to lead them. And it worked.

Today the hub still gathers people in different ways: community food distribution, visiting fellows and researchers, and new ideas passing through.

The longer-term programs are waiting on funding (and the Innovation Center), but the belief behind this place hasn’t changed.

Talent is universal.
Opportunity is rare.

#movingwindmillsproject #theboywhoharnessedthewind #communityinnovation #africaninnovation #youthinnovation taken in Kasungu, Malawi by @movingwindmills

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7 months ago

Many people know the story of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.
 From the book to the film, and now the musical, it has inspired millions.

But the story didn’t end there.

In Kasungu, Malawi 🇲🇼, a new generation is learning to experiment, prototype ideas, and build solutions for their communities —often with very limited resources.

Some of that work continues today. Some of it is waiting on funding.

If the story moved you, follow along to see —and support— the next chapter being built in real life. Because:

MUTU UMODZI SUSENZA DENGA.  One head does not carry the roof.

#movingwindmillsproject #malawi #africaninnovation #communityinnovation #theboywhoharnessedthewind taken in Malawi by @movingwindmills

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7 months ago