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William Kamkwamba. Malawi.

At 14, a famine forced him out of school. His family could not pay the fees, so he walked to a small library in Wimbe and taught himself science from books he could barely read in English. One picture of a windmill in a textbook called Using Energy showed him that wind could make electricity and pump water. He told himself: if they can make electricity out of wind, I can try too.

With no money and no lab, he scavenged. A broken bicycle frame. Tractor fan parts. PVC pipe. Bamboo poles. A shock absorber. Neighbors called him misala, crazy. Then the blades spun, the light bulbs glowed in his family's home, and villagers began lining up at his house to charge their mobile phones.

From TEDGlobal 2007 to a memoir that sold over 1 million copies in nearly twenty languages. From Dartmouth College to a Netflix film that won the Alfred P. Sloan Prize at Sundance. He turned one windmill into a movement, and he is still building: the Moving Windmills Project is raising the Innovation Center in Kasungu so the next generation of young Malawians can turn their own ideas into solutions for agriculture and energy.

The grind never left him. It became the mission.

Photos: the windmill via Wikimedia Commons (Erik Hersman, CC BY 2.0); field work via @movingwindmills

Follow @aboveaveragehustlers, we put the world's top grinders on the world stage.

#WilliamKamkwamba #Malawi #AboveAverageHustlers #Inventor

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The future of renewable energy is not only about generating power, it’s about creating solutions that are accessible, repairable and impactful for communities.

Join us virtually or physically for the Wind Empowerment International Conference 2026 in Zanzibar, bringing together experts, innovators, researchers and practitioners to explore renewable energy, repairability and community impact.

📍 1–2 October: Technical and Scientific Conference — Karume Institute of Science and Technology, Zanzibar
📍 3–4 October: Practical Action Workshop — Barefoot College International, Kinyasini, Zanzibar

Registration is FREE. Scan the QR code on the poster to register and secure your place or use the link below.

https://forms.gle/NHTi7Zrw9GYfFutcA

#WindEmpowerment2026 #RenewableEnergy #WindEnergy #Zanzibar #WE2026

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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

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🌍 Today is Global Wind Day! Celebrate the incredible power of wind energy with The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind. Inspire students with the true story of William Kamkwamba, a thirteen-year-old boy who finds an unconventional way to save his family and village in Malawi from famine. Our free curriculum guide includes a classroom-ready lesson plan about wind power.

Tap @journeysinfilm and check out the link in our bio to discover more about teaching the history and science of wind power with this engaging film. 👆

#GlobalWindDay #TheBoyWhoHarnessedTheWind #EnvironmentalStudies #EnvironmentalEducation #StemEducation Detail from the film poster for The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. It shows a young, dark-skinned Black boy, standing in a windblown field of orange wheat, looking up at a blue-green sky with an expression of concern. Text says: Global Wind Day. Teach with Film. Journeys in Film."

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@boyharnessedwindmusical London Press Night🇲🇼
📸Shot by the greatest @tylerfayosephotography

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For over a decade, Moving Windmills has been proving what is possible in rural Malawi, working alongside communities to turn creativity and resilience into real livelihoods.

Now, it is scaling that work.

“Talent is everywhere. Opportunity is not.” — William Kamkwamba

The Moving Windmills Innovation Center is the next step. A living platform in Kasungu where farming, training, and enterprise come together. Hundreds of farmers employed each day. Young people learning by doing. Tools, businesses, and futures built locally.

Co-founded by William, whose story has reached millions through the book and stage musical The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, this is about more than one story.

It is about building what comes next for thousands.

🔗 Learn more and watch William’s talk in bio

#ted #tedfellow #movingwindmills

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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.

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If you’re building something that feels too big or uncertain, borrow belief from some of these pages.

Then take the next small step.

📚 What book makes you feel brave enough to continue?

#bookstagram #regenerativeagriculture #foodsystems #farming #StanDareToPost @stanforcreators

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His story is now on stage 🌬️🇲🇼🍃

Inspired by a remarkable true story, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is now officially open, and we were honoured to be joined by William Kamkwamba on press night. Congratulations to all involved 👏

See this bold new musical first at the Swan Theatre, before it transfers to @sohoplace from 25 April.

#RoyalShakespeareCompany #StratfordUponAvon #Musical

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