The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
by William Kamkwamba, Bryan Mealer, Korey Jackson · first published 2009
78% recommend22% neutral
Why HN recommends it
True story of a Malawian teenager who builds a windmill from scrap to bring electricity to his village, an account of innovation under harsh conditions.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
William Kamkwamba was born in Malawi, a country where magic ruled and modern science was mystery. It was also a land withered by drought and hunger, and a place where hope and opportunity were hard to find. But William had read about windmills in a book called Using Energy, and he dreamed of building one that would bring electricity and water to his village and change his life and the lives of those around him. His neighbors may have mocked him and called him misala-crazy-but William was determined to show them what a little grit and ingenuity could do.Enchanted by the workings of electricity
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…stories of people who have succeeded at innovation despite finding themselves in the most unfavorable conditions, like William Kamkwamba's application of windmills in Malawi. He wrote a book about it: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. Any STEM graduate school research program in the US or Europe is full of people who are advancing foundational knowledge, but moved there from cultures that are doing very poorly at advancing foundational…
on “Making iron from sand [video]” ↗…Coders at Work The Mousedriver Chronicles Leaving Microsoft to Change the World The Soul of a New Machine Startup The Hypomanic Edge Small Giants Small is the New Big Four Hour Work Week The Boy who Harnessed the Wind Four Steps to the Epiphany Pour your Heart into it Beyond Software Architecture Setting the Table --- DESIGN / UX --- On Writing The Design of Everyday Things Understanding Comics The Elements…
on “Ask HN: Good books?” ↗Reminds me of the book "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope" by William Kamkwamba. Good read.
on “Open Source Low Tech” ↗The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
on “Ask HN: What are some good inspirational and uplifting books?” ↗Interesting post, reminds me of a book that I read recently on similar topic - "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope" (http://amzn.com/0061730335)
on “What's It Like to Live Without Electricity? Ask an Indian Villager” ↗Makes me think of "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind." A very cool book, I would highly recommend it.
on “ The Need for Both Makerspaces and Incubators in Africa” ↗Reminds me of "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind". Amazing true story. Book is recommended.
on “A World Without Power (2013)” ↗To me, the story reminds me of "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" (William Kamkwamba): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Kamkwamba Here's to Hope's similar advancement as he grows, studies, and learns.
on “Fifteen-year-old Nigerian builds small scale construction machines [video]” ↗…area. My 9 year old is the oldest of the group, she's completed the Chronicles of Narnia, Anne of Green Gables, and the Little House Series each multiple times. Our 8 year old just finished reading the "Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" and just asked me for 100 feet of copper wire....our 6 year old wants to go to Round Rock, TX - his favorite brochure and our 3 year old is on lesson 40... if it were just one kid, I'd say it was just…
on “How I Taught My Kid to Read” ↗