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

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/movingwindmills/moving-windmills-documentary-film

by milkshakes • 15 years ago

62 9 15 years ago

milkshakes• 15 years 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 [2] http://movingwindmills.org/img/Diagram_storypage1.jpg

heydenberk• 15 years 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• 15 years 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• 15 years 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_a...

drstrangevibes• 15 years ago

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

jamiemill• 15 years 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?

zyad• 15 years ago

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

TomAnthony• 15 years 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• 15 years ago

Send William a few bucks if so moved:

http://williamkamkwamba.typepad.com

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

Related Stories