'The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind': The true story of William Kamkwamba which inspired the Netflix film
Upcoming Netflix movie 'The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind' is already creating quite a buzz, especially the true story of a Malawi boy who saved his village and family from famine by building a wind turbine on which it is based on.
The Netflix film was written and directed by Chiwetel Ejiofor, who also stars in a pivotal role.
William Kamkwamba rose to fame in 2006 when local reporters wrote about his makeshift wind turbine made using scrap metal, tractor parts, and bicycle halves.
The fact that the then 14-year-old school drop out built a wind turbine in 2002 spread through the blogosphere, and soon global publications like the Wall Street Journal were writing about William and his windmill.
The crude but operable windmill eventually powered four lights, complete with homemade switches and a circuit breaker made from nails and wire. A second machine turned a water pump that helped William's family endure the drought and famine that loomed with every season in the country.