Malawi: A teen innovator brings light to his village

An 18-year-old innovator harnesses energy from wind and water to light up his community!

Transcript

00:00 [MUSIC]

00:07 Only 12% of the population in Malawi have access to electricity.

00:12 But that's changing, in some places at least.

00:16 Like here in the village of Chinguwu.

00:19 Thanks to this ingenious young inventor,

00:21 Ernest Andulu has harnessed the laws of thermal dynamics

00:25 that he first observed in the world around him.

00:28 [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

00:31 I had to do some investigating to understand the whole process.

00:36 Later I collected stones that I used to make magnets.

00:40 [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

00:44 The 19-year-old is illuminating homes one by one

00:48 and transforming his home village in rural central Malawi.

00:52 The technology is enabling residents to make more of the hours of darkness

00:56 for work, study, or leisure.

00:59 Technology specialists in the area are now calling for special policies

01:04 to support innovators like him.

01:07 So this policy will be able to identify the key players,

01:10 clearly define the laws, even define the funding mechanisms.

01:16 Ernest Andulu's electricity generation project

01:20 is under evaluation by the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority.

01:25 The body says the project has to adhere to safety guidelines.