William's windmill was built using pictures and diagrams. Photo: whiteafrican (Flicker)

Technology doesn’t always come from experts with expensive equipment. William Kamkwamba’s junkyard windmill proves it.

Forced to quit school due to Malawi’s famine in 2001, William, then 14 years old, was determined to continue learning and sought out the library. Everything changed when he came across a book with a picture of a windmill.

“I was very interested when I saw the windmill could make electricity and pump water,” said William. “I thought: ‘That could be a defense against hunger. Maybe I should build one for myself.'”

William’s materials came from junkyard scraps— a tractor fan, shock absorber, bicycle frame, PVC pipe, melted PVC blades, and a generator originally designed for a bicycle.

With limited English reading ability, William created his windmill through pictures and diagrams.

The finished product was a 12-watt, 16-ft tall wood windmill, the first of three he’d build from scraps. As a result, William was able to generate power into his family’s home, pump water, and provide a source for locals to charge their mobile phones.

William’s self-sufficient, proactive approach to improving the life of his family and community is living proof that anything is possible.

A foreign domestic worker looks after her elderly client. Photo: Jerry Wong (flickr)

From low-tech light bulbs in the Philippines to microfinance in Nicaragua, our team of young writers covered lots of ground this year.

Here's a rewind on the themes that struck the strongest chords with readers, and the money quote from each piece. As we head into 2012, odds are that these big ideas will keep resonating.

Lack of electricity is a huge barrier to overcoming poverty by
Megan Kelly, Feb. 10:

As long as those hundreds of millions remain in the dark, they will remain poor," and yet bringing electricity to areas that have none lacks global funding and attention. It's not even part of the Millennium Development Goals.

Megan made a sweeping case for attention to energy poverty, a theme we've continued to cover.

Microfinance isn't a magic bullet by Laura Mortara, Jan. 24:

And any situation involving loan and credit is dangerous, especially when people are allowed to borrow irresponsibly. The failure of microfinance in India is largely due in part to MFI's shifting their focus from non-profit to profit-making industries and the corruption that follows thereafter. In addition to this, microfinance in India expanded way too quickly without the experience or infrastructure to support it.

Laura rounded up the previous year's run of bad news about the microfinance sector with a wealth of links to the best coverage.

Used soda bottles light up the world, for free by Brynn Opsahl, Aug. 18:

A used plastic bottle filled with water and a touch of bleach is placed in a hole of a tin roof. For up to five years, 50 watts of light fill up the once-gloomy windowless shack any time the sun is out

Brynn's look at this shockingly simple, effective idea was one of several articles to land in the Christian Science Monitor as part of a partnership we forged with them this year.

Does China's rise mean U.S. decline? by Chris Sharp, Feb. 4:

According to a recent poll by the Pew Research Center, 44 percent of Americans believe China is already the world’s top economic power, compared to 27 percent who think it’s the U.S.

Chris's piece rebutted the popular cliche about China's looming global power, drawing on a post by Foreign Policy's Daniel Drezner to argue that the U.S.-China relationship is about interdependence, not domination.

The female remittance economy: A hidden global network of mothers and money by Eliza Slater, May 11:

Remittances are a significant part of an unofficial global aid network, worth $325 billion last year. That’s three times the size of official foreign development aid spending.

Eliza zoomed into the human scale of some staggering numbers, showing how shipping cash to one's relatives abroad has become, among other things, an important part of modern femininity around the world.

As we mentioned last week, Global Envision is planning some big new initiatives in 2012. Stay tuned—we're looking forward to talking with you about whatever comes next.

The rail systems in India carry coal, but are too small and slow to bring in the quantity needed to make the kind of difference that Adani can. Photo: degahk (flickr)

When the government fails to provide, the savvy entrepreneur fills the gaps—but not without criticism.

India’s government has long failed to keep up with its own rapid development, leaving rural regions without electricity despite abundant coal reserves. Gautam Adani, an Indian entrepreneur, stepped up to develop the much-needed electrical infrastructure that encourages India’s growth, says a recent New York Times article.

His operation is far from homegrown. His coal mines are based in Indonesia and Australia and his transport ship is Korean-made. His ability to tap into the global market allows him to do what the government can’t, faster and cheaper than it could.

This global approach allowed Adani to circumvent logistical and political barriers within India. The rail system is ill equipped to transport coal, the New York Times reported, and mining requires uprooting protected forest areas and tribal groups, something politicians are hesitant to permit.

But despite the development, local fishermen argue that Adani may have done more harm than good. He has brought in few jobs and is blamed for the depletion of sea life essential to the region's economy.

India’s rural poor may have electricity now, but many remain skeptical that it came at too high a cost.

Distributors in Kenya currently sell solar panels on a small scale, unable to reach most of the large rural community in need. Photo: International Rivers (flickr)

Almost one in four people live without power worldwide. Without electricity, these people are at a disadvantage in nearly every aspect of their lives. Having electricity means the ability to study at night and get an education. It means the difference between subsistence farming and back-breaking labor, and having the technology to create large enough crop yields to make a living. It allows people to have and power cell phones, which are being used across the developing world for mobile banking and to access the Internet. In fact, a recent Time article suggests lack of electricity or power is one of the largest barriers to overcoming poverty. According to the article, "[a]s long as those hundreds of millions remain in the dark, they will remain poor," and yet bringing electricity to areas that have none lacks global funding and attention. It's not even part of the Millennium Development Goals.

However cheap and renewable energy sources that don't require a standard power grid could be the first step out of poverty for the people in rural communities who lack electricity. But that doesn't mean governments are making small-scale rural electrification projects in poor countries a priority. Despite the obvious need for electricity, a recent New York Times article explains that government funding for smaller off-the-grid energy solutions is so rare because almost the entire population in need lives outside of urban areas. Since the areas in need of electricity are so vast and so rural, governments fear giving money that cannot be overseen.

And because the world's poorest countries don't have high carbon emissions, they are unable to tap into the green energy initiatives of the United Nations and the Kyoto Protocol. Only $7.5 billion of the $162 billion available for green energy projects went to the poorest countries most in need of electricity, reports the New York Times. The rest was broken up between more developed nations like China, India and Brazil.

Access to electricity is a key stepping stone in overcoming poverty in rural communities. However, it can only be realized if governments take a risk to fund and distribute off-grid solar panels. Without taking the risk of providing access, these communities will continue to live in the dark.