0:00:00.982,0:00:03.756 This is where I live. I live in Kenya, 0:00:03.756,0:00:06.823 at the south parts of the Nairobi National Park. 0:00:06.823,0:00:08.811 Those are my dad's cows at the back, 0:00:08.811,0:00:10.791 and behind the cows, 0:00:10.791,0:00:13.095 that's the Nairobi National Park. 0:00:13.095,0:00:16.600 Nairobi National Park is not fenced in the south widely, 0:00:16.600,0:00:20.062 which means wild animals like zebras 0:00:20.062,0:00:23.983 migrate out of the park freely. 0:00:23.983,0:00:27.996 So predators like lions follow them, 0:00:27.996,0:00:30.791 and this is what they do. 0:00:30.791,0:00:33.792 They kill our livestock. 0:00:33.792,0:00:36.239 This is one of the cows which was killed at night, 0:00:36.239,0:00:40.279 and I just woke up in the morning and I found it dead, 0:00:40.279,0:00:42.705 and I felt so bad, 0:00:42.705,0:00:47.192 because it was the only bull we had. 0:00:47.192,0:00:49.979 My community, the Maasai, we believe that 0:00:49.979,0:00:56.036 we came from heaven with all our animals and all the land 0:00:56.036,0:00:59.811 for herding them, and that's why we value them so much. 0:00:59.811,0:01:03.570 So I grew up hating lions so much. 0:01:03.570,0:01:06.623 The morans are the warriors 0:01:06.623,0:01:09.940 who protect our community and the livestock, 0:01:09.940,0:01:13.019 and they're also upset about this problem. 0:01:13.019,0:01:16.024 So they kill the lions. 0:01:16.024,0:01:19.938 It's one of the six lions which were killed in Nairobi. 0:01:19.938,0:01:24.477 And I think this is why the Nairobi National Park lions are few. 0:01:24.477,0:01:29.438 So a boy, from six to nine years old, in my community 0:01:29.438,0:01:32.312 is responsible for his dad's cows, 0:01:32.312,0:01:35.442 and that's the same thing which happened to me. 0:01:35.442,0:01:38.857 So I had to find a way of solving this problem. 0:01:38.857,0:01:43.671 And the first idea I got was to use fire, 0:01:43.671,0:01:47.464 because I thought lions were scared of fire. 0:01:47.464,0:01:52.183 But I came to realize that that didn't really help, 0:01:52.183,0:01:54.792 because it was even helping the lions 0:01:54.792,0:01:58.303 to see through the cowshed. 0:01:58.303,0:02:01.632 So I didn't give up. I continued. 0:02:01.632,0:02:04.272 And a second idea I got was 0:02:04.272,0:02:06.339 to use a scarecrow. 0:02:06.339,0:02:07.953 I was trying to trick the lions 0:02:07.953,0:02:10.860 [into thinking] that I was standing near the cowshed. 0:02:10.860,0:02:14.936 But lions are very clever. (Laughter) 0:02:14.936,0:02:19.382 They will come the first day and they see the scarecrow, and they go back, 0:02:19.382,0:02:22.656 but the second day, they'll come and they say, 0:02:22.656,0:02:25.766 this thing is not moving here, it's always here. (Laughter) 0:02:25.766,0:02:29.003 So he jumps in and kills the animals. 0:02:29.003,0:02:32.956 So one night, I was walking around the cowshed with a torch, 0:02:32.956,0:02:36.799 and that day, the lions didn't come. 0:02:36.799,0:02:41.357 And I discovered that lions are afraid of a moving light. 0:02:41.357,0:02:43.930 So I had an idea. 0:02:43.930,0:02:46.240 Since I was a small boy, 0:02:46.240,0:02:49.498 I used to work in my room for the whole day, 0:02:49.498,0:02:52.604 and I even took apart my mom's new radio, 0:02:52.604,0:02:54.422 and that day she almost killed me, 0:02:54.422,0:03:00.676 but I learned a lot about electronics. (Laughter) 0:03:00.676,0:03:04.036 So I got an old car battery, 0:03:04.036,0:03:07.826 an indicator box. It's a small device found in a motorcycle, 0:03:07.826,0:03:12.877 and it helps motorists when they want to turn right or left. It blinks. 0:03:12.877,0:03:17.431 And I got a switch where I can switch on the lights, on and off. 0:03:17.431,0:03:22.259 And that's a small torch from a broken flashlight. 0:03:22.259,0:03:25.140 So I set up everything. 0:03:25.140,0:03:28.364 As you can see, the solar panel charges the battery, 0:03:28.364,0:03:30.485 and the battery supplies the power 0:03:30.485,0:03:33.540 to the small indicator box. I call it a transformer. 0:03:33.540,0:03:38.261 And the indicator box makes the lights flash. 0:03:38.261,0:03:42.012 As you can see, the bulbs face outside, 0:03:42.012,0:03:44.500 because that's where the lions come from. 0:03:44.500,0:03:48.564 And that's how it looks to lions when they come at night. 0:03:48.564,0:03:51.292 The lights flash and trick 0:03:51.292,0:03:53.234 the lions into thinking I was walking around the cowshed, 0:03:53.234,0:03:55.160 but I was sleeping in my bed. 0:03:55.160,0:03:57.900 (Laughter) 0:03:57.900,0:03:59.569 (Applause) 0:03:59.569,0:04:05.164 Thanks. 0:04:05.164,0:04:09.440 So I set it up in my home two years ago, 0:04:09.440,0:04:12.760 and since then, we have never experienced any problem with lions. 0:04:12.760,0:04:16.772 And my neighboring homes heard about this idea. 0:04:16.772,0:04:19.236 One of them was this grandmother. 0:04:19.236,0:04:23.512 She had a lot of her animals being killed by lions, 0:04:23.512,0:04:25.646 and she asked me if I could put the lights for her. 0:04:25.646,0:04:26.924 And I said, "Yes." 0:04:26.924,0:04:31.524 So I put the lights. You can see at the back, those are the lion lights. 0:04:31.524,0:04:34.940 Since now, I've set up seven homes around my community, 0:04:34.940,0:04:37.165 and they're really working. 0:04:37.165,0:04:42.345 And my idea is also being used now all over Kenya 0:04:42.345,0:04:47.458 for scaring other predators like hyenas, leopards, 0:04:47.458,0:04:49.693 and it's also being used 0:04:49.693,0:04:53.738 to scare elephants away from people's farms. 0:04:53.738,0:04:56.778 Because of this invention, I was lucky to get a scholarship 0:04:56.778,0:04:59.428 in one of the best schools in Kenya, 0:04:59.428,0:05:01.335 Brookhouse International School, 0:05:01.335,0:05:04.262 and I'm really excited about this. 0:05:04.262,0:05:08.112 My new school now is coming in and helping 0:05:08.112,0:05:12.644 by fundraising and creating an awareness. 0:05:12.644,0:05:17.927 I even took my friends back to my community, 0:05:17.927,0:05:21.124 and we're installing the lights to the homes 0:05:21.124,0:05:25.773 which don't have [any], and I'm teaching them how to put them. 0:05:25.773,0:05:29.670 So one year ago, I was just a boy in the savanna grassland 0:05:29.670,0:05:31.344 herding my father's cows, 0:05:31.344,0:05:34.298 and I used to see planes flying over, 0:05:34.298,0:05:38.509 and I told myself that one day, I'll be there inside. 0:05:38.509,0:05:41.597 And here I am today. 0:05:41.597,0:05:47.533 I got a chance to come by plane for my first time for TED. 0:05:47.533,0:05:52.969 So my big dream is to become an aircraft engineer and pilot when I grow up. 0:05:52.969,0:05:56.663 I used to hate lions, but now because my invention 0:05:56.663,0:05:59.981 is saving my father's cows and the lions, 0:05:59.981,0:06:03.681 we are able to stay with the lions without any conflict. 0:06:03.681,0:06:06.901 Ashê olên. It means in my language, thank you very much. 0:06:06.901,0:06:17.801 (Applause) 0:06:21.381,0:06:23.682 Chris Anderson: You have no idea how exciting it is 0:06:23.682,0:06:25.793 to hear a story like yours. 0:06:25.793,0:06:27.829 So you got this scholarship.Richard Turere: Yep. 0:06:27.829,0:06:30.406 CA: You're working on other electrical inventions. 0:06:30.406,0:06:32.264 What's the next one on your list? 0:06:32.264,0:06:34.938 RT: My next invention is, 0:06:34.938,0:06:37.520 I want to make an electric fence.CA: Electric fence? 0:06:37.520,0:06:39.681 RT: But I know electric fences are already invented, 0:06:39.681,0:06:41.918 but I want to make mine. 0:06:41.918,0:06:44.009 (Laughter) 0:06:44.009,0:06:47.179 CA: You already tried it once, right, and you --RT: I tried it before, 0:06:47.179,0:06:53.936 but I stopped because it gave me a shock. (Laughter) 0:06:53.936,0:06:57.262 CA: In the trenches. Richard Turere, you are something else. 0:06:57.262,0:07:00.230 We're going to cheer you on every step of the way, my friend. 0:07:00.230,0:07:03.787 Thank you so much.RT: Thank you. (Applause)