From the heart of suffering and destruction left by the war in the Gaza Strip, an inspiring success story emerged for sisters Tala and Farah Moussa, who managed to turn the rubble of their bombed home into an opportunity for creativity. Their team, named 'Building Hope', succeeded in winning first place in the 2026 Earth Prize at the Middle East level, a prestigious international competition concerned with sustainability and entrepreneurship for school students and youth.
This achievement is a historical precedent, as the team of the displaced sisters in Nuseirat camp became the first Palestinian team to reach this global level in the competition's history. This victory came after fierce competition with more than 6,000 teams from various countries around the world, reflecting the ability of the Palestinian mind to innovate even in the harshest living conditions and under the weight of the siege and continuous aggression.
The project idea relies on innovating a decentralized and simple system for recycling household waste and educational facilities destroyed by the occupation. Tala Moussa explained in statements to press sources that the primary goal is to benefit from the accumulated rubble in the reconstruction process of the Strip, especially in light of the severe shortage of basic construction materials and the prevention of their entry through closed crossings.
Regarding the technical mechanism of the innovation, Tala explains that the process begins with collecting rubble from destroyed sites, then finely grinding it, after which available local environmental components such as clay, glass, and straw are added. This innovative mixture is poured into special molds and left to dry for a full week, resulting in a building block ready for use in embankments and non-load-bearing walls.
For their part, the sisters emphasized that the motive behind this project was the enormous scale of destruction that affected about 90% of Gaza's facilities, leaving approximately 60 million tons of rubble according to UN estimates. Farah Moussa pointed out that this innovation represents a practical response to the occupation's policies that hinder the entry of cement and building materials, making the rubble itself a raw material for rebuilding.
The sisters expressed their pride in this global recognition, describing the moment the results were announced as a historic moment that will not be erased from their memory. They affirmed that their ambition will not stop at the prize, but they seek to transfer this experience to the rest of the youth in the Gaza Strip by organizing training workshops aimed at generalizing the idea and enabling citizens to self-repair their homes temporarily.
This innovation comes at a time when the Gaza Strip is suffering from successive humanitarian and environmental crises due to the ongoing war that has left tens of thousands of martyrs and wounded. The 'Building Hope' project represents a glimmer of hope for thousands of displaced families, as it offers sustainable environmental solutions that contribute to alleviating the housing crisis and recycling solid waste resulting from the systematic Israeli shelling of residential areas.
Our project has found a temporary alternative solution for reconstruction in light of the occupation's closure of crossings and its prevention of the entry of necessary building materials.
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Two sisters from Gaza win international award with innovation to recycle debris