Two Palestinian sisters from Gaza, 15-year-old Farah Mousa and 17-year-old Tala Mousa, won the Middle East regional Earth Prize for developing reusable bricks made from war rubble. After losing their home and being displaced to tents during the ongoing conflict, the sisters created a process to crush and recycle debris into lightweight, affordable bricks for pavements, partitions, and garden use.
They said their aim was to “turn destruction into something useful” and support rebuilding efforts with local materials rather than depending fully on external aid. Inspired by the devastation across Gaza, the sisters wanted to transform rubble from a sign of loss into a source of hope and recovery.
Their project emerged amid widespread destruction caused by the war that followed the October 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel and Israel’s military response. According to the United Nations, most people in Gaza have been displaced, with damages reaching billions of dollars.
The sisters received $12,500 in prize money and plan to use it to train nearly 100 young people to produce the bricks and contribute to rebuilding local communities.
