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Gaza teenage sisters win award for turning rubble into reusable bricks
- Michael Jansen | The Irish Times
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Donegal student gets recognition for biodegradable plastic that breaks down safely
Teenage sisters from Gaza have won a global environmental award for turning rubble into reusable bricks and are competing for the global award.
Farah (15) and Tala (17) Mousa, who live in a tent and have been repeatedly displaced since their home was bombed, have been named the Middle East regional winners of the youth-focused Earth Prize.
“The idea began after our house was bombed, but also from seeing destruction everywhere in Gaza – in the streets, neighbourhoods and daily life,” Farah said.
Tala added: “We refused to see rubble only as destruction – we saw the opportunity of rebuilding.”
The sisters said they were “incredibly proud and grateful” for the award, which also provides them with $12,500 (€10,700) to invest in training others and developing their new method of reducing rubble in Gaza.
This involves collecting rubble, crushing large chunks in a simple machine and transforming it into material for reconstruction.
The UN reports 90 per cent of Gaza’s homes and 70-80 per cent of its schools, hospitals and infrastructure have been damaged or destroyed, producing 60-70 million tonnes of rubble, which could take seven years to clear.
“Being selected as Middle East winners isn’t just an achievement for us, but a message of hope from Gaza to the world that even in the hardest circumstance we are still capable of innovation and creating solutions,” Tala told The National. “We are very optimistic about the wider adoption of our method because it’s simple, low-cost and adaptable, especially in conflict and disaster zones,” she said.
Farah said she thought their idea interested the judges “because it comes from real, lived experience and is practical and scalable. It doesn’t just address an environmental issue but also empowers communities and supports sustainable rebuilding.”
Since there is no school, the sisters have studied online with the West Bank-based Palestinian ministry of education.
“It’s really hard,” Tala said. We just study the curriculum by ourselves and get the exams from them.”
The Earth Prize is awarded by The Earth Foundation, a Geneva-based non-profit organisation that has chosen seven regional recipients among students aged 13-19 annually over five years.
Donegal student Arya Satheesh (18) was named European winner for developing a biodegradable plastic that breaks down safety while releasing catalysts that help remove existing microplastics from the environment.
“Plastic breaks into tiny pieces that we cannot see, called microplastics, and they can hurt animals, plants and people,” she said. “I made a special plastic that can disappear safely instead of staying forever. When it breaks down, it releases tiny helpers that can eat the bad plastic already in the water and soil. This helps clean Earth and keeps nature safe for the future.”
(c) 2026, The Irish Times
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