Developing cost-effective, locally-sourced, and sturdy building blocks created from ash and the rubble from demolished structures.

Majd

The 2014 war in Gaza destroyed more than 160,000 homes and import restrictions limited access to building materials. It also has the highest unemployment rate in the world. As a resident of Gaza, Majd often sees how political conditions take tolls across the Strip. Damage to city infrastructure created a higher demand for new developments, while sources of construction materials quickly depleted due to years-long blockades of the Gaza Strip. Majd’s background in material sciences led her to find a solution that addressed the need for an alternative, sustainable construction resource.

“I did not lose hope because I have dream. I believe in it and I believe that we have the right to have a good life. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence. We can plant hope again and give people the right to have a dream.”

 

 

SUstainable Development Goals

GreenCake

Majd founded GreenCake Construction in 2015, a company that creates environmentally friendly bricks from ash and rubble to use in the reconstruction of buildings in Gaza. Majd has presented GreenCake at MIT’s Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competition, called Mobaderoon, and was awarded first place for her work in the Japan Gaza Innovation Challenge in 2016. Majd was also nominated to receive the Palestinian Women’s Award for Innovation and Excellence in recognition of GreenCake and was recently awarded the Emirates Energy Award. She received her B.Sc in Civil Engineering from the Islamic University of Gaza. After 10 years of blockade, Majd’s peers were losing hope of ever seeing change or fulfilling their dreams. GreenCake became a symbol for dreams coming true.