TEDWomen 2018
Majd Mashharawi: How I'm making bricks out of ashes and rubble in Gaza
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Majd Mashharawi was walking through her war-torn neighborhood in Gaza when an idea flashed in her mind: What if she could take the rubble and transform it into building materials? See how she designed a brick made out of ashes that's helping people rebuild their homes -- and learn about her new project: bringing solar-powered energy to families living in darkness.
Majd Mashharawi - Engineer, entrepreneur
Majd Mashharawi leads a startup that makes bricks from recycled local materials -- and employs women in the Gaza Strip. Full bio
Majd Mashharawi leads a startup that makes bricks from recycled local materials -- and employs women in the Gaza Strip. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
Yes, it's dark.
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I'm wondering how long
we can all stand it
we can all stand it
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without picking up our phone
and turning the flashlights on.
and turning the flashlights on.
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Seconds?
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Minutes?
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A whole hour?
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Don't worry, I'm not going to give you
my whole speech in the dark.
my whole speech in the dark.
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But it's something I'm used to.
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For more than 10 years,
I and two million people back home
I and two million people back home
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have been living in darkness,
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locked between two borders
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that are nearly impossible
to leave, literally,
to leave, literally,
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in an area that spans 25 miles long
and about five miles wide.
and about five miles wide.
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I am Palestinian, and I am from Gaza.
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I grew up there and I still live there.
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In Gaza, we have a whole lot of nothing.
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And I aim to create something
from that nothing.
from that nothing.
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When a community is cut off
from the world,
from the world,
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all that we need to do is ... what?
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To think outside the box.
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Way outside the box.
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That thinking led me to two projects
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to address two serious issues
in my community.
in my community.
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The need for building materials
and the need for electricity and energy.
and the need for electricity and energy.
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Two essential ingredients of life.
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Both are in lack of supply in Gaza.
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First, I'm not here ...
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just to talk about the occupation
we have back home.
we have back home.
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The siege, the wars,
the bombs, the protests
the bombs, the protests
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or the death toll.
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I am here because I wanted to show
that we can live through it all.
that we can live through it all.
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I am here because I wanted
to make a change.
to make a change.
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I am here to tell you
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that I am a statistic
that cannot be ignored.
that cannot be ignored.
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In the 2014 war, thousands
of houses were destroyed.
of houses were destroyed.
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Those houses were made
from sunbaked stones and blocks.
from sunbaked stones and blocks.
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Those houses stood
for decades and decades.
for decades and decades.
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Those houses were
for my family, friends, neighbors,
for my family, friends, neighbors,
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everyone I know.
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At that time, I asked myself a question:
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What can I do for people?
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How can I help them?
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I knew we weren't able
to get cement, aggregate and sand
to get cement, aggregate and sand
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to rebuild what the war destroyed.
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But also, maybe we can use something
from inside the community,
from inside the community,
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something we already had.
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I started to put things together.
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First, paper as a filler,
instead of the aggregate we import.
instead of the aggregate we import.
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But that did not work out.
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What about using glass powder
to replace part of the cement?
to replace part of the cement?
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But that failed, too.
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I guessed making building blocks
out of mud would be a great idea.
out of mud would be a great idea.
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But unfortunately, it didn't work out.
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During the process
of burning the mud blocks,
of burning the mud blocks,
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we had a huge amount of ashes.
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And I was like, "Why don't we
use those ashes?"
use those ashes?"
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The idea flashed in my mind.
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"Let's use it and combine it
with the rubble of the demolished houses
with the rubble of the demolished houses
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and make building blocks out of it."
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After more than 150 failed experiments,
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and over six months of research,
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I actually made it.
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(Applause)
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I created a building block
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out of the ashes and rubble
of the demolished houses.
of the demolished houses.
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It's here, it came all the way with me.
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Well, it came before me.
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So, it's lighter,
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it's cheaper, and it's stronger.
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(Applause)
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This building block --
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of course, you ask yourself,
"How did this girl do it?"
"How did this girl do it?"
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It's not that hard,
and it's not that easy.
and it's not that easy.
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First, we collected rubble
from all around the Gaza Strip.
from all around the Gaza Strip.
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Then we combined it with the ashes
that came from the landfills.
that came from the landfills.
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When the recipe is done,
it's time for baking.
it's time for baking.
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So we mold the blocks,
as you can see in the photo,
as you can see in the photo,
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and we cure it using water steam.
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I call the material "Green Cake,"
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and people now can use it
not only to rebuild old houses,
not only to rebuild old houses,
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but also to build new complete structures.
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Green Cake so far has created
jobs for more than 30 people.
jobs for more than 30 people.
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And we were able to rebuild
around 50 apartments,
around 50 apartments,
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each one of them the size
of a household almost for eight people.
of a household almost for eight people.
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We also trained fresh graduates,
female and male,
female and male,
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which is not very common in the community.
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And we got several awards,
locally and globally.
locally and globally.
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This block is not
just only a building block.
just only a building block.
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It changed the stereotype
about women in Gaza
about women in Gaza
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that stated this type of work
is meant for men.
is meant for men.
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Education is the strongest weapon we have
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to fight for our freedom,
decent life and future.
decent life and future.
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My background helped me to do this block.
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I went to the Islamic University of Gaza,
and I studied civil engineering,
and I studied civil engineering,
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where there was a one-to-six
female-to-male ratio.
female-to-male ratio.
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Everyone told me
I would end up without a job.
I would end up without a job.
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I went for a major that's meant for men.
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But their lack of encouragement
did not deter me; it inspired me.
did not deter me; it inspired me.
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(Applause)
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After this long journey with the block,
and after two years,
and after two years,
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what Gaza does need
is not just building blocks.
is not just building blocks.
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We also need electricity,
we need the energy.
we need the energy.
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I developed a new company called SunBox.
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SunBox is a smart solar kit
that we source from China,
that we source from China,
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and we engineer it to fit the market need.
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It powers not only light,
but also laptops, phones,
but also laptops, phones,
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internet connection, a fan or a TV.
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We teach local vendors and technicians
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to sell, install and provide
customer services for people.
customer services for people.
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We got the project off the ground
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by providing 15 families
with solar energy.
with solar energy.
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One of the solar units
we installed in a refugee camp.
we installed in a refugee camp.
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The next day I came to check
what happened with the solar,
what happened with the solar,
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and I found a whole neighborhood
watching a football match
watching a football match
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using our device.
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I was like, "Wow, that's going to create
a huge impact in the community."
a huge impact in the community."
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That encouraged us to go
to the second round
to the second round
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of bringing 200 units.
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But each unit costs around 350 dollars.
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And a Palestinian family
can't afford the 350 dollars.
can't afford the 350 dollars.
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So we had to think, again,
outside the box:
outside the box:
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How can we make this happen?
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If a whole neighborhood can watch
a football match using one device,
a football match using one device,
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it means two, three and four families
can share one device
can share one device
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and enjoy the electricity.
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What we did is, we created
a new business model
a new business model
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called "sharing is caring."
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(Laughter)
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The sharing is caring business model
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says two families share one unit,
three families share one unit,
three families share one unit,
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and they split the cost,
so they can afford paying for it.
so they can afford paying for it.
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Well, the idea caught on.
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I didn't expect that,
but it just happened.
but it just happened.
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In less than two weeks,
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we were able to provide
over 200 people with electricity.
over 200 people with electricity.
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(Applause)
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And the question here:
How did the idea catch on?
How did the idea catch on?
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We went to community centers --
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those are places, you know for whom?
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Only for men.
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So it was so weird
for a woman to go there.
for a woman to go there.
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And I told them, "We have a great idea.
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We will give you electricity,
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you give us people
who need this electricity."
who need this electricity."
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Now, families are approaching us
from all around the Gaza Strip.
from all around the Gaza Strip.
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I received a phone call
from the team this morning, saying,
from the team this morning, saying,
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"Majd, please, we are under pressure,
we work 16 hours a day,
we work 16 hours a day,
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we will not be able to work like this.
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Families are calling us every second.
They want solar energy."
They want solar energy."
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Muna, from one of the families
we installed the solar unit for,
we installed the solar unit for,
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she told me, "You know, Majd,
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I've never imagined I will control
something in my life.
something in my life.
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Now I can control my source of energy.
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I feel so special."
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What you take for granted
is a privilege for others.
is a privilege for others.
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People like Muna.
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She doesn't want to fight.
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She doesn't want to stay in a bad life.
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She's only looking for a better life.
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Our vision, or I would say,
everyone's vision in Gaza --
everyone's vision in Gaza --
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which I am very privileged
to represent the people back home --
to represent the people back home --
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is to have a good life, a future.
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We need to build
the infrastructure of hope.
the infrastructure of hope.
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We want to tell them
it's possible to happen,
it's possible to happen,
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it's possible to be treated
as a human being.
as a human being.
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I don't have to cross
four borders to come here.
four borders to come here.
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I can just go to the airport,
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see the people outside,
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see what the world looks like.
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Thank you so much.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Majd Mashharawi - Engineer, entrepreneurMajd Mashharawi leads a startup that makes bricks from recycled local materials -- and employs women in the Gaza Strip.
Why you should listen
A resident of war-torn Gaza, Majd Mashharawi observed the acute need for access to construction material in order to rebuild damaged buildings and infrastructure. She strove to meet this need by founding GreenCake in 2015, a company that creates environmentally friendly bricks from ash and rubble.
In the summer of 2017 she developed SunBox, an affordable solar device that produces energy to alleviate the effects of the energy crisis in Gaza, where access to electricity has been severely restricted, sometimes to less than three hours a day. With SunBox, she was able to provide electricity to hundreds of people; SunBox was awarded a prize in the annual MIT Pan Arab competition. She received her BSc in Civil Engineering from the Islamic University of Gaza. In 2018 she was selected as one of the most creative people in business by Fast Company.
Majd Mashharawi | Speaker | TED.com