Gaza sisters recycle war rubble into bricks

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Hi, it's Livia. War is destructive — both for human life and the environment. These two teenage sisters came up with an idea to help rebuild the Gaza Strip sustainably, one repurposed piece of rubble at a time.

This week:

The main ingredient in Tala and Farah Mousa's award-winning environmental solution is not hard to come by.

War debris exists more or less everywhere in Gaza. 

The teenage sisters, who were forced to leave their home in August, have seen the mountains of rubble up close — and in them, an opportunity to sustainably rebuild.

"The idea came after our house was bombed, and after seeing destruction everywhere around us in Gaza," Tala Mousa, 17, told As It Happens host Nil Köksal from the tent camp in central Gaza where she and Farah, 15, are currently living with their family. "When rubble became part of our daily life, we started asking ourselves how we could turn this destruction into something useful and helpful."

They set out to make those mountains smaller by repurposing the rubble to make bricks or blocks they hope Gazans, and eventually others across the world, can use to sustainably recover after war.

The project, called Build Hope Palestine, was recently named as winner in the Middle East category of the 2026 Earth Prize, an annual competition that awards youth who find solutions to environmental challenges. 

A family effort

Tala and Farah asked their grandfather, Samer, for practical help to develop the process of turning rubble into bricks. "We are still young … and he has big experience in these things," Tala said.

They set up a small workshop outdoors, in the same place they cook and do laundry.

Together, they crushed and sifted rubble to the consistency of coarse sand, using manual tools such as a hammer, before adding clay, ash, straw or glass powder to bind the materials together. Then, they used a handmade wooden mould to shape what was once war debris into rectangular bricks and dried them. 

"We used local materials and low-cost methods," said Tala.

Tala and Farah say the bricks are meant for non-load-bearing use, and can be used to build pavements, partitions and garden beds. 

The prototypes they have made so far have already been proven useful. In the winter, strong winds blew over the camp and knocked some of their neighbours' tents upside down, Tala said. 

"So they used our blocks to make sure that the tent is stable."

"We are really happy to help others … and make them feel safety," she said. "That they are sure when they are sitting in their tent … the tent won't be upside down anymore."

Rebuilding the future

The sisters dream of seeing the bricks do even more.

"We hope to train young people, spread practical knowledge, recycle large amounts of rubble and help communities rebuild in a more sustainable and independent way," Tala said.

As the Middle East regional winners, Farah and Tala will receive $17,500 Cdn from the Earth Foundation to further develop their project. The next step is to hold local brick-making workshops for 100 other young Gazans.

The United Nations recently estimated that the war has caused physical damage worth around $48.7 billion Cdn, leaving around 60 million tonnes of rubble to clear up. 

Not only has Israeli bombardment pulverized buildings, roads and other infrastructure, but bombs, drone strikes and the costly rebuilding process also emit carbon. One recent study estimates the war will cause more than 30 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, most of it coming from rebuilding destroyed infrastructure.

The Mousa sisters are envisioning one day scaling up the project so places struck by war across the world can harness the method. 

"It would not be strictly for Gaza," Tala said.

Tala and Farah dream of studying international law and languages, respectively — paths Tala says they are going to pursue, despite the war interrupting their schooling.

But they have already made their family proud.

Grandfather Samer, for one, was "incredibly happy that we thought of these things," Tala shared.

"That [despite] all the things that happened to us, like our house [being] bombed and displacement, starvation, all these things, we still have hope."

— Livia Dyring

Check out our podcast and radio show. In our latest episode: Our youth climate action columnist Aishwarya Puttur says she's seen young people in the entertainment industry taking up the climate cause lately — everywhere from local film festivals to the United Nations — and shares stories about how she's seen this type of storytelling make a difference.

Last week, Bridget Stringer-Holden wrote about a Vancouver chef who took surplus food and transformed it into meals for the community. 

Sharon Ramsey wrote: "I loved your story about what is being done about food waste. TJ and other volunteers were the subject of a short film a couple of years ago. It inspires and gives hope that there are a lot of people doing good things in this world. Here is a link to the film."

Irene McCrea wrote in to mention Odd Bunch, which aims to reduce food waste and provide access to affordable fruits and vegetables by selling surplus and imperfect produce, such as those that are the wrong size or shape. We featured them in this newsletter previously.

Write us at whatonearth@cbc.ca (and send photos there too!)

These peachy-orange fungi are pyronema, a type of pyrophilous — Greek for fire-loving — fungi that act as nature's first responders to a wildfire. Within weeks of a wildfire, they form an orange crust that coats deadwood and the charred forest floor, creating an otherworldly landscape that still seems to be smoking. 

"They shoot out spores, so many that it actually looks like smoke," said Joey Tanney, a Canadian Forest Service mycologist and research scientist. 

The study of how these organisms help with fire recovery has grown as climate change boosts the size, intensity and frequency of wildfires. 

Pyrophilous fungi consume the ash, carbon and other toxic byproducts of a forest fire that have changed the chemical makeup of the upper soil layers.

By devouring these harmful elements, including the significant amount of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons created during a wildfire, they can convert them into spores and "fruiting bodies," which, in turn, become fuel for the secondary responders: insects, mites and bacteria. As Tanney said, "They're basically starting the food web." You can read more about their role in wildfire recovery here.

— Laura Fraser

Young people and environmental groups are suing the Carney government, alleging it's undoing Canada's climate plan and breaking federal law in the process.

Three young people and two environmental groups are asking the Federal Court to order Ottawa to develop a climate plan that achieves Canada's legally binding 2030 climate targets. 

"When political leaders say they are committed to climate action while dismantling the very policies needed to achieve it, young people notice," said Sophia Mathur, one of the youths listed in the application for the judicial review. 

"We are the ones who will be facing and living with the consequences."

The case alleges the federal government, through recent climate policy changes, is violating Canada's climate accountability legislation, formally known as the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act. 

Since the 2030 climate plan, also known as the emissions-reduction plan (ERP), "was established, the government of Canada has eliminated, weakened and/or significantly altered [its] key measures," according to the notice of application filed Monday in Federal Court.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the environment minister reiterated the government's commitment to Canada's mid-century climate target.

"We are aware of the recent court challenge," said Keean Nembhard, the minister's press secretary. "The government of Canada is committed to fighting climate change and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. We will continue working to build a clean, low-carbon and resilient country.

"As this matter is before the courts, we cannot comment further."

The Trudeau government passed the climate accountability act in 2021. It legally requires the government to set credible, science-based climate targets and establish a plan to achieve them. 

"Over the last year, we have watched the Carney government weaken, delay and repeal Canada's key climate policies without identifying credible alternatives to make up the gap, all while doubling down on a future powered by fossil fuels," said Charlie Hatt, climate director at Ecojustice.

Ecojustice, an environmental law charity, is representing the plaintiffs. 

"In short, we're asking for a plan to achieve the target. Not a plan to fail," Hatt said.

The environmental rollbacks since Carney came into power over a year ago include:

"The prime minister has taken a wrecking ball to our hard-fought climate progress," said Julia Levin with Environmental Defence Canada.

The Carney government has outlined in broad strokes its approach to reducing emissions through its climate competitiveness strategy. It includes finalizing federal methane regulations, advancing investment tax credits, offering consumers rebates on electric vehicles and developing an electricity strategy.

But the government has yet to show how all those initiatives, put together, will achieve Canada's legally binding climate targets — as both government and independent analyses show they are falling further out of reach.

— David Thurton

Thanks for reading. If you have questions, criticisms or story tips, please send them to whatonearth@cbc.ca.

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Editors: Emily Chung | Logo design: Sködt McNalty

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