With over 80,000 houses destroyed in Gaza after the last war, reconstructing the strip became a financial burden for most of the population. And from that need, the motivation to find alternative solutions began to take place.
That’s when Emad Khalidi, an engineer from Gaza, was able to develop an alternative construction material from the natural resources that are available in the strip. Using a combination of limestone, sand and other chemical components, the expert in soil and alternative construction methods created a substance that has more durability than concrete and is more efficient to produce.
The manufacturing procedure includes processing the physical properties of the sand by applying pressure, then adding natural components like potassium carbonate with ground limestone and a bit of gypsum, which works as a glue that holds the particles together in the fabrication process of each brick.
Khalidi established his brick factory back in 2009 and since then he was able to get funding from multiple organizations that were interested in helping revive the strip after all the strikes. The financial backing helped push the production of his factory to almost 50,000 bricks a day, putting his technology in the hands of the people of Gaza. Khalidi’s special bricks reduce the construction costs by 25% in comparison to using concrete.
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