Two female engineers from the Gaza Strip have invented a green alternative to concrete made from coal ash. The engineers are Majd Mashhrawi and Rawan Abdullatif, graduates of the civil engineering programme of Gaza Muslim University.
The environmentally friendly and lightweight ‘Green Cake’ is cheaper than normal concrete. The production of this alternative will help inhabitants of the Gaza Strip use the material in construction, as concrete has been in short supply since the Israeli blockade of the area after the Hamas takeover.
Both engineers began exploring alternatives to concrete in 2015, with the goal of finding a locally sourced alternative to cement. After extensive testing on different mixtures of aggregates, sand, and ash to check for the ability to withstand weight, gravity, fire and rain, they settled on the product that became known as ‘Green Cake’.
Whereas it is not yet known if Green Cake will prove to be as durable as normal concrete, the unique project has nevertheless been hailed as an answer to Gaza’s unique construction problems.