In Waddi Alsalqa village, just east of Deir Elbalah in the centre of the Gaza Strip, a group of 11 women and three local young men have started using renewable energy to transform their living conditions and open a business.
The women – widows, divorced, single and impoverished housewives among them, are part of the Rural Women's Development Society – a local civil organisation.
Since 2016, in cooperation with the West Bank-based Palestinian Environmental NGOs Network and Friends of the Earth Palestine (PENGON), the society has been able to install 32 solar panels and batteries to power the kitchen where the women work producing meat dishes, rice, vegetables and sweets for sale to the rest of the community.
"Prior to the installation of solar panels, we had difficulties, preparing and cooking our food,” Suhair Abu Amra said, as she wrapped up an order and handed it to a young man for delivery.
“Many of the orders we used to receive from local households were delayed because we had to wait for the public sector-provided electricity current to come back on, following prolonged hours of outage, something that has been normal in the Gaza Strip since 2007.”
The kitchen has a deep freezer, a food mixer, an electric oven and some other equipment, all run on energy that is provided primarily by solar panels.
“We now feel very independent and comfortable, as the payment that used to go to the public electricity distribution company has been saved for buying some raw materials for the meals we have been producing here,” said Suhair, a 43-year-old mother of six.
More projects underway
In the northern Gaza Strip area of Alwaha, just a few kilometers away from the Gaza-Israel border, Ayman Soboh, a local farmer, was able to plant strawberries in a greenhouse and open a small cafeteria on his one-acre farm.
"Since these 18 solar panels were installed five years ago, I have been able to run my farm without a problem,” he said.
“I use the solar panel-generated electricity to pump water from my well. Also, I was able to light the farm and run a small business."
Even though Soboh has used solar energy to help make a living, serious challenges remain.
"The main difficulty is the life of the batteries, connected to the solar panels, which now produce five kilowatts of electricity,” the 47-year-old Soboh said.
“I only hope that the people who helped install these solar panels will be able to follow up on the project and replace expired batteries. A battery can produce voltage for a period of two to three years, then it needs to be replaced.”
Back in 2021, Soboh had to repair the majority of his solar panels on his own, after shrapnel from Israeli army missiles hit his farm.
Clean energy initiative
"PENGON has initiated clean energy initiatives in Gaza toward a 100 percent renewable energy independent Gaza,” said Abeer Butmeh, a coordinator with PENGON.
“These initiatives and interventions aim to eliminate darkness in Gaza by bringing clean energy into community hands, with a special focus on empowering women.”
PENGON’s clean energy work now targets 900 families in Gaza, six schools with 6000 students, 20 female-led community organisations, and 25 other Palestinian organisations.
“PENGON coordinates a group of 14 Palestinian environmental NGOs. In recent years this has included lobbying and advocating for clean energy, building the capacity of Palestinian environmental groups and visiting communities affected by energy scarcity.”
Abeer said the solar panel project was set up to support women’s participation and leadership in the context of low social acceptance and scant state support.
This project gives the women space to improve their skills at community level and organisational level, and to be more active in lobbying and advocacy spaces for influencing gender laws and energy policies.
Ending the darkness in Gaza by transforming to clean energy is the sustainable solution to the electricity scarcity that has long hindered life in the coastal enclave.
