In her garden, Hanadi Abu Harbeid, a young engineer in the Gaza Strip, picks apples, oranges, persimmons, and their peels, slices them, and places them in a food dryer. After 16 to 20 hours, the result is completely natural slices of dried fruits, vegetables, and herbs, without any additives, chemicals, or sugar.
Hanadi Abu Harbeid is originally a renewable energy engineer and found that there was a gap in the market for healthy snacks after studying it. She then worked on creating an eco-friendly food dryer that produces alternatives to expensive imported dried foods and helps reduce traditional methods of food drying. Conventional methods produce very small quantities, despite consuming more time and being significantly more costly in the Gaza Strip.
Regarding the beginnings of the project, Hanadi said, "The idea of the project started from my desire to produce locally dried food products. I researched the market and found that we have significantly imported products, and also the methods we use to dry food in the Gaza Strip consume a lot of energy." She added, "I made this device with very local capabilities and at an excellent price compared to imported ones. The imported ones could cost three times more when they enter the Gaza Strip due to the imposed blockade and other issues. The phase of owning a device that is manufactured for the first time in Palestine is the first step to establishing my project, God willing."
Hanadi explains how to operate the device, saying, "Of course, the device dries fruits, vegetables, and herbs, as we see here—apples and oranges. I adjust the temperature, humidity, and time needed to run the device. After 16 to 20 hours, they are dried, and I package and sell them."
Living in the densely populated sector are two million Palestinians. Gaza has been suffering for years due to its limited ability to reach the outside world because of the blockade led by Israel and supported by Egypt. Hanadi, 23, mentioned that her products, which can be found and purchased online, are natural and sold at reasonable prices. She added, "The products I offer are natural and at a suitable price for consumers or any customer who might buy them. I do not add any additives like sugar or chemicals."