Manufacture and supply of study seats and whiteboards

Manufacturing and Supply of School Furniture to Sustain Education in Gaza

A locally engineered solution turning discarded pallet wood into school desks

566 school desks and 30 teaching boards made from recycled wood for more than 1,000 students

In the Gaza Strip, education does not stop at damaged school buildings. Even where a classroom, a teacher, and a student are all present, one simple question goes unanswered: where do the children sit? Restrictions on the entry of raw materials have made conventional school furniture manufacturing all but impossible, while schools and learning spaces urgently need desks and boards to receive students, keep classes running, and prepare venues for the secondary school (Tawjihi) examinations.

Faced with that reality, SAFE did not wait for materials to arrive it engineered the solution from inside Gaza. The project is implemented in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme / Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People (UNDP/PAPP), funded by the Government of the Republic of Korea and the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and coordinated with the Ministry of Education.

The Intervention in Numbers

• 566 school desks, locally designed and manufactured from recycled wood
• 30 teaching boards equipping classrooms and learning spaces
• More than 1,000 students benefiting directly
• Zero reliance on imported raw materials the sole input is pallet wood already available inside the Strip
• Direct support to the Tawjihi examinations through the equipping of designated exam venues

From Discarded Pallet to School Desk

The wooden pallets used to move cargo and abandoned once unloaded turned out to be the answer. SAFE's engineering and technical teams developed a complete school desk design built entirely around them, through a controlled production cycle:

Dismantling → sorting of usable pieces → cleaning and treatment → reshaping to approved dimensions → assembly and finishing → inspection and acceptance

The result is furniture that meets daily-use requirements for safety, durability, and comfort — made entirely from a locally available resource that needs no entry permit and is not hostage to crossing closures.

Why This Model Matters

Because it achieves three goals through a single intervention:

An immediate educational response — desks and boards reaching classrooms now, not months from now while shipments wait.

Genuine environmental sustainability — converting wood waste into long-life educational assets, cutting waste and putting circular economy principles to work in a resource-scarce environment.

Local capacity building — practical proof that Palestinian institutions can design and manufacture engineering solutions inside the Strip: a model that can be scaled and replicated across other sectors.

SAFE's Role

SAFE led the project from concept to delivery:

• Design and development: originating the pallet wood recycling concept; preparing engineering designs, technical specifications and dimensions; defining materials, treatment, assembly and finishing methods
• Planning and manufacturing: preparing quantities, production and supply plans; direct technical supervision of the production line
• Quality assurance: inspecting materials and products through production stages; monitoring safety and durability; verifying compliance with specifications before final acceptance
• Supply and coordination: organising transport and delivery to target sites; continuous coordination with the Ministry of Education and partners to select sites according to level of need and student numbers

Beneficiaries

The project serves students in schools and learning spaces facing acute furniture shortages, alongside teachers and education staff who need a better organised classroom environment. It also supports Tawjihi candidates by equipping examination venues with the seating needed to hold exams in more suitable conditions at a decisive moment in every student's path.

Partnership for Education and Recovery

The project is international cooperation at work: Korean and Swedish funding, UN oversight, Palestinian government coordination, and locally designed and delivered innovation. It forms part of a growing partnership portfolio between SAFE and UNDP spanning housing rehabilitation, transitional shelter, debris management, and support to the most vulnerable.

Every desk built from recycled wood is not a piece of furniture. It is a place for a student in their classroom and proof that a shortage of materials does not have to mean a shortage of education.