After two years living in a tent, Gaza potter built a clay dome home for his parents using earth and rubble

After spending two years living in a tent, Palestinian potter Jaafar Atallah decided to turn the very earth beneath his feet into a home for his parents. With cement and steel difficult to obtain in Gaza, he gathered around 15 people, collected local clay and experimented with mud bricks until they managed to build a dome-shaped dwelling. The Financial Times reported on Atallah’s effort in June 2026, describing how his family’s traditional pottery skills had become a way to seek shelter amid widespread destruction and shortages of construction materials.For Atallah, the project was about more than building walls. It was an attempt to give his parents a measure of protection and dignity after their home was destroyed during the war. The dome drew on a familiar shape from his family’s pottery tradition: the bread ovens they had made for generations. This time, however, the structure was large enough for people to live in.From pottery to building homesAtallah had earned his living making bowls, vases and other pottery items using clay found near his home in northern Gaza. The war destroyed the family’s home and pottery factory, forcing them to relocate and rebuild their lives elsewher...