This is how Lobna Alagha describes the mission behind her small business Plantika, which she founded in early 2020 in Gaza. Motivated by a deep passion for nature and a desire to integrate greenery and sustainability into daily indoor environments, Plantika began as a specialized nursery focused on cultivating rare ornamental plants and flowers, nurtured in soil enriched with organic compost that Lobna crafted herself. Each plant was then thoughtfully arranged, artistically packaged, and paired with unique eco-friendly accessories, along with a custom care kit and detailed, plant-specific instructions designed to support plant health and simplify maintenance. 

Plantika steadily expanded its operations, team, and impact. The project quickly earned a strong reputation for combining aesthetics with sustainability, offering innovative solutions to common indoor gardening challenges such as multi-size measured irrigation cups and eco-friendly drainage bags. Its product range also included decorative plant-based pieces, handcrafted wooden pots, artistic plant frames, handmade macramé holders made of natural fibers, diverse pot covers, and creative green gift ideas for special occasions, all developed under Gaza’s limited resources.  

From the outset, Plantika faced several challenges, including the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic shortly after its launch, and the 2021 war in Gaza, which caused severe damage, particularly to its rare ornamental plant collection. Yet Lobna and her team persevered.  They not only managed to sustain the project but also expanded its vision, laying out the groundwork for even more ambitious, eco-conscious innovations.

As Lobna recalls: “Just before the war, we were preparing to scale up our operations by collaborating with talented individuals from diverse fields, aiming to bring our innovative and eco-friendly ideas to life. We were working on launching our first market-ready sample, following the success of the prototype for Gaza’s first living plant wall system, equipped with self-watering and fertilizing mechanisms, as well as proper lighting for indoor spaces. The design was also intended to be integrated with ornamental aquariums and aquatic plants, in partnership with a rare local expert in aquascaping. We were also developing a newly designed set of irrigation cups in collaboration with a pottery workshop, among many other sustainable, creative concepts.”  

Beyond production, Plantika played an active role in promoting environmental awareness and deepening people’s connection to nature, organizing educational workshops in schools and local communities. Lobna was also preparing to launch a community-based initiative titled “Yalla Nezra’ Saḥ” (Let’s Plant Right), aimed at training farmers in producing low-cost, natural, and organic agricultural inputs using simple methods and readily available local resources.  

But the war on Gaza since October 2023 has been more than an obstacle; it has become a harsh and unrelenting ordeal. Over the past two years, Plantika’s agricultural nursery has been completely destroyed. Some team members have lost their lives; others were displaced, left homeless, and forced to navigate daily survival under constant bombardment and devastation.   

Lobna herself remains in Gaza, facing the harsh realities of war together with her young daughter, alone after her husband, who suffers from lymphoma, was medically evacuated to the UAE in November 2023 for live-saving treatment. “We endured repeated displacements, the unbearable conditions of life in tents, and the ever-present fear that came with each air raid, day and night, without rest. We witnessed the destruction of our home, the loss of loved ones, and the despair etched into the faces of those around us. Even hunger became part of our daily reality,” she recounts.  

Yet, despite the desperate circumstances, Lobna holds on to the belief “that every ending carries the seed of a new beginning.” She is determined to rebuild Plantika, not merely as a business, but as a dream and a vision deeply rooted in hope. Though the project is currently on hold, it lives vividly in her heart.  

Lobna believes that sustaining an environmentally focused business is no longer feasible amid war, instability, and violence. She is now seeking an opportunity to relocate with her family to Ireland, a place she considers ideal for relaunching Plantika, thanks to its supportive government initiatives, welcoming social climate, and, most importantly, the chance to reunite with her husband after nearly two years of painful separation. His condition still requires continuous medical care, something that has become impossible in Gaza, where the healthcare system has completely collapsed. 

Her vision is to rebuild Plantika into a strong, sustainable brand rooted in Galway, expanding across Ireland, and eventually reaching the broader European market. She also hopes to establish strategic partnerships in selected Arabian Gulf countries, broadening the project’s environmental and social impact in new regions.  

Lobna is confident she can introduce innovative agricultural solutions that were never possible in Gaza due to the blockade, limited resources, and the fragile culture around green sustainability. She also believes her creative marketing strategies could thrive in European markets, helping her bring Plantika’s full potential to life. 

For now, however, she remains trapped in Gaza, struggling to find a way out, a process made increasingly difficult due to the Israeli blockade. Yet, she remains determined to escape the relentless cycle of war that she and her daughter are caught in. She dreams of reuniting with her husband in Ireland, and re-launch Plantika in a space where healing and innovation can truly flourish. Despite the harsh reality she faces each day, she remains persistent:  

Lobna also still holds on to the dream of one day reviving Plantika in Gaza, once the war ended to help restore green life to a land now covered in ashes and devastation. For her, rebuilding Gaza’s natural beauty is not just a hope, but a responsibility she carries in her heart, as she says:  

“Plantika is not just a memory, it is a future waiting to be realized.” 

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