Impoverished Gaza fisherman needed to support his four children, so he built a boat out of bottles

With hundreds of empty plastic bottles collected from the shores of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, fisherman Muath Abu Zeid has turned litter into a floating source of income.

The impoverished Palestinian father-of-four used glue and old nets to bind the bottles into a small fishing boat that he hopes will help him support his family.

Simple but effective, the 700-bottle craft is capable of carrying up to eight people out to sea, according to its 35-year-old skipper.

A broad slab of wood lashed to the top serves as a seat, allowing the Abu Zeid to row a few hundred metres out from shore – far enough to go fishing.

It takes him about eight hours to pull in between five to seven kilograms of sardines, mullet and other small fish with his rod.

He sells his catch to passers-by on the nearby corniche, making between 20 and 40 shekels (US$5-11) a day.

Muath’s two younger brothers – Mohammed, 23, and Ashraf, 20 – accompany him on his daily excursions. Neither were able to find work elsewhere.