Some countries were able to turn their manufacturing operations into advanced technology areas. South Korea is a great example of this, and manufacturing there is done using advanced technological methods.
I built the windmill 30 years ago in Tefen, and I think it was the right thing to build at that time, and I don't think that we did much with the solar or with windmills. Not much was done. I think we were too busy.
Israel and our vicinity is an area that traditionally has little industry. The area is known for history, it's known for religious stories, it's known a bit for agriculture, but... neither was the Jewish population thinking about export industry, nor the Arab or Palestinian population.
The only thing I knew how to do without a lot of money was repairing tools. I actually started making and repairing tools for machines.