The Syrian town of Ghouta is one of ISIL's many strongholds throughout the country. And according to Amnesty International, eastern parts of the city have been under a non-stop siege since 2013. Hunger and malnutrition are pressing issues for residents, sometimes more of a concern than the bullets flying through the air. With meat prices soaring through the roof, locals have been eating mushrooms as a substitute. Here's a closer look.

 

In a run-down building near Damascus, these Syrians may have found a solution to meet the population's nutritional needs: Growing mushrooms as an alternative to meat. Eastern Ghouta is a rebel-held area besieged by regime forces, where food prices have soared.

 

ABU NABIL PROJECT MANAGER "The first goal is finding a way to replace meat in eastern Ghouta. It also provides jobs for people. And finally, the idea is to help families learn how to cultivate mushrooms to guarantee their basic nutritional needs."

 

Mushrooms are relatively rich in proteins. They're cultivated by boiling and pasteurising straw, which is then planted with barley seeds colonised by mushroom mycelium.In three months, one kilogram of barley-planted straw provides 600 to 800 grams of mushrooms.

 

ABU OMAR BUTCHER "The blockade that has been imposed on us is very hard. They don't let any supplies into the Ghouta area. Today, one kilogram of beef costs about six euros (3500 Syrian pounds), and one kilogram of lamb costs eight euros. People can't afford that. If you have four or five kids, what can you do?"

 

There's no shortage of vegetables at the market, but meat is unaffordable to most. So the organisation distributes mushrooms to sick and poor residents of the area. Every three months, they produce 1300 kilograms of mushrooms, which are distributed to 600 beneficiaries, who then need to learn to prepare this ingredient, which was largely absent from local recipes.

 

UM MOHAMMED GHOUTA RESIDENT "You're very lucky if you can eat mushrooms. They are rich in proteins. It's as if you were eating a plate of fish or chicken or meat. If you can't afford that, you can eat mushrooms."

 

Um Mohammed quickly learned how to fry, grill and boil mushrooms. But some children, who had never seen the dish in their life, decided to prepare flower petals for dinner. Um Mohammed has learned quickly how to fry, grill and boil mushrooms. Her children had never seen the new ingredient before. But as the siege grinds on, they've become a staple of their diet.