GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Shaima al-Amoudi tries to maintain the insulated room on her rooftop in the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. She prevents light from entering the room as much as possible, and keeps the humidity high, in an effort to succeed in cultivating mushrooms to improve her family’s financial situation.
Amoudi, a mother of seven, began planting mushrooms nearly two years ago. “My husband does not have a stable job," she told Al-Monitor. "He works on and off, which provides an income of no more than 500 Israeli shekels [$120] per month. Due to the lack of better job opportunities that would contribute to the improvement of our income, I began to grow and sell mushrooms to restaurants.”