The didactic resource of school allotments and farms of the edalnu program and its antecedents (1958-1972)

Abstract

Here, we analyse the creation of school allotments and farms, promoted by the Agricultural Outreach Service as one of its education and training actions in the 1950s, and their continuing existence as educational units within the Food and Nutrition Education Programme (Spanish acronym: Edalnu) launched in 1961. The main sources used in this study were the Boletín Informativo de Extensión Agraria (agricultural outreach newsletter), subsequently named the Revista de Extensión Agraria (agricultural outreach journal), as well as the publications and documents related to school allotments and farms generated by the Edalnu Programme. The implantation of allotments and farms helped to encourage local production of healthy food, as well as improving eating habits by schools and families. Application of the “learning by doing” methodology fostered discovery learning, problem-solving and service. In respect of the history matters and the uses of the past, the integrative vision of the Edalnu Program, in which the school, the environment and the family were interconnected, can serve as an example for the current education strategies in food and nutrition.