Institute of International Education

Department of Education

Education and sustainable development in the

socialistic context

The case of Cuba

Assignment for the course

Education and Development

Tania Rempatsiou

(March 2016)

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2
List of Abbreviations

UNCED - United Nations Conference on Environment and Development

COMECON – Council for Mutual Economic Assistance
PNAN - Cuban National Program of Action for Nutrition
ANAP - National Association of Small Farmers
PAEME - the Energy Saving Program of the Ministry of Education
(Programa Docente Educativo de Ahorro de Energía del Ministerio de
Educación)

Definitions

Monoculture production: the agricultural practice of producing or growing a single

crop or plant in a field at a time
The Special Period: an extended period of economic crisis in Cuba that began in
1989 due to the collapse of the Soviet Union
Autoconsumos: self-consumers, the ones that they produce what they consume

List of Figures

Figure 1- Human development and ecological footprints, p. 9

Figure 2 - PAEME Festival Participant Numbers, p. 12

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 1. Introduction
The fast industrialization of the western world, the capitalist growth and the free
market policies caused important problems to the environmental balance. However,
it has been almost only twenty-five years ago that the environmental issues have
been introduced to the agenda of discussions about development. To be more
specific, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
(UNCED) that took place in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, was designed as a major effort
to introduce a more sustainable approach to development (Desai and Potter, 2002,
p. 478). What we mean though as sustainability when discussing about
development? “Sustainable development” as it was defined by the Brundtland
Commission as it was cited by Desai and Potter (2002, p.481) is “the development
that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs”. Additionally, at the UNCED the significant
role of education at sustainable development has been emphasized as it is presented
below:
Education is critical for promoting sustainable development and
improving the capacity of people to address environment and
development issues… It is critical for achieving environmental and
ethical awareness, values and attitudes, skills and behavior
consistent with sustainable development. And for effective
participation in decision-making.
(as it cited by Harber, 2014, p.133)

At this paper there will be presented and analyzed the interconnection

between education and sustainable development especially during the period of ‘90s
in the case of Cuba. There will be an analysis of the reasons that led Cuba to be the
only genuinely sustainable country in the world taking into consideration the
socialist regime of the country, the agricultural methods, the international relations
and the way that education has been adjusted to the political and social needs of the
country. Cuba can be an exceptional example because of the significance that
education has in Cuban life. The Cuban educational system is according to the

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World Bank (Bruns and Luque, 2014) the most effective in Latin America and it is
also the only country that has achieved all the Education for All goals in the region
(UNESCO, 2015). At the same time, as the Living Planet Report reveals that Cuba
was the only developed country to have achieved sustainable development (WWF,
2006).

1.1 Aims and objectives

The present paper has the purpose of explaining the reasons that led Cuba to
sustainable development. In particular, there will be presented and discussed
specific examples of the ways that the educational system in Cuba has been
affected, as well as the contribution of education to the radical social changes that
have been occurred by external factors. There will be examined the key moments of
the “Special Period” such as reforms, measures and educational policies that have
affected the development of the country. This way, there will be provided suitable
information regarding realistic practices in education that lead to genuine
sustainable development.

1.2 Methodology
This paper will provide a brief introduction to the history of the agricultural
sector in Cuba during different historical periods. Afterwards, there will be
presented an analysis of examples in formal and non-formal education that helped
the country to surpass the food security problem and adopt agricultural and energy
methods leading to sustainable development. The interconnection between
sustainability and education will be discussed in the socialistic theoretical
framework, as well as through the lens of the Marxist perspective, the liberation
theory and John Dewey’s theory about experiential education.

1.3 Significance and limitations

Since education for sustainable development arose as an important topic
during the last decades, it is important to study realistic examples in a country that
has achieved both a very efficient educational system and sustainable development.

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Furthermore, it is remarkable that Cuba maybe would not have to invest in
sustainable development if the country had not been affected by massive changes in
the international background. In order to tackle with the changes, the country did a
political maneuver and it radically changed the environmental conditions at a local
level. From my point of view, Cuba’s paradigm can provide ideas and inspiration
for other developing countries that struggle with food security, low soil fertility and
environmental problems.
As regards the limitations of the paper, it should be taken into consideration,
first of all, that the information about sustainability and education in Cuba are
gathered from some particular reports and it can only reflect a limited view of the
reality. Τhe aspect of sustainable development in general and especially in a
specific country is a complex discussion and includes a lot of different factors that
are impossible to be analyzed in a course’s paper. Therefore, there have been
profoundly studied and researched. Moreover, there might be the risk that this paper
could be seen partly subjective and as a reflection of a specific view of the subject
of sustainable development, as it contains political theoretical interpretations.

2. Brief history of Cuban agricultural sector

According to Julia Wright (2016), during the colonization of Cuba by the
Spanish rule the traditional forms of agriculture decreased and it became the first
step to the conversion to European agricultural practices. Especially during the
1600s, because of the needs of the contemporary market, Cuba’s agricultural sector
has been dedicated to sugar crops. This kind of specialization formed the social and
environmental conditions in rural Cuba and it raised criticism about the damage to
the natural resources and the exhaustion of the soil. After the independence of the
Spanish in 1898 the concentration and the centralization of sugar production
continued but this time controlled by the North American capital. The economic
and political dependency of Cuba on the United States, the lack of basic nutrition,
the social inequity and the high rate of unemployment led to the Cuban Revolution

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of 1959, which was “grassroots, agrarian-based and anti-imperialist” (R. Funes-
Monzote, 2016, p. 211).
The communist government that have been established after the revolution
introduced two agrarian reforms that gave the ownership of the land to the farmers
that used to cultivate it. Furthermore, the government set an upper limit of land
ownership, in order to face social inequity and exploitation of the farmers. These
reforms have been accompanied with the priorities regarding the transformation of
Cuban agriculture that are presented below as cited by R. Funes-Monzote (R.
Funes-Monzote, 2016, p. 211):
 to meet the growing food requirements of the population
 to generate monetary funds through the exportation of products
 to obtain raw materials for the food processing industry and
 to eradicate poverty from the countryside

Even though the government promised the diversification of the production,

the agreement that they have signed with the Council for Mutual Economic
Assistance (COMECON), which was the economic block of the socialist countries,
obliged Cuba to continue the monoculture production. “The COMECON agreement
allowed Cuba to sell its goods in the socialist market of Eastern Europe at high
prices while imports were purchased from them at low cost.” Due to this agreement
Cuba gained in trade and economic terms, but the country was failing in self-
sufficiency on food production and environmental terms because of the
monoculture plantations and use of conventional agricultural methods.
The collapse of the Soviet Union and the socialist block in 1989 had a great impact
on Cuba economically, socially and politically. Cuba lost the basic trade partner as
regards food supplies, agrochemical inputs, oil and machinery. The whole
agricultural sector was in trouble and especially the large scale agricultural sector
because of its dependence on modernized methods. Small and medium farmers
were in better situation because of the use of diversified plantations and mixed
methods. The reduction of the inputs had as a result the reduction of food

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production and therefore affected importantly the food security of the country’s
population.
In order to deal with the nutrition problem the government run some social
programs one of which was the Cuban National Program of Action for Nutrition
(PNAN). This radical program promised to:
 Strengthen agrarian policy through widespread
decentralization of land holdings and management,
diversification of agricultural production, and the
transformation of land tenure of state lands.
 Encourage the population to participate in agricultural
activities for their own nutritional improvement.
 Encourage the creation of autoconsumos or on-site
farms/gardens to supply the dining halls of residential and
educational establishments.
 Promote sustainable development compatible with the
environment.
 Reduce postharvest losses through improved methods, such
as direct sales of food from producers to consumers in the
cities (e.g., urban agriculture).
 Incorporate nutritional objectives in programs and plans of
agricultural development
(PNAN, 1994)

“Many of these measures taken by the state were key factors in the proliferation of a
more sustainable Cuban agriculture” (R. Funes-Monzote, 2016, p. 215). The period
of the transition between the years 1989- 1995 is known in the history as “The
Special Period”. The special conditions of that period led almost automatically to
sustainable eco-agricultural methods, transition to diversified and traditional
methods and urban agriculture. For Cuba it was a matter of survival.
Furthermore, in order to cope with the fuel shortage Cuba developed
renewable energy and energy-conservation strategies. A great emphasis has been

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given on the education of the population regarding the energy conservation, one
more program that was leading the country towards the sustainable energy future.
The new conditions enforced the country to instant behavioral changes that led to
the introduction of new values in the whole society. As a result, radical reforms
have been implemented in education that have been considered to be the most cost-
effective method for adjusting to the conditions. (Arrastia Avila and Guevara-Stone,
2009)

3. Education for sustainable development

The transition in the agricultural sector could not leave unaffected education.
Farmers who were not familiar with the eco-agricultural methods had to be trained,
the curriculum at schools had to be modified in order to deal with the new social
conditions and schools to provide food to their students and last but not least the
citizens had to be informed and educated to adjust to the situation. Cuba succeeded
partly self-reliance and food security and at the same time reached sustainable
development.
Figure 1: Human development and ecological footprints,
source: Living Planet Report 2006

At this chapter the reforms and modifications that have been implemented will
be presented and analyzed. The following analysis will be divided in three
categories: formal education, non-formal education and extracurricular actions.

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3.1 Formal education
3.1.1 Gardening Based Learning at basic education
A major reform that took place in basic education was the GBL (Gardening
Based Learning), which promoted gardening in every Cuban school. The gardens at
schools had double purpose: first of all, to cover some of the basic nutrition needs
of the students and the school’s stuff and secondly to provide agricultural literacy to
students. (Desmond, Grieshop and Subramaniam, 2002)
According to Lavinia Gasperini (2000), the curriculum of primary education
includes 480 hours of "labor education" in the school gardens (las huertas escolares)
that is based on the Marxist principle of combining academic and labour education.
Except for the practical skills, students develop emotional intelligence by
cooperating for a common goal, learning how to work and developing feelings of
solidarity with each other and with the working class. When schools do not have
their own garden, students work in the "collective gardens" of their community.
Moreover, the agricultural as well as the energy issue have been included in
the academic curriculum at schools. Subjects such as biology, geography and social
studies promoted the idea of sustainable development. For example, in geography
students search for the different renewable sources of energy, in biology they study
the environmental impacts of electricity generation and conventional agricultural
methods and in social studies they search in Cuban press the ways that Cuba
contributes to sustainable development. (Arrastia Avila and Guevara-Stone, 2009)

3.1.2 Special education

Throughout Cuba there are 26 special schools whose goal is to develop the
abilities and skills of their students so that they can contribute to the society and be
productive. Gardening and agriculture literacy are important subjects for some of
these schools and they intent that their students develop educational and vocational
abilities. The two most significant examples according to Desmond, Grieshop and
Subramaniam (2002) are: the Hogar Castellana in Havana and the Escuela Especial
“Ernesto Che Guevara” in Bayamo, Granma.

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 At “Hogar Castellana” the final goal for the agricultural education program
is to help the students develop the appropriate skills so that they can work at the
community gardens and the urban agricultural projects. They intent to reach this
goal by focusing on manual skills in combination with intellectual work. Teachers
and students work approximately five hours per day at the gardens. (Desmond,
Grieshop and Subramaniam, 2002)
At “Ernesto Che Guevara” school provides agricultural as well, in order to
help students develop the needed work skills. The difference in this occasion is that
at this school students as long as their teachers are responsible for producing the
necessary food to provide an adequate diet for the people consisting the school
(autoconsumos). (Desmond, Grieshop and Subramaniam, 2002)

3.1.3 Vocational education

As regards higher levels of education, Cuba has specialized institutes such
as the “Instituto Politecnico Agricola Jose Francisco Costa Velasquez” that offers
agricultural education and intents to connect agriculture with basic education for the
youth (ages 14 and up). In this institute they give a great emphasis on agricultural
and environmental literacy because they intent to teach sustainable agriculture in
order to promote the production of adequate supplies of vegetables and livestock.
This institute could be categorized as vocational education as there is an effort to
ensure that learning and labour are directly connected. However, an important issue
that Cuba has to deal with is the lack of adequate technical expertise that is needed
to support school garden programs. (Desmond, Grieshop and Subramaniam, 2002)

3.1.4 Higher education

The environmental issues have affected the higher education as well. New
programs and courses have formed at the universities, in order to educate and
prepare researchers specialized on energy issues. Some examples that arose during
the transition period might be the master program on energy efficiency at the
University of Havana, as well as post-graduate programs at several Cuban

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universities. Moreover, environmental education is part of the curriculum offered at
pedagogic institutes, which educate the future educators. (Arrastia Avila and
Guevara-Stone, 2009)

3.1.5 Adult education

Through the program “University for All” (Universidad para Todos) there
has been created a special education project for mayor adults (mainly for ages 50
and up) that is called “Yes I can” (Yo si puedo). “The use of group training method
was an effective tool for the empowerment of new social roles, mainly community-
based environmental managers” claims the author (E. Bermúdez S., F. Dueñas P
and Colectivo de la CUAM, 2009). The elderly can be psychologically more
vulnerable during the great social changes. Through this program the involvement
and the contribution of the elderly people has been reached, since group training
methods have been used to inform and educate the elderly about the new changes
taking place. (E. Bermúdez S., F. Dueñas P and Colectivo de la CUAM, 2009)

3.2 Extracurricular programs

Cuba’s energy education program emphasized on developing a new energy
attitude and on achieving sustainable development. The agency that is responsible
for the promotion of energy education in the schools is PAEME, the Energy Saving
Program of the Ministry of Education (Programa Docente Educativo de Ahorro de
Energía del Ministerio de Educación), which has been founded in 1997 at the same
period with the Electricity Saving Program of Cuba (Programa de Ahorro de
Electricidad en Cuba). PAEME promotes energy and environmental consciousness
through the PAEME Festival that involves thousands of primary school students,
teenagers, teachers and citizens in the whole country. The festival encourages
children in every school to create songs, poetry and theater on energy themes which
afterwards they will present to the central festival. Another similar educational
event that takes place in Cuba is the Energy Conservation Festival that is being
organized by the Ministry of Education. (Arrastia Avila and Guevara Stone, 2009)

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 Figure 2: PAEME Festival Participant Numbers, source: SOLAR TODAY

CUBAENERGIA, the Information Management and Energy Development

Center, has developed an energy education course that is broadcasted through the
national television and it consists a part of the “University for All” program
(Universidad Para Todos). The course, whose title is “Towards an Energy
Consciousness,” offers a print magazine that is distributed periodically across the
country. Moreover, training courses on energy-efficiency management are offered
for employees and managers of organizations that use a great amount of energy.
(Arrastia Avila and Guevara-Stone, 2009)
CUBASOLAR is the organization for the promotion of renewable energy
and environmental respect and its basic priority is education. Therefore, this
organization has contributed to creating energy education projects in several higher
educational institutions, such as the Center of Solar Studies in Granma Province,
the Solar Laboratory of the Volodia Educational Center in Havana, the
Experimental Laboratory of CUBAENERGIA, and the first grid-tied PV system in
Cuba, located at the Provincial Museum in Pinar del Rio. (Arrastia Avila and
Guevara Stone, 2009)
Finally, one alternative form of education took place through the mass
media. Through programs at the television network and the radio, as well as
informative articles in newspapers and magazines the citizens have been educated
about energy saving, growing and managing their own garden, ecological methods
of agriculture and in general simple ways to adjust and survive during the transition
of “the Special Period”.

3.3 Non formal education

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3.3.1 Youth program-Pioneros
Pioneros (or Youth Pioneers) is the most important factor in Cuban
education. This is a non-formal program in which a remarkable number of children
(almost 2 million) participate when they attend or finish secondary school. The
Pioneros program takes also place at camps where students learn about nature,
ecology and agriculture. As in the previous examples the garden is used as a means
of learning through working, based on experiential education and it intends to
promote the cultural values of the working class. (Desmond, Grieshop and
Subramaniam, 2002)
Moreover, the Pioneros program has “interest circles” consisted of students,
teachers and other collaborators. One example that is presented by Desmond,
Grieshop and Subramaniam (2002) is the “Urban Agriculture Interest Circle”. This
group works in agricultural spots in Granma Province where they grow and take
care of medicinal plant gardens, flower gardens and kitchen gardens. Some students
have also written a recipe book on medicinal plants, spices and even the production
of different type of wines. Hence, students do not only learn about agricultural
production and nature, but they also produce material that can be used by larger
audiences.

3.3.2 ANAP’s training

Since the Cuban Revolution in 1959 a great emphasis has been given on
education in rural areas. Therefore, the Cuban farmers are known to be well-
educated combining both traditional and modern knowledge. A great impact on
rural life has the ANAP (National Association of Small Farmers), an organization
that represents the cooperatives and individual farmers that constitutes the non-state
sector. During the Special Period and the following years ANAP played an
educative role as well by promoting the use of agro-ecological farming techniques
throughout the Cuban countryside. (Alvarez et al., 2006)
Some of ANAP’s actions as they are cited by Alvarez et al. (2006, p.242) are:

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 • Nationwide training programs to build capacity among small
farmers, cooperative members, grassroots organizations, and
ANAP leaders
• Farmer-to-farmer training programs where farmers teach each
other about their experiences with sustainable agriculture
through direct participation and communication
• Reorientation of the National Training Center’s education and
training curriculum in order to emphasize agroecological
knowledge
• Farmer, extensionist, and researcher participation in regional
and national networks
• Ongoing discussions of topics related to food security and
sustainable development

Furthermore, ANAP made a wide use of the existing media as it hosted

programs at radio stations, organized television shows devoted to farming and
printed special editions at magazines and newspapers providing useful information
to farmers. However, the most effective method of training and teaching was the
farmer-to-farmer program that is going to be presented below. (Alvarez et al., 2002)

3.3.3 “Extension work” or “Farmer-to-farmer training”

During the post-revolutionary years as well as during the Special Period the
resources in Cuba were quite limited. Nevertheless, the need for education
especially in rural areas was significant. Therefore, the peer learning has been
developed from necessity. Peer learning can be described briefly as a method that
the teacher provides the student with the basic knowledge and then the student
undertakes to evolve their knowledge and share it with other people that want to be
involved. The farmer technical activism program in Cuba that based on this method
named “extension work” or “farmer-to-farmer training”.
The farmers who participate attend a training course, during which they
prepare the materials for extension work in their region. The participants then spend

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some time collaborating with extension agents, technical specialists and ANAP
leaders in order to develop a provincial training plan. Afterwards, the recruited team
of “extension specialists” organizes meetings, workshops and cooperates and
discusses with the activists and farmers in the local community. When the training
is completed, farmers from different regions gather in order to compare experiences
and discuss their work. Finally, the “extension specialists” meet the participating
farmers and they evaluate the impact of their extension work and a new cycle
begins. Another group of farmers has to travel to the training center and develop the
next “extension work”. (Alvarez et al., 2002)
These extension methods analyze and promote many traditional farming
practices that can meet high production and still conserve and restore farming
ecosystems. “Cuba’s ability to survive both natural disasters and economic crises is
derived from the cultural strength of its rural population” (Alvarez et al., 2006).
Since farmers are strongly connected to the land they are capable of detecting and
adapting to the needs and the changing conditions. Farmers played a crucial role in
providing food supplies for Cubans during the hard years of the Special Period,
while developing exemplary methods of sustainable agriculture.

4. Discussion
At the previous chapter a variety of examples of environmental education
through different levels of education have been presented. Through the reforms, the
practices and the implementations some conclusions can be reached as regards the
philosophy of the Cuban education. A general outcome that can be provided is that
Cuban education is that is clearly based on the socialistic and Marxist values. The
education provided and controlled by the state provides equal access to education
for everyone, promotes the sense of inclusion and connects academic knowledge
with manual labour. As Carnoy & Sarmoff mentioned (1990, p. 86) “manual,
agricultural work as part of the school curriculum and a de-emphasis on university
education all formed part of the Cuban attempt to “de-marketise” the economy and

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the school and to form a new, collective Cuban citizen-worker”. However, as
regards there is intention for political and ideological conformity as well.
In the educational philosophy of Cuba education about the natural world and
food is considered as one of the requirements to creating a truly “cultured child”.
Therefore, school gardening, even if it is not included in the formal curriculum, it
can be observed as basic characteristic of the school life, as the garden experience
exists in almost every educational setting and it consists an accepted value within
the school and community. Except for the gardening, Cuba has developed an energy
education program which focused on creating a new energy culture and on
achieving sustainable development. (Desmond, Grieshop and Subramaniam, 2002)
It is obvious that knowledge and education in the Marxist Cuban context is not
related to passive absorption of knowledge, but it has constructivist characteristics.
Students get strongly involved to the process of learning and in several cases in the
production of educational material. In addition to learning in classrooms, students
consist significant workforce of their schools, since they have part of the
responsibility for their nutrition because, as it has been presented above, they
provide their school with basic food supplies through gardening. This way, the
students get connected with the importance of labour, the means of production and
they create feelings of collaboration and solidarity with working class. (Lauder,
2006)
In addition to the Marxist theory, some characteristics of Paulo Freire’s
liberation theory can be detected. Paulo Freire has implemented a method of
teaching based on the experiences and the social background of his students. The
teaching process was related to the problems and the issues concerned the
community and their lives, while the procedure of discussing or trying to find a
solution for them was the final project of the teaching. Through this method Cuban
students cultivated the ability to direct their studies to the actual problems of their
community and to implement their knowledge in order to tackle with them. This
way, they can achieve the final educational goal of the liberation theory which is the
critical consciousness. (Freire, 2000)

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 According to Pepi Leistyna, critical consciousness “is the ability to analyze,
problematize (pose questions), and affect the sociopolitical, economic, and cultural
realities that shape our lives” (Leistyna, 2004, p.18).
If the Cuban educational is studied through the lens of John Dewey, the educator
that introduced the idea of experiential education, then education has also a broader
social purpose, which was to help people become more effective members of
democratic society. According to Dewey, students need educational experiences
which will enable them to become valuable, equal and responsible members of the
society. Dewey also introduced the concepts of continuity and interaction of the
experiences, which means that the experiences through the students learn influence
their choices and their actions in the future. (Lauder, 2006)
As Harber claims (Harber, 2014) “the nature of green education or
education for sustainable development in schools depends on whether it is seen as a
total approach to, and goal for, education or is simply a subject on the curriculum -
or somewhere on a continuum in between”. The socialistic Cuban education made a
clear choice and did not inserted environmental education just as a subject in the
curriculum. In the opposite, it adopted the “holistic” perspective and introduced
environmental education in the school life and it adjusted it in the needs of every
school. According to the holistic view “humanity is seen as separate and divorced
from nature and can therefore exploit the environment” (Harber, 2014). As a result
the reforms that take place in the educational level should include and promote the
concepts of interdependence and interconnection between the several factors of life.
This way, education can be the means of individual and social development “which
focuses on the aesthetic, moral physical, emotional and spiritual development of a
student as well as on cognitive attainment” (Harber, 2014, p.134). So in terms of
environmental education, the subject should be taught holistically and cross-
thematically, using different perspectives and several subjects, such as natural and
social sciences, art and practical activities.
A similar idea first expressed in Cuba by Jose Martí, the 19th century Cuban
revolutionary, which he promoted the idea to connect nature with a child’s
education and learning activities quite simply: “Y detras de cada escuela un taller

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agricola ...donde cada estudiante sembrase un arbol.” (And behind every school is
found a garden...where every student plants a tree.)

5. Conclusion
Education in Cuba was shaped by the economic and the political situation that
the society has called to face. The socialistic background of the country has
definitely influenced the educational provision, the curriculum and the practices
followed at school. Environmental education could not be unaffected, since it was
the only possible way for the country to maintain its socialist regime and survive
the food security problem during the Special Period. The environmental approach
that has been adopted promoted fundamental change in the use of natural resources
and the purpose of education, while a cross-thematic attitude was used for
promoting the sense of sustainable development. To sum up, Cuba has an important
experience and lessons to offer to countries that still struggle with hunger and
environmental problems, as well as significant examples of practices for sustainable
education.

6. References

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Bermúdez, E., Dueñas, F. and Colectivo de la CUAM, (2009). “Yo Si

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Historical Foundations, Best Practices and Products, Impacts, Outcomes, and
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Freire, P. (2000). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum.

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Lauder, H. (2006). Education, globalization, and social change. Oxford: Oxford

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Leistyna, P. (2004). Presence of Mind in the Process of Learning and Knowing: A

Dialogue with Paulo Freire. Teacher Education Quarterly, winter 2004, pp.17-29
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UNESCO, (2015). "Revisión Nacional 2015 de la Educación para Todos: Cuba.”
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