Corn and beans: sustainable agriculture, a reconnective educational theory based on permaculture to address the economic, cultural, and ecological challenges of the 21st century

Currently, it is possible to identify different types of education systems around the world, some innovative and modern, others outdated. However, the ideal model does not yet exist, but we can observe current needs and problems such as environmental education (waste, pollution, ecotechnologies, permaculture, green building); loss of trades, arts, and sciences from a practical perspective (astronomy, natural sciences, social sciences, physics, and mathematics); lack of education in emotional intelligence and financial literacy. Something that can also be observed within a general modern human problem is apathy and individualism, which generates a disconnection from the natural, human, and spiritual environment. 

Another problem we observe is the disconnect between urban and rural society and the natural environment. Here we see that city dwellers are unfamiliar with many activities that take place in rural environments. City children are often unaware of where food comes from, ignoring the origin of eggs, milk, or vegetables, imagining that they come from shopping malls. Our study population is located in the village of Atécuaro Michoacán, in the municipality of Morelia, which is 13 kilometers south of the city, where we obtained remarkable results in the development of the project and concluded that permaculture-based education in rural areas is of social, environmental, and economic relevance.