Forest Gardens
Agricultural Rebellion
A long long time ago, perhaps 4004 BC, or perhaps a few thousand years before that, humans began to practice agriculture, the systematic capturing and taming of plants and animals, and the corresponding systematic capturing and taming of other human beings to herd the animals and plant and harvest the fields. For many tens of thousands of years before that however, humans lived their lives in small groups, wandering through the forests which covered the majority of the earth, hunting and gathering their food. The forests contained an incredible diversity of plant and animal species, and so the human diet was also varied and diverse, and contained a large quantity of nutritious foods.
Even today, billions of people, particularly in South Asia, Africa, and South America, obtain a majority of their food from the forest. The majority of this food grows without human management, and can be gathered easily. In addition, forests collect and hold water, so all living things have plenty of fresh water to drink.
Some think that agriculture was a big mistake, and that humans should go back to forest gardening - using the many varied species of plants and animals in the forest to build a (mostly) self-sustaining and regulating system of food production. But in many, if not most parts of the world, the land and soil has been heavily damaged both by clearing forests and/or planting monoculture trees and plants, so that if you want to restore balance you must take some time and effort into rebuilding that which mankind destroyed.
Fortunately there are many pioneers that have practiced and learned how to build forest gardens. And not just in tropical climates - Sepp Holzer has proven that you can build highly diverse micro-environments in the Austrian Alps.
Unlike traditional peasant/slave agriculture, or even modern monoculture agriculture, forest gardens are much less work to maintain year after year, though of course there is significant work to get them started. Most of the work is learning and thinking about the soil, the water, the climate, and how to successfully introduce more species. You could call it nerd agriculture I suppose.
You don't even need an elven ring - just a plan, preparation, patience, and nature will provide.
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