From Dust

For this achievement you need to complete the game only losing a maximum of 5 villages. I wrote an extensive guide for covering every map with vegetation and at the same time never losing a village. I did this on my second playthrough and took my time on most of the levels. To get this achievement start a new story and play through, save at the beginning of each level and if you mess up pause and hit restart. Resetting the maps from the title screen does not work.

This guide can be used to get the "Green Thumb" Achievement as well.

If you already have this achievement ignore the parts about the vegetation, just head to the totems and get out.

I'll use different words interchangeably in this solution:

vegetation=palms=plants
dirt=earth=sand
rock=stone
passage=exit=gate

For the most part this one is not too difficult aside from a few challenging maps. I had the hardest time with the movements map. I would suggest completing the game first as normal before trying to focus on this achievement. I had to do a second play-though myself.

Survival Tricks
1) Sometimes it is easier to divert a volcano or a river rather than trying to fight it. look for other outlets for lava or water if its in your way instead of trying to block them.
2) I died more times by fire than anything else, as soon as your totems get populated absorb the earth surrounding it so that there is a ring of stone protecting you.

Vegetation Tricks:
1.) As a general rule of thumb wait until you have all totems under your control before trying to spread vegetation as frequently the totems will give you powers that will help.
2.) If you are in the desert use Jellify water and the vegetation will spread along the paths of jellied water you lay down, then when the power expires the vegetation will spread as the water rushes away.
3.) Your vegetation does NOT have to be connected to your village. i.e. if you need to spread vegetation across a river or stream all you need to do is cause a break in the flow of water long enough for the palms to cross the river. once the water rushes back into place the palms will continue to grow. (basically if you can get your vegetation a foothold it will spread even if not connected to a village)
4.) The key is dirt, regardless of the map, be it desert or earth without the dirt palms cant grow so lava is not your friend.
5.) Depth does not matter. Vegetation only needs a light sprinkling of earth to grow, use this to your advantage when earth is limited.
6.) Sources (the little geysers of water that you can plug up) can also be a source of earth, so if your having trouble finding enough sand to spread your vegetation try unplugging a source for a few minutes.

WARNING: In some cases it may work to move the villages that you have that have repel stones close to the ones you want to populate as some of the other solutions state. However be careful, I did this on Tears of Stone and I ended up losing two villages as sometimes the game may glitch and let fire spread into your protected totem if its too near one that is not protected.

Level 0 --The Breath--
This is essentially its the tutorial map, there are no villages to lose so its very easy to complete.

Level 1 --The Ritual--
From the beginning use the earth on the left island to build a land bridge to the first totem. Once your men have populated the first totem build another land bridge to the second. Absorb the water surrounding the second totem and populate that one too. From there connect your first island to the one with the exit gate and head through.
Vegetation Notes:
Use a mound of earth to plug up the source (geyser) in the mountain. Once this is done the water will flow out to the sea leaving the delta dry enough for the palms to spread across. Between this large area, and the first and second islands this will give you 100% coverage. *Note* As pointed out by TOO Slain Seraph (Thank you), if your having trouble hitting 100% you can unplug the geyser in the mountain as it is a source of extra dirt; this may be necessary depending on how quickly you completed the rest of the map, obviously the longer you take to plug up the geyser the larger the delta will be for you to vegetate.

Level 2 --The Roar of the Sea--
This one can be a little tricky as far as establishing your villages. Right from the start send the men to the totem, as they are populating it build a land bridge (land bridge 1) to the larger land mass with cliffs that has the repel water stone on it. As soon as the village is complete send a man to the stone. While he's on the way divert the waterfall that is blocking access to the stone. Divert the water to the right using earth and it should flow out of your way. Once your man brings the knowledge of repel water back to the village you can rest for a moment. While your waiting for the tsunami to hit work on diverting the middle waterfall into the one on the right, then on diverting that waterfall down the mountainside on the right. Once this is done your men should have a clear path to the second totem. after the tsunami hits send your men to populate that totem. (You may have to rebuild land bridge 1) Once they reach it and populate it the repel water knowledge carrier will come to share the knowledge and protect the second totem. Now, using the earth that surrounds the gate to the next level, build a land bridge (land bridge 2) connecting the coast of the second totem to the land that holds the exit gate. If you did everything right the waterfall you diverted earlier should be emptying on one side of your new land bridge and the sea should be on the other. The water that surrounds the exit gate should also be draining on the same side the waterfall is emptying. Now wait for your vegetation to spread across land bridge 2 and cover the land mass it connects to. Drain and absorb the water as necessary from this last land mass until you reach 100% vegetation. You might want to wait until after the second tsunami hits to send your men to the passage.

Level 3 --The First Power--
This one is one of the more difficult ones. Basically the faster you can get out of here the better as most levels with a volcano are unpredictable and as you do not have any way to protect yourself from fire at this point you need to be quick and careful. From the start send your men to populate that totem right in front of them. As they are doing that go absorb some lava and finish the circle of stone that surrounds the repel water stone. Once it is finished absorb the water inside and send a man as quickly as possible. He should return as the tsunami is approaching the cliff wall. While your waiting for him to get there work on rebuilding the wall in front of the second totem. Once the wall is rebuilt the tsunami becomes powerless and your free to focus on other things. Time is of the essence in this map because down the road the volcano will bridge the little river that separates it from your first totem and will light it all on fire. After the tsunami hits use Jellify water to get your men over to the third totem. It is important to know that you can cancel a power at any time by pressing the button you activated it with. So in this case if your men have crossed the river you can cancel Jellify water by hitting up on the d-pad and it will recharge quicker. Once they have populated the third totem and your repel water man has brought the knowledge to them, work on spreading the vegetation as quickly as possible. For my map I only spread it on the island that has the third totem on it. Its the farthest from lava, has the biggest surface area, and there's plenty of water around in case something caught on fire. In addition if i lost this village to fire the fire couldn't spread to my other two totems. If you need more earth take everything from around the volcano. We don't want the palms growing there anyway. If you are quick and careful this one should not be too much of a challenge for you. Just remember that if you need vegetation to cross a river, Jellify the water and make a path, this is actually a good strategy because when the water returns to normal not only will the vegetation continue to spread, but if it catches fire it will only reach as far back as the river. You should get 100% quickly, then exit through the passage.

Level 4 --The Thousand Sources--
This one by comparison to the last one is actually very easy. It's like a breather. The only thing you have to worry about in this map is your villages being flooded. Which is hard to imagine with the repel water stone, Evaporate, and Jellify water powers as well. For this one populate the jellify water totem first, then grab the repel water stone. In my opinion if you acquire all three totems first its much easier. The first two are not too hard, for the third one you just need to dump a lot of earth on the prickly vegetation. Once this is done all you have left is to spread your vegetation. Unfortunately this map is a desert so the palms will not spread automatically, they need to have water to grow. The best way to do this is to activate Jellify water, absorb water and make trails of Jellied water from your existing vegetation. The palms will spread along the trails of Jellied water and when it expires the will grow in whatever direction the water rushes. Something unique to this map is the ability of the palms to grow underwater. Vegetation cannot be flooded in this map so even areas covered in water can have palms grow. Keep using jellied water and uncovering different sources to 100% this map.

Level 5 --Wildfires--
This map can be a little tricky with the introduction of fire trees. Basically from the start run your guys up to the first totem, this will give you the put out fire power. Now what I did was absorb the earth in a line so that my vegetation would not spread back down the slope to where the level began, I used the earth I absorbed to connect my first totem to the portion of sand sitting off to the right (where you uproot your first water tree). This will allow your vegetation to spread over to the right with no danger of being caught on fire. Then send your men over to the second totem at the bottom of the hill. I recommend absorbing the earth surrounding that lone fire tree between your first two totems so your in no danger of burning to death. Once you have control of your second totem move it up to where the game recommends you do. Once your totem is moved use some earth (there is extra on the mountain) to connect your second totem to the earth on the left side of the land mass where it slopes down into the sea. This, like on your totem, will spread the palms with no danger of fire damage. Now the third totem is the trickiest of the 4. Before you send your men to populate the third totem absorb all the earth surrounding it so that the vegetation cannot spread to the surrounding areas that light on fire. Then send your men to populate it. Just for good measure, once you populate your third totem move it to the coast (through the passage that has two mountains). Remember you can always use Put Out Fire power if your in danger. Again once your third totem is established try to absorb the earth so there is a line of rock separating your vegetation from the sections that light on fire. Now send your men to the last totem, using evaporate to drain the crater. Once your men populate the last totem use put out fire while you move the fire trees to a place where they are harmless (the ocean, or even the mountains) By now you should have 100% coverage, if not move all the fire trees and sand it up.

Level 6 --Waves--
This level isn't too hard to 100% cover in palms. Like The Thousand Springs this level is a desert so your going to need water to spread vegetation. Luckily the jellify water power is again available. Start by heading over to the first totem and populating it. Next use the water that continually shifts from the repel water stone to the second totem to spread the vegetation outward from your first totem. be careful that the water trees do not over-gorge themselves and release their water into your village. as soon as you are able send a man to bring the repel water knowledge back to your totem. Once this is done populate the second totem (the one constantly shifting) keep using the water you find to spread vegetation. (there is a pool of water near the mountainside near the fourth totem) REMEMBER, you still have the ability to move fire and water trees as you see fit. I would recommend moving all the fire trees to the back of the map just to be safe. Now that your second totem is populated send your men to totem three on the left. (the one that has explosive trees around it and gives you the ability to move the explosive trees) From here send your men to totem 4. It houses the Put Out Fire power which is useful in an emergency. While you are waiting for your men to populate totem 3 and then 4 periodically use jellify water and continue to spread vegetation. If you are running out of water try to flood a water tree into releasing its store of water, with jellify turned on the water that comes out of the trees will turn into a pillar that is easily absorbed and that you can quickly continue to spread. By the time totem 4 is populated and protected by the repel water spell you should have 100% if not close to it, covered in palms. You can then feel free to blow the mountainside away to get to the gate.

Level 7 --High Tides--
This one is actually extremely easy once you get all the totems. Until that happens, however, your going to be strained for enough earth to make your plan work. You start with one. Immediately build a land bridge to the totem nearest the repel water stone and send your men. Don't worry about the flood it does not come high enough to affect your first two totems. Once your second totem is populated send a man to get the repel water knowledge. Make sure the man gets to both your first two totems. Now its time to get the engulf all totem. When the water recedes absorb all the earth you can find to try to build an earth wall around the totem as best you can, when the water is low send your men to populate it, if they are not finished by the time the flood comes use jellify water. If you built your wall high enough little to no water should make it in the basin you created. If it does be ready to absorb it quickly so you do not lose your village. Keep an eye on this village until your man has delivered the repel water knowledge. Once this is done its time to go after the most difficult to acquire totem. The Infinite Earth totem will make your life incredibly easy once you get your men to it. to do this wait until the water recedes about 3/4 of the way then activate engulf all. Use engulf all for 10-15 seconds to engulf as much water as possible. As soon as you can, send your men to populate the totem. This can be tricky because if the game detects any water within the borders of the totem your men will not be able to be called. This is why you used engulf all. After you call your men the water should be starting to come back in and the timer should show about 5 seconds until it floods. Activate Jellify Water, Engulf All, and Amplify the Breath and Engulf the water all the way back to the sea. Jellify water should buy you enough time for both your men to populate the totem and for amplify the breath to recharge. Once this happens activate Infinite earth and Amplify the breath and use these two powers to quickly wall off your entire island. The two powers coupled together can make an earth wall quickly and will buy you the time you need for your repel water knowledge carrier to get to the last totem. Once this happens you can take a deep breath and use amplify breath with infinite earth to make whatever land you need for your palms to spread. Keep an eye on those fire trees or alternatively replant them in the ocean. From here on out it should be a cake walk to get 100% coverage and to get your men to the gate.

Level 8 --Tears of Stone--
This level is actually my favorite out of the maps in story mode but it can be very tricky unless done correctly. From the start populate the totem closest to you. Once that is done absorb some lava and block off the lava separating you from the repel fire stone at the fork. Redirect the lava down the right fork so your men can reach the stone. Send a man to recover the knowledge. Once this is done I recommend populating the totem to the left, the Put Out Fire totem, next. Obviously your way is again blocked by lava. Absorb lava to build a rock wall diverting it down to the right of your first totem. This should give your men a clear path to the Put Out Fire totem. If your having trouble diverting the lava use explosive trees to make the path for the lava wider on the right. Diversion is all about making it easier for the water, or lava in this case, to flow one way than to flow another. Once your men have populated the second totem and the knowledge of repel fire and lava has been passed its time to re-divert it back to the left. Do this by first using the explosive trees to blow a hole in the rock wall you made, then close up the right side so all the lava flows to the left of your fist totem. Now, time it so that after the volcano erupts, and the lava is flowing down, populate the third totem as soon as the lava passes by it. This way you should have enough time to both populate it and move it up the hill to the right before the volcano erupts again. I moved this totem because i didn't feel like having to deal with the lava rushing down on it over and over. I moved it up on to the plateau where the little river splits into two. Once your totem is moved send a man to get the repel water knowledge to bring to the third totem. Once this is done use explosive trees to blow a hold in the rock wall that is keeping all the water locked up in the mountain. I blew a hole in the wall right next to the volcano because the source is in the little valley that's connected to the fourth totem. Then, when the water drained out a built a rock wall between the source and the last totem and populated it. From here on out I recommend using the earth around the volcano to build an earth mound next to your second totem that lets the palms spread up to the ridge that encircles the map. This should give you close to 100% vegetation. From then on absorb the earth around the volcano and just lay in down between the first and second totems so the palms will spread. You may need to divert the lava flow back to the right. Then send your men to the gate and your done.

Level 9 --The Raging Earth--
This one is pretty easy once you have the totems. Again Infinite Earth makes it a cake walk. Your only trouble is going to come from getting the two knowledge of repel stones. From the beginning populate the first totem and use lava to divert all the water to flow out of the basin at the extreme right side. This should open up the path to get the repel fire stone. Once your man brings it back to the village use explosive trees to blow holes in the volcanoes that will make the lava drain out the back and off the map, this will make your job easier. Between eruptions send your man to retrieve the knowledge of repel water to bring to your first totem. From there populate the totem on the right (Jellify water). After you do that your men will bring the knowledge to them and you can send your men up the volcano to populate totem number 3. After this one is done time your population of totem 4 so that the lava does not overcome it. Be careful that your water trees don't wash your men away either. Try to use explosive trees to divert the lava to the left and away from totem 4. Building a slight rock ridge between the lava and totem 4 also helps. Once all your totems are populated use infinite earth and amplify the breath to spread dirt all across the right half of the map, this should be more than enough to achieve 100 coverage. If your vegetation catches on fire don't worry, your villages are protected by repel fire and the vegetation will grow back. From then fill the basin up at the top with earth and send your men to the gate.

Level 10 --Emergence--
This level is fairly simple. From the start use the earth or lava from the volcano to build a land bridge over to the repel water stone, and then from there to the totem to the left. (Infinite Earth) Once this is done retrieve the repel water and use your infinite earth power to build bridges to, and eventually populate the other two totems. As long as you don't send your men as a tsunami is washing over the map you shouldn't have a problem. Once the other totems are populated retrieve the repel fire knowledge and you are protected. From there use infinite earth and amplify the breath to create whatever land you need for your palms to spread and achieve 100% vegetation. Then just make a land bridge and send your men to the gate and your finished.

Level 11 --Movements--
As soon as this map started i ran my guys over to the Evaporate water totem so they wouldn't drown when the rain came. From there i gradually managed to recover the protect from fire and lava music and populate the other totem. (try to get infinite earth next). This next step is key: Use the explosive trees to blow out the sides of the volcano where the lava begins to pour in. Then using infinite earth or even the lava itself make a wall in front of each source of lava so that its easier for the lava to flow out of the crater rather than in. Then, whenever the rain comes use evaporate. Now that fire and water have been handled use infinite earth to coat as much of the crater as you can in earth. Try to leave some room between your earth and the middle volcano though. Once this happens the palms should spread quickly over the sand giving you 100% coverage. be careful that you ONLY use evaporate when it rains, and move the water trees away from your villages. Once your finished head through the passage.

Level 12 --Origins--
This one is extremely simple. Create each totem on a different land mass. Once you have each power hold down A to place the exit gate and head through. I got my achievement as soon as they went through the passage.

There it is good luck and if you have any questions on this guide private message me on here or xbox and ill help you out as much as i can.

One more key thing to remember for this achievement (in addition to the guide above) is that it doesn't matter if your people die on their path to something as new villagers will (happily?) take their place.

I find that the best way to capture all totems on a map is to move an existing village with repel songs as close as possible to the next empty totem that I want to populate. Your villagers might die a couple of times while trying to reach the location, but once they reached it you can very quickly setup the new totem with a village and repel songs, reducing all risks to a minimum.