Does it speed things up to have your entire village clearing the blockage at the same time, or should I have some doing more research. I'm about to run out of food, and I was assuming this was the way to get alternate food.

The more peeps working on it, the faster it will get cleared. But let's say it will not help in getting food.

Thanks, but I guess that doesn't help my starving villagers!

Well maybe you should invest more scientists in researching food. I also suggest you read thoroughly through each of the effects researching does, because it plays a big role in helping your little villagers.

Does researching food mean checking off "farming" in the detail screen?

When you check/uncheck one of the items in the detail screen for a certain villager that means that villager prefers to do that selected task over other tasks

No, it means buying a new level of farming in the tech screen. Each level allows your villagers a new way to get food.

I gotcha, but the waiting for the tech points to add up is taking a long time. I should have bought food before I bought building I guess.

Once the blockage is cleared and you have a lagoon what does the lagoon do? I know they can swim in it but does it hold magically water? Can you fish in the lagoon?

It seems like my villagers have been clearing the blockage for a very long time with no results. How long should it take?