Minecraft wiki entry for Survival_in_an_infinite_desert, associated text: Even in villages, there are only a small supply of torches and sea pickles, and no means of creating extra ones. You must redistribute the small number of light sources optimally to prevent monster spawning and construct your defensive perimeter to be no bigger than the area you can protect from spawning (in a village because you have a crafting table, you can also craft sandstone slabs to inhibit spawning).