For most of its history the villagers lived from farming on the valley floor, seasonal alpine herding and trade over the Grimsel Pass. Due to the short growing season and poor soil many residents mined lead or zinc or carved wood or soapstone. Many residents emigrated to escape the poverty. In the 17th and 18th centuries they went to Germany or the Swiss Plateau, while in the late 18th and 19th centuries they went to the United States and settled in the Carolinas, Pennsylvania and Kentucky.