In the memories of the oldest generation of Lemkos, there are still stories about how cheerful, albeit poor, things were in Lemkowyna. The rhythm of their lives was determined by the seasons of the year and church holidays. The everyday life of the Lemkos focused on hard work in the field, with livestock and grazing animals. In some villages, additional income was obtained from the production of various types of wood and stone products. The location of the village in mountainous areas, distance from urban centers and the scarcity often forced the inhabitants to be self-sufficient. Sheep and goats grazed in the dorsal clearings and in the forests, and agriculture developed in the valleys and middle parts of the slope. The shepherd's economy provided the Lemkos with wool and a large amount of milk and cheese made from it (e.g. so called ‘’bryndza’’). Moreover, by fertilizing pastures, sheep significantly increased their productivity. Potatoes, hay, oats, rye, barley, as well as tartar and millet were most often planted in the cultivated fields. However, due to long and severe winters, sowing of winter cereals was avoided. Turnip, broad beans, peas, cabbage, flax and hemp were also grown, and fruit trees were planted: plums, apple trees and pear trees.
The results obtained in the Lemko region from agriculture and livestock were very poor, the land gave little crops, and during heavy pre-harvests, people often starved. In order to avoid this, the Lemkos went to seasonal agricultural works in Hungary. They worked there mainly as harvesters, and for their work they received payment in grain as well as housing, food and reimbursement of travel costs.
The Lemkos also lived off what the forest gave them. The Carpathian backwoods not only gave them food (berries, mushrooms), but most of all they offered raw materials for the production of various products. In the coniferous forests, the Lemkos drove tar to lubricate the carts, and smelt the tar from the fir. The Łosiany residents were especially famous for the production of tar and goo, and their trade routes reached Latvia, Lithuania, Congress Poland, Ukraine, Moravia, Hungary and Transylvania. The Lemkos used timber for the production of wooden household items, planed or turned on primitive turning mills (in Nowica, Kunkowa, Leszczyny and Przysłop). Wood was used to make spindles, potato mashers, rolling pins, spoons and boxes for butter. In a few villages near Rymanów, people were involved in the production of wooden haberdashery and souvenirs in the form of wooden boxes, figurines and carved plates. In Huta Świerzowska, "Ruthenian" chests, i.e. with a gable lid, were made. The inhabitants were also involved in the production of wooden toys and pipes. In Bartno, Przegonin, Bodaki, Wapienno, Folusz and Jaśliska, stonework was performed. Building stone, whetstones, brusks, querns and millstones were prepared. Some stonemasons (mainly from Bartne) made roadside crosses and tombstones decorated with carvings and reliefs. Wandering the trails of the Lemkos, we can encounter beautifully decorated roadside crosses to this day.
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