Plots of cleared land provide space to grow rice and vegetables. These plots can only be used for one or two years before the farmer must move to a new plot. This involves burning off the land and allowing the ashes to serve as fertilizer. The only trees not cut down are the palm trees, which provide nuts and shade for the farmers. Women and children participate in farming by chasing away the birds and weeding the plot.
Game is scarce in Vai country since most of the animals live farther inland in the jungles.
However, hunting occasionally provides meat for the Vai. The Liberian Vai are known as skilled carpenters, weavers, and tailors. This is evidence of the Egyptian and Arabic cultures from which they came. Although they are crafters of valuable hand-made items, imported goods are now beginning to take their place. Village houses are usually rectangular, about seven or eight feet high, and rise to a peak in the middle.