In the areas that are irrigated by the kuhls, the Kohistani raise barley, wheat, maize, millet, and rice, supplemented by potatoes and a variety of other vegetables. This means that they transfer their livestock from one grazing ground to another with the changing of seasons. During the summer months, they leave their permanent villages and drive the cattle, goats, and sheep to alpine pastures. The surrounding mountain ranges and the Afghanistan border tend to isolate the Kohistani. Most of their settlements exist as small independent communities, located at altitudes between 1,000 and 4,500 meters.
Families usually have houses in four or five different locations at the higher altitudes.
Only in the winter do they live together in their compact villages, which lie along the rivers. Kohistani villages are made up of several lineages. In addition to farmers, a village population normally includes blacksmiths and carpenters who are bilingual in Pashto. There are also a number of tenant farmers and hired farm laborers. The Kohistani generally practice endogamy, meaning that they only marry within their own groups.