The farmers on the coast grew crops and kept livestock. They had fields of barley, rye and flax. Their cattle grazed in the meadows. In the woods, the soil was much poorer. There, farmers would make an additional living by forestry, from charcoal-burning and tar-making, and from the production of iron. A lot of iron was produced in the woods in the 13th and 14th century. The districts of Madesjö-Bäckebo and Gullabo-Karlslunda were the busiest iron-producing districts in northern Europe at this time. In the region around Emmaboda, plenty of iron was produced as well.
The iron was loaded on horse-back or a cart and taken to town. It was shipped from the harbour in Kalmar to the ports in Germany. From the Vissefjärda-region iron was transported to the harbour at Lösen on the coast of Blekinge. From there it was shipped to the south.
The peasants who made a living from iron could be called iron-farmers. There are still remnants of their iron-production – the so-called "slag-heaps".
Until the end of the 14th century, plenty of new land was cleared. In the summer of 1350, the plague (the Black Death) struck Kalmar. Already that autumn, it reached the wood-lands. The effects of the plague were very severe in the remote districts. One effect was, that less land was farmed during the late 14th century and large parts of the 14th century. The disease struck time and time again: in 1363-66, in 1393-99, in 1404-06 and in1411-16. Agriculture did not recover properly until towards the end of the 15th century.
If you want to learn more about the iron-farmers read more in "Meet the Middle Ages", Life in the country-side, Work