The slopes of Kinabalu are inhibited by the local Kadazandusun people; they act as hill farmers who practice shifting cultivation. There are many kinds of traditional crops such as hill rice, tapioca and sweet potatoes grown extensively. While in 1950s the introduction of temperate vegetable farming was started and changed the way of life. By 1958 the government approved list of vegetables included cabbages, carrots, celery, capsicums and tomatoes. Today, roses and chrysanthemums and other flowers are also had seen at here.

The main crops such as rice and pineapples still had sold at the roadside stalls at the small town of Kundasang; six kilometers beyond Kinabalu Park Headquarters are sold with local produce daily. The Kinabalu Park and the tourist industry are major employers, and the sale of handicrafts and souvenirs has also become a popular source of income for local people.


 Many of the plants within and around the edges of the Kinabalu Park are still used by the local people for medicine, food, fuel, construction and handicrafts. In 1992 the Kinabalu Ethnobotanical Project was started by the Kinabalu Park staff. The purpose of this was to collate information on the plants used by the Kadazandusun people. By 1998, when the project was wound down, more than 9,000 specimens had been collected. The results show that traditional medicine is still the main recourse for many people who fall sick, with 31% of the plants recorded being used this way.