 While practicing a sedentary agriculture style in the country's mountainous region, the Matengo also cultivate the cash crop of coffee.It was introduced to Mbinga District in the 1920s by the son of ex-Paramount chief Yohani Chrisostomus Makita Kayuni to enable the Matengo to pay poll tax, a demand of the colonial administration.Since then, the district has developed coffee sustainability due to its cold and wet climatic conditions, which has resulted in the district becoming a major coffee-producing region in Tanzania.