This paper historically dissects the contribution of cooperative movement in sustainable develop- ment of the Matengo Highlands. The main objectives were to examine the evolution and development of the coffee farming in the Matengo Highlands. This examination is important as it directly relates to the formation, evolution and formation of cooperative movement as a colonial strategy in controlling production and marke ting of coffee as an export crop which earned the colonial power raw materials and foreign exch- ange. This contribution was also important to the paper to address so that it is able to know how cooperative movement was instrumental in bringing about sustainable development through the handling of coffee farming and the marketing thereof. In this case the role of the state in the promotion of cooperative movement through enactment of laws, legislations and passing of policies was also under focus in this paper. The paper bene fited from a research which was structured in a historical design so that to capture the dynamics of changes and transformations through which coffee production and marketing was implemented in the Matengo Highlands in Tanzania. The research was basically qualitative in nature due to the types of historical sources to be used in developing this paper both primary and secondary sources.