<p>Over the past few decades, valley bottom agriculture (VBA) has garnered significant attention due to the adverse effects of climate change and population pressure in many developing countries. Nevertheless, much attention has been paid to large-scale valley bottoms, wetlands, or floodplains, with little or no attention paid to small-scale valley bottoms, particularly in mountainous areas. Guided by feminist political ecology, this study explores the implications of women’s labor in VBA on households’ livelihoods in the Matengo Highlands, Mbinga District, Tanzania. The study employed a qualitative research approach with a case study design, collecting data through semi-structured interviews, key informant interviews, and observation, and analysing it using thematic analysis. Respondents were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling. The study revealed that women in the Matengo highlands play a significant role in agriculture, specifically in VBA. In VBA, women actively engage in all activities, ranging from field preparation and sowing/transplanting to watering, weeding, fertilizing, harvesting, and taking harvested crops to market. Through VBA, women cultivate both food crops and high-value crops, such as tomatoes, vegetables, and onions. Women’s labour in VBA significantly contributes to household income and food security. The dual approach of producing food and cash crops enables women to enhance their economic independence while meeting their families’ food and nutritional needs. The practice of selling high-value crops, such as vegetables, during the dry season provides women with a reliable source of income to cover their family’s health and educational expenses. By focusing on small-scale, mountainous valley bottoms rather than large floodplain wetlands, this study offers a context-specific gendered analysis of how climate-adaptive agriculture is shaped by women’s labour, customary tenure relations, market participation, and the sustainability of fragile valley-bottom ecosystems.</p>