The Ida’s Valley Community Market is a vibrant hub of culture where the community connects. From a weekly Saturday market to special Friday night markets, it has become a daily place of commerce. While the market is open every day, Fridays and Saturdays remain its busiest trading days – and other events are being planned.
Since the Ida’s Valley Community Market space has come under new management, the market has been reimagined. This is a collaboration between Stellenbosch Municipality and Ranyaka, an NPO that helps communities restore ecosystems and address socio-economic challenges that affect a community’s well-being. In August 2025, Ranyka’s “Re-imagine the Space” model Through which the community was given the opportunity to get involved in the planning of the market.
The weekly market started in October 2025, trading every Saturday. The first night market was held on 16 December 2025, “[It was an] instant success,” said Zulfa Ebrahim, the market’s vendor manager.
Ida’s Valley Community Market is located on the corner of Ida’s Valley and Heelshoogte traffic lights. The market is open every day, Fridays 17:00-19:00, Saturdays 09:00-14:00 and Sundays 09:00-14:00. PHOTO: Gio Anthony
According to Ebrahim, the second night market was held on Friday, 16 January. The market attracted an unexpectedly large crowd. They then decided to make it a weekly event, and she pointed out that they have seen more visitors on Friday nights than on Saturday mornings.
Vendors’ Stories
People often come to the market just to connect with the community, said Ebrahim. Now, the market offers everyday trading.
Marshall September, the owner of Predestined Coffee and a vendor at the market, became many residents’ first stop before starting their working day. September explained that the connection was important to the community and that people often came to the market just to offload.
“Every day there is a positive vibe among the people [at the market], and it just makes your day,” said André Dreyer, a regular at the Ida’s Valley Community Market.
Marshall September is one of the daily vendors at the Ida’s Valley Community Market. He is originally from Cloetesville but trades at the market. PHOTO: Gio Anthony
Community diversity is important to Ebrahim; she has tried to source more halaal vendors for the Muslim community members.
Ebrahim asked Sedick Cornelson to sell his halaal products at the market. Cornelison said that he began selling bollas, a Cape Malay doughnut, in late-2025. Sedick said he used this opportunity to help fund Umrah, which is, according to muslimmaid.org a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, where Muslim’s cleanse their souls and renew their faith.
“In 2023, I went [on] Umrah. My wife was not ready to go [on] Umrah at the time, then we set ourselves a goal that 2026, 2027 or 2028 [to go on Umrah],” said Cornelson.
Long-term Plan
Eon Hendrikse, a founding member of the market, said they are planning to use the market as a multipurpose space. They want people to exchange culture and let the market serve as an information hub on commerce, where people can find out about businesses in Ida’s Valley.
The structure of the market is open, which makes it difficult to use in the winter. The management has said that they want to make the space winter-friendly. PHOTO: Gio Anthony
He added that they are working with the municipality to ensure that the facility could be used in the winter as well. “If the place does not become winter-friendly, it will become a white elephant again,” he said.
According to Hendrikse, they are trying to establish a fan park where people will be able to watch Bafana, Stellenbosch FC and other games where they can rally behind their teams.
On 28 March, the Idas Valley Community Market will be hosting a community karaoke show. Check out their socials for upcoming events.