Smallholder farmers from rural towns as far afield as Calitzdorp, Suurbraak, and Genadendal rely on the monthly market
By Liezl Human
The Mowbray Market has been operating on the first Saturday of every month for the past four years, but the a lease on the property has expired and the City is now considering auctioning the lease to the highest bidder.
The site alongside the Liesbeek River is city-owned and for the last 26 years had been leased by Gordon’s Gym, which has allowed the market to be set up once a month.
The market is hosted by Trust for Community Outreach and Education (TCOE), Rural Women’s Assembly, the Inyanda National Land Rights Movement, and Mawubuye Land Rights Forum. The aim is to promote and empower smallholder farmers and local producers from Cape Town and rural towns as far as Genadendal, Suurbraak and Calitzdorp.
The vendors pay no fees, and they are provided transport to Cape Town. For some, the market is their main source of income. At the market, you will find organic vegetables, homemade food, plants, honey, fynbos, handmade soaps and more.
“This market is a big help for me and my community … If we don’t have this market, I don’t know what is going to happen to us,” said Elsie Sauls, a small farmer and seed saver from Zolani in Ashton.
Gordon’s Gym owner Gabor Kovacs said despite the City recommending a ten-year lease in 2024 and the gym accepting those terms, the City is now “leaving us in legal limbo”.
“Our immediate priority is demanding procedural fairness and requesting an urgent meeting with the City to pause the upcoming auction. An open public auction is an incredibly blunt tool that completely ignores our rights as historical tenants and discounts the value of the existing infrastructure on the land,” said Kovacs.
He said the uncertainty has also stalled private funding they’ve secured to upgrade the gym.
Kovacs added that he saw value in sharing the lease with TCOE and the market.
Robbie Andrews from the TCOE said they approached the City last year about the possibility of leasing the property.
Correspondence from 2025 shows City officials initially considered a suggestion by TCOE to consolidate three proposals: from the market, Gordon’s Gym and a nearby bicycle shop.
The market envisioned expanding to include more vendors from partner organisations and to run the market on a weekly basis. They also wanted to use the inside of the gym during winter.
Andrews said TCOE spent a lot of money each month on a temporary marque and transporting vendors from rural towns. A permanent structure and more storage on site would be beneficial, he said.
After several months of negotiations, City officials informed the TCOE that all the proposals were rejected.
City spokesperson Luthando Tyhalibongo stated: “The City was unable to reasonably and fairly motivate for the preference of any single proposal”.
Tyhalibongo said the site has “split zoning” which imposes development rights and requires formal land use approvals for any proposal. Another issue was that the site was on a 100-year floodplain, limiting future development.
“The City could not fairly justify prioritising or combining proposals without compromising transparency and governance principles,” he said.
Several vendors we spoke to say they have built close relationships with the surrounding community.
Mariam Edwards, who sells Cape Malay treats, said, “I have people that come religiously every single month. This is some people’s livelihoods. This is the only income I have.”
Edwards said the market venue is convenient for people because it’s close to the main road, a taxi route and the train station.
Keshia Leonard, from the Buffeljagsbaai small-scale fishing cooperative, sells fresh fish caught by the cooperative members.
“The surrounding Mowbray community supports us, and recommends it to their families,” said Leonard.
When Mother City News requested further information from the City, Tyhalibongo said an internal assessment was being conducted and if supported auctioning the site, the process would include formal public participation.
He said in the meantime Gordon’s Gym continues to operate “under a tacit lease arrangement”.
He added that Gordon’s Gym had not obtained consent, as required under the lease agreement, for a market to operate on the site.
“In order for the market to operate legally during the interim period, the current lessee is required to formally request and obtain the City’s written consent to sub-lease the premises to the market operator.”
A version of this story was originally published by GroundUp