A SHOP and social enterprise that provides organic, fair trade and local food is set to expand outside Oxford for the first time.

Husband and wife Paul Godden and Rina Melendez from Littlemore own the mobile shop – called SESI – with other workers, which operates under the banner of 'refill, not landfill'.

They have run the enterprise for 11 years, starting from a garden shed, and are now taking it to London.

SESI provides organic, fair trade and local food as well as a specially designed detergent, all of which people buy and take home in their own containers.

Whilst cutting on food waste and industrial recycling of packaging, the couple also wish to make it affordable to the more people and appealing to younger generations.

Ms Melendez said: “We started initially to support organic farming, we became more conscious of environmental issues and more involved with packaging and plastic pollution.

“We took it to a farmers’ market and opened a stall for the fun of it, and it grew very quickly, growing from a small table to three times that size.”

“It’s a social enterprise, a real community-powered pioneering idea, the focus is not profit, it’s to do good.”

As more and more people become conscious of their carbon footprint, schemes like this have attracted attention.

Ms Melendez said it is because of this that SESI, which she calls her 'passion project', has taken off.

She said: “We saw how much we helped the city and the impact our achievements had.

"Support from the community keeps us going, the people who come and bring their containers in, it wouldn’t work without them."

Although the shop works on a no-waste basis, stock does come in excess packaging.

Ms Melendez said: “The packaging goes back to the supplier, some of it is recycled, reused, or goes back into circulation, we always need boxes.

The pair even make their own brand of detergent, which is vegan and does not carry palm oil.

They commissioned mental health charity Restore, Bicester Green – which uses reclaimed materials – and Cultivate Oxford cooperative to make the dispensers which husband Paul has designed.

Ms Melendez said: “We hope money we make from there will subsidise a more inspiring concept in the future and further what we started, for example we train secondary school students who get paid for working in the shop.

“We want to train the future and amplify our community.

“There are brilliant other independent shops doing the same, we were quite lonely so it’s great to see them.”

Oxfordshire County Council cabinet member for the environment, Yvonne Constance, said: “SESI’s commitment to low packaged, locally produced food helps other small businesses and reduces food miles across Oxfordshire, making good local food easily available to residents”.