Category: General Lemon & Jinja

For many of you who know me, there are two things that must be surprising you right about now:

1. The fact I have decided on a ‘plan’
2. The fact I have decided to stick around in England!

This is just a quick introduction but we will delve deeper another time…

For those of you who do not know me – my name is Jess Dugdale and I am 24 years old. My family has been based in Romsey and Braishfield since my parents got married and I’ve been coming and going ever since!

In 2009 my family moved to Uganda as our parents set up the charity ServeDirect (definitely check it out!) with another couple. My sister and I went to international school in Kampala, Uganda and had a great time growing up there.

Jinja is a town in Uganda, well-known for its white water rafting and for being the source of the Nile. When creating the name, it seemed suitable to create a link between Uganda and England, hence ‘Lemon and Jinja’!

I first moved back to England for university, which was a big shock, and continued to visit Uganda. I studied Management with Marketing and then completed a Masters in International Management straight after (both at Exeter).

A week after handing in my dissertation I had booked a flight to Uganda and headed back again! I went to intern with Rhino Fund Uganda, mainly to help them with their marketing. It was honestly one of the best experiences I had (I will post about it another time) and I am always recommending it to anyone and everyone!

After that I was a manager of a safari lodge in a Ugandan game park for five months, before heading back to the UK. So when I say people are surprised I am settling in the UK, and WITH a plan, you can now understand why!

I am so excited for this adventure and will update you on Lemon & Jinja as much as I can. I cannot thank you enough for your support so far and look forward to working with you all.

Love, Lemon & Jinja X

Originally we had thought that the Lemon & Jinja shop would be open early 2019; it’s proving more difficult that we thought! We knew we had a lot to do, but boy, we hadn’t realised quite how much!

With many of you asking when and where L&J will open and what exactly we will stock, we thought we’d write a quick post sharing as much info as we can…

Looking around Romsey, there have been many places available, but none that quite fit the bill! They’re too small, too dingy / claustrophobic, not accessible enough for everyone, or just too expensive (which is proving the case for most places, sadly!)!

A bit like Goldilocks testing the porridge (organic of course!), nothing is quite right… We have been fighting with many options, working out what would be the best.

A few examples, there is a vacant shop in Dukes Mill, but I have questions regarding the survival rate of small businesses there. Would you visit L&J in Dukes Mill?

Market Place in Romsey… There are a few places around there, however there is construction already taking place in that area… Are you really going to want to visit during this time? Let us know! We would love to know your thoughts on all of this, as we are trying to tick a lot of boxes.

Here’s another question, how far are you willing to travel? Is there something you know that might help us?

Now, in the meantime, Lemon & Jinja is starting to take off. We will continue to grow and add more stock. If the premises is taking too long we will begin local deliveries plus click and collect. We know that the food side of zero waste living is more challenging and something everyone is keen to start! So, we are working towards launching this as soon as possible.

We are poised to pay the deposit, providing we find the right place. Location, location, location… As they say! It is all a learning curve! We cannot thank you enough for your support. We very much value feedback and suggestions in these early stages.

Love, Lemon & Jinja X

P.S Right now, come and visit us at the Winchester Vegan Fest, Sunday 20th January. We would love to meet you, so do come say hi and have a chat. We will be Stall 37 in Winchester Guildhall 10.30-15.30. Our first public presence!