KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Rastafari community will commemorate a historic milestone as they come together to celebrate the first anniversary of the Rastafari Mansions and Organizations (RMO) umbrella organisation on October 6.

The anniversary celebration will coincide with the fifth edition of RMO’s signature event, Harambee Hall, taking place at the Louise Bennett Garden Theatre from 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

This gathering promises a rich cultural experience featuring the distinctive drumming and chanting traditions of various mansions. Attendees can also explore a Rastafari ital farmers’ market, showcasing fresh, organic and pesticide-free produce along with authentic Rastafari arts, crafts and ital cuisine.

In addition to cultural displays, the Harambee Hall will feature a town hall-style reasoning session where RMO will share updates on its progress and initiatives including outstanding issues affecting the Rastafari community such as dreadlocks in schools and vaccination exemptions.

A highlight of the event will be a presentation by Dr K’adamawe Knife, director of the Office of Social Entrepreneurship at the University of the West Indies (UWI), who will speak on Ital Certification Standards as part of the overall RMO economic plan.

“Rastafari livity, encompassing music, crafts and ital food, has been widely exploited for decades, both locally and globally,” said Dr Marcus Goffe, RMO executive member and intellectual property rights attorney. “This event, along with our ongoing Harambee Hall gatherings, offers a pivotal opportunity for the Rastafari community to support the establishment of a formal certification system for Rastafari that will ensure that our community maintains trusted quality standards for our produce and products while also securing financial benefits from the commercial use of our ideology, imagery, and symbolism.”

Established in 2023, RMO was formed to unite the existing Rastafari mansions and organisations, consolidating the community’s collective assets and resources to fulfil the Rastafari creed and facilitate economic independence and sovereignty. It is guided by the mandate of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I who called on Ethiopians globally to unite and centralise for enduring influence and power.

The RMO currently includes one mansion and 13 organisations that have ratified its constitution.