ORU organises its work through committees and structures, each responsible for one part of the mission. This is how a community becomes an institution — and how an institution gets things done. The areas below reflect the pillars of our mission: education, health, the spiritual life, the economy, the social well-being of our people, and our relations across the region and the world.

Education & Heritage

We work to teach African and Rastafari history and culture — within our own community and to the wider society. This includes reasoning sessions, heritage talks, support for the education of Rastafari children and youth, and the development of materials that tell the true story of African civilisation and of the Rastafari movement.

Health, Wellness & Livity

We promote natural living and the wellbeing of the whole person. Ital food and farming, traditional knowledge of bush and herb, mental and spiritual wellness, and the dignity of a clean and righteous livity all belong to this work.

Spiritual & Cultural Life

We uphold the spiritual heart of the community — Nyabinghi gatherings, reasoning, chanting, drumming and the observance of the holy days and traditions of Rastafari — and we celebrate the culture that flows from it.

Economic Development & Self-Reliance

We coordinate African-centred economic programmes: cooperatives, skills and trade, support for Rastafari farmers and craftspeople, and links for economic cooperation among Africans at home and in the diaspora. Our aim is an economy that builds our people rather than passing them by.

Agriculture & Cultural Industries

We market and promote Rastafari agricultural and cultural industries — farming, craft, music, art and heritage — as a viable, sustainable foundation for development in St. Kitts and Nevis.

Human Rights & Advocacy

We build the legal and organisational structures needed to defend the human rights of the Rastafari Nation, to address the social ills facing our people, and to advocate, lobby and negotiate with government and civil society on the community’s behalf.

Regional & International Relations

We connect with Rastafari and Pan-African bodies across the Caribbean, in Africa and throughout the diaspora, and we carry the cause of the Rastafari Nation — including Reparations and Repatriation — into regional and international forums.

Our committee structure

ORU is organised into sub-committees so that each of these areas has its own leadership, plan and accountability. We are committed to putting in place developmental programmes for every sub-committee — training, structure and resources — so that the whole organisation grows stronger together.