By Lenroy James
Among the many shops in the Jamaica shopping district is Ras Roots, a shortened term for Rastafarian Roots. It is a niche business that seeks to cater to customers with a wide range of Rastafarian-geared products.
Centered on Rastafarian culture, the store’s products are Afrocentric in nature and convey an appreciation of African heritage, according to the store’s owner, Kefim,
The products lining the store’s shelves include hats, turbans, videotapes, CDs, bangles, flags from African countries, books, scented candles, paintings, other works of art, and enlarged photographs of black liberation leaders.
Kefim, who said he is a devout Rastafarian, grew up in a Christian home on the island of Jamaica. He later migrated to the United States where he worked different jobs before developing his own business becoming business savvy, he said. In fact, he is quick to point out that his store is not just a business but a cultural institution as well.
“We intend to serve from such a point of view that we heighten cultural awareness in the community,” he said. Rastafarians believe in using only natural products for clothing, hair care and diet. Most are vegetarians.
Attached to the entrance is a sign that reads, “Wanted: locktician for locks and braids.” Inside, customers find a pair of hair dressers tending to the need of customers who want to get their locks — dreadlocks — treated with all-natural products.
Ann, a customer who has been wearing locks for nearly six years, said she is an avid naturalist.
“I use only natural products in my hair,” she said from under a hair dryer. The products she spoke highly of include herbal spray, fresh aloe, and hair pomade blended with natural herbs. Her stylist/locktician, Inzinga, who has been working with dreadlocks for seven years, said she recommends the style to anyone who cares about their hair.
“We do not use artificial products on our customers, and they are testimony to that,” she said.
While a hair style at a traditional beauty salon may keep its shape for only a week, the styles created at Ras Roots by washing, tightening, drying and oiling the locks can last for more than three weeks, depending on the care of the customer. The whole process takes approximately an hour and 15 minutes.
“I find it much cheaper to maintain,” said one customer, Cheryl, about the economic advantage of natural processing. The cost may range from $50 to $80 depending on added treatments.
Ras Roots, in operation since 1996, has been a welcome change to the electronic and clothing stores that dominate Jamaica Avenue, Kefim said.
“The public has been supportive of what we offer, and we hope to improve on that,” he said, his locks hidden by a hat he stitched himself.
A self-styled writer and speaker, Kefim delivers inspirational talks at Stony Brook University on Long Island at least twice a year. His topics espouse the Rastafarian way of life and try to dispell the misconceptions associated with it.
As for the business end, Kefim would like to encourage more blacks to own their own businesses. Entrepreneurship, he said, has spiritually liberating principles.
“It is freedom from what you dislike,” he said.
Ras Roots is open Monday-Friday 11 a.m.-7p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.-8p.m., and Sunday noon-5p.m.
Reach Lenroy James by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 139.
