Dear Friends,
The main Facebook platform along with Instagram and WhatsApp are powerful tools for promoting Rowan’s Royale and sustaining our business – as is the case for many small producers the World over. However, over the last year or so it has become increasingly difficult for us to justify advertising on Facebook.
Rowan’s Royale as a company has from the outset prized sustainability. We have converted our farm to organic production, we have replanted trees and encouraged native flora and fauna to return to our area. Sustainability, however, does not stop there. Humans also must be sustained.
Facebook’s steadfast inaction in the face of rampant and obvious abuse of it’s platform by state and non-state actors seeking to undermine democracy, choice, freedom of conscience and general human well-being – as best exemplified by Mark Zuckerberg’s tepid excuse of not arbitrating truth – flies in the face of what Rowan’s Royale seeks to promote.
Until Facebook takes a strong and decisive stand against manipulation, lies, hate speech and against those actors who would sacrifice the growing global human consensus regarding equality, democracy and human autonomy Rowan’s Royale cannot in good conscience actively deposit money into Facebook’s purse – money that ultimately comes from you, our friends and partners who join us in our ideals.
What does this mean going forward?
For now it means simply that Rowan’s Royale will not be doing any paid advertising on Facebook platforms and we will seek alternative avenues for both latent and active promotion of our products.
We will not be de-platforming from Facebook or related companies.
We do recognize that our continued presence on Facebook’s various social media platforms does lend some value to the company, however they are, as a tool for connection, too powerful for a small business to ignore completely. Like it or not, the Facebook family of services are things we need.
It is our hope that private enterprise recognizes the obvious and concerted desires of the global community and joins us all in promoting peace and equality. When Facebook and other companies evince a sincere effort and accomplish real goals in promoting the same we may return to spending money on their various platforms but until then we will not be doing so.
In the interim we encourage you to subscribe to our newsletter and blog directly at https://www.rowansroyale.com/news-and-happenings-at-rowans-royale/ and to purchase coffee directly from us through our website. By purchasing directly from us rather than through a marketplace partner more of your money comes to the local communities where we operate in Jamaica, Canada an the United States.
Though we are a small company our divestment is no less a statement of protest against Facebook’s inaction and joins the many others, large and small alike. As we say: “One one coco full basket.”
For more information on the global movement please visit: www.stophateforprofit.org
Than you for your continued support! #stophateforprofit
From our family to yours,
The Team at Rowan’s Royale