TERMS
All membership payments are NON-REFUNDABLE CONTRIBUTIONS to the Companionship of the Sacred Vine.
CEREMONIES
A membership is required for you to apply to attend an ayahuasca ceremony. A membership does not guarantee you will be able to attend a ceremony. To apply to attend a ceremony you must fill out the CSV Health Questionnaire and agree to our Waiver. You acceptance to attend a ceremony is at the sole discretion of the facilitator conducting the ceremony.
CONDITIONS
All persons issued a MEMBERSHIP in the CSV must abide by our publicly-stated Values and Operating Principles when attending CSV functions and ceremonies, which are reprinted below and can also be found on the CSV website.
Any actions deemed outside of the Values and Operating Principles at any CSV function or activity could result in a suspension or cancellation of your membership.
As a CSV MEMBER you have the right to question operations, principles and values of the CSV. A grievance process is available to you and can be found under the “CSV Management” section of the Website.
The GRIEVANCES section is also reprinted below.
ENJOY YOUR MEMBERSHIP and thank you for supporting the CSV and your RIGHT to legal ayahuasca ceremonies in Canada.
Companionship Values and Operating Principles
The Companionship is inclusive and not exclusive. All members who adhere to non-violence, equity, diversity and inclusion are welcome to join the Companionship. The Companionship exists to serve our members.
Mission Statement
The goal of the Companionship is to offer the potential for both individual and collective spiritual growth.
Diversity
Diversity is the presence of human differences within the Companionship. We welcome any ethnicity, religious orientation, nationality or sexual orientation.
Inclusion
Diversity is being asked to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance. Everyone who is a member or is considering becoming a member is welcome, valued and is given opportunities for spiritual growth through our ceremonies and activities.
Equity
Equity recognizes that we don’t all start from the same place because advantages and barriers exist. Diversity and inclusion are both outcomes. Equity is not. The Companionship engages all of our members to ensure that people with marginalized identities or economic circumstances have the opportunity to participate, grow, contribute and develop within the Companionship.
Policy Development
The Companionship is not a static organization. We are constantly learning, growing and being guided by the plant medicines and by our own human values. Our policies naturally evolve to encompass this growth.
All members are encouraged to engage within the Companionship, to make recommendations or refine our policies and procedures. Everyone within the Companionship is responsible for upholding our values, policies and procedures or suggesting ways to improve them. All input is valued and is brought up for consideration within our various working groups.
Working Groups
The Companionship operates on working groups or individuals. These can be informal or formally recognized groups or individuals who are tasked or undertake works based on our values and principles. Within this context leaders or champions naturally emerge and can gain support or lose it based on their own conduct, ideas or initiatives.
Grievance Process
Please note – the following formal grievance processes may be initiated by any CSV member in good standing.
The Companionship is a values-driven organization. Every member of the Companionship must agree to abide by and uphold our values and principles as a condition of joining the Companionship. All Companionship practices and actions must be in alignment with our values.
The Companionship is based on a decentralized management structure. De-centralized does not mean irresponsible, in fact far from it. Our decentralized structure empowers every member of the Companionship to uphold our values and principles through our formal and informal processes.
Informal and formal feedback programs within the Companionship are essential to the operation of the Companionship. Most problems within the Companionship can be identified and dealt with in this manner.
However even within a responsible, values-based organization we recognize that problems may occur which require a Companionship-wide formal and transparent process to resolve.
As such, the following formal processes may be invoked by any Companionship member at any time.
Member Grievances Arising from a Ceremony
Any member who has participated in a ceremony has the right to submit a formal grievance to the facilitator committee regarding the operation of the ceremony(s) or the conduct of the facilitator.
The following actions must be taken by the committee upon receiving a member grievance.
All Companionship facilitators must be apprised of the grievance regardless if they are currently serving on the facilitator committee or not.
Any Companionship facilitator has the right to involve themselves in the grievance, unless the grievance has arisen from the facilitator’s ceremony(s).
A redress to the grievance must be filed by the ceremony facilitator in question which will be submitted to all facilitators and to the member who has filed the grievance.
If the redress is deemed unsatisfactory by the member, an arbitration group must be formed by two or more facilitators who will be charged to undertake arbitration. Any facilitator may decide to join the arbitration group, except the facilitator who has conducted the ceremony(s) in question.
If the arbitration process does not produce satisfactory results for either the member or facilitator in question, the arbitration group must submit a Ting.
Operation and Classification of Tings
A Ting is a formal process typically operated to modify the values statement or working policies and procedures of the Companionship. However, a Ting may be initiated for any reason by any member of the Companionship.
The EveryTing
The EveryTing is the Companionship values, which must be publicly stated. The EveryTing may be changed or modified by a Ting.
Alting
The Alting is the publicly-stated position of the Companionship concerning operations and procedures within the Companionship. The Alting may be modified or changed as the result of decisions made in Tings. The Alting is all information publicly stated on our website and in the member-only areas of the website.
A Ting
A Ting may be formed to address any operation or any issue within the Companionship. A Ting is a formal process that is conducted by a working group of facilitators. A proposed Ting must be supported by three or more facilitators who will then be part of the working group of the Ting.
Any Companionship facilitator may choose to involve themselves in a Ting unless excluded by a grievance against them.
All Companionship facilitators must be apprised of the formation and the purpose of a Ting and can choose whether to join the Ting or not. All Tings must be conducted transparently and openly in relation to other facilitators and the membership.
All facilitators will be given the opportunity to speak to any Ting before a decision is rendered by the facilitator committee. A Ting must have the support of at least two-thirds of the facilitator committee to be adopted.
Member Tings
A group of six or more Companionship members may draft a Ting and submit it to any facilitator(s) for support. If a facilitator decides to support a member-proposed Ting he must gain or have the support of two or more facilitators to initiate a formal Ting.