There are several categories of membership at the PTEV. The reasons for these different categories are to
allow people with some interest in the PTEV to be kept up to date through emails,
clarify the degree to which a person may participate in discussion and decision-making,
allow the founding and LLC members to be selective in admitting new members,
promote diversity in our membership,
allow for increasing levels of time and financial commitment, and
provide for the financial and other support of the PTEV.
At this time, there are 5 levels of PTEV membership: Supporting Member, Intentional Member, Provisional Member, Associate Member and LLC Member. The Intentional Member category is optional. We anticipate a change in the privileges of Associate Members after 10/1/08. Each level of membership has certain rights and responsibilities in the areas of finances, participation and training.
1. The most basic level of membership is Supporting Member. This is someone who pays $50 and is kept up to date through frequent, usually weekly, emails.
2. The next level is Intentional Member, someone who pays an additional $50, attends 50% of the meetings and can participate in the meetings at the discretion of the facilitator. (This is an optional category.)
3. A Provisional Member has filled out an application to become an Associate Member and is admitted as a PM by the Membership Team, paid a total of $500, attends at least 8 meetings per quarter, contributes 10 hours of PTEV-related work per month, and can participate in the meetings at the discretion of the facilitator.
4. An Associate Member has been approved by the other Associate Members and LLC Members, pays monthly assessments/contributions, attends at least 75% of the meetings, contributes 10 hours of PTEV-related work per month, and can participate in PTEV discussions and decisions through 10/1/08.
5. An LLC Member has been approved by the Associate and LLC Members, buys in to the PTEV, pays monthly assessments/contributions, attends at least 75% of the meetings, contributes 10 hours of PTEV-related work per month, and can participate in PTEV discussions and decisions.
For more detailed information about membership categories, please see our Membership Chart.
Our Provisional Membership Application Packet is available by clicking here.
Summary of the subject areas with which we expect PTEV Members to become familiar:
SUSTAINABILITY
Our Vision Statement reads "Port Townsend EcoVillage is a community of people dedicated to living in harmony with each other and with the earth, exploring together ways to live more sustainably."
One definition of sustainability is "Sustainable development is meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."
(From Our Common Future, UN World Commission on Environment and Development)
More definitions of "sustainability," may be found on pages I-3 of Choices for Sustainable Living, NW Earth Institute, 2005.
CONSENSUS
"We believe that it is inherently better to involve every person who is affected by the decision in the decision-making process. This is true for several reasons. The decision would reflect the will of the entire group, not just the leadership. The people who carry out the plans will be more satisfied with their work. And, as the old adage goes, two heads are better than one… "
Formal Consensus has a clearly defined structure. It requires a commitment to active cooperation, disciplined speaking and listening, and respect for the contributions of every member. Likewise, every person has the responsibility to actively participate as a creative individual within the structure." (Excerpted from C.T. L. Bultler & Amy Rothstein's On Conflict and Consensus, 1991)
NONVIOLENT COMMUNICATION
Respectful communication within a community can sometimes be a tricky, complex issue. Everyone has a different perspective on what it sounds like, looks like, etc. There are a number of different models out there for peaceful communicating (Compassionate Listening, Active Listening, etc.). PTEV has chosen Nonviolent Communication as our starting point. It doesn’t mean that this model is the only one that we use to resolve conflicts or deal with difficult issues; we utilize a number of different group facilitation techniques. It does mean that we are committed to practicing and using this model with each other whenever it is appropriate. For more background, see Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Compassion by Marshall B. Rosenberg
DIVERSITY
At the PTEV, we hope to further understand and apply the following principles:
We have all been wounded by a society that continues to be dependent on relations of exploitation and domination. Collectively, we support one another to transform attitudes and behaviors which perpetuate patterns of domination and compliance.
The humanity and integrity of all peoples and individuals are to be respected.
All humans are social beings. Individual well-being depends on collective well-being.
Everyone gains fulfillment through harmonizing with nature.
Everyone has intelligence and sensitivity and is in a continual process of learning.
Everyone is fulfilled through creative activity. Everyone has something to contribute.
Everyone wants to create relations of mutual care and respect.
Our collective well-being depends on honoring nature.
(excerpted from Breaking Old Patterns: Weaving New Ties Alliance Building by Margo Adair & Sharon Howell)
PERMACULTURE
Permaculture is a set of techniques and principles for designing sustainable human settlements. The word, a contraction of both “permanent culture” and permanent agriculture,” was coined by Bill Mollison… The aim of permaculture is to create ecologically sound, economically prosperous human communities. It is guided by a set of ethical principals--care for the earth, care for people, and share the surplus…
(excerpted from Gaia’s Garden by Toby Hemenway, pp 5-4)
DEEP ECOLOGY
Deep Ecology sees the world as an integrated whole rather than a dissociated collection of parts. It sees humans as embedded in and dependent on the cyclical processes of nature and the community of life. Deep Ecology grows out of both a scientific understanding of ecology and a spiritual awareness of the unity of all things. It attempts to solve environmental and social problems by questioning the fundamental assumptions about how we think about, perceive and relate to nature rather than simply looking for technological or legislative fixes to them.
For more info, see Deep Ecology for the 21st Century: Readings on the Philosophy and Practice of the New Environmentalism. Edited by George Sessions. Shambhala Publications. 1995.
