The Women Who Refuse Retreat Series
A different way to experience the world.
The Women Who Refuse Retreat Series
These are not retreats from the world. They are retreats for women who refuse to look away from it.
The Women Who Refuse Retreat Series brings together women committed to justice, change, and living their values in practice. Grounded in decolonial, intersectional feminist principles, each retreat creates space for learning, connection, reflection, and the kind of conversations that are difficult to have anywhere else.
Some women come ready to deepen their political understanding. Others have spent years doing the work as activists, advocates, organizers, leaders, and changemakers. The series is intentionally designed to meet women where they are, through two distinct retreat experiences: Foundations of Refusal and The Refusal Retreat.
Across extraordinary destinations, we combine meaningful engagement with thoughtfully curated experiences, cultural exploration, reflection, connection, and time together.
Because refusing the world as it is does not mean we cannot experience what is beautiful in it.
South Korea
TBD 2027
South Korea is a country shaped by extraordinary transformation, where centuries of history meet rapid social, political, and cultural change.
From its experiences of colonization and war to democratization, feminist movements, labour organizing, and contemporary debates about gender and inequality, South Korea offers an opportunity to look beyond the surface of one of Asia's most dynamic societies.
Participants will experience the country's history, culture, food, art, and neighbourhoods while engaging more deeply with the stories, movements, and people that have shaped South Korea as it exists today.
Japan
TBD 2027
Japan brings together centuries of history, deeply rooted traditions, extraordinary cultural expression, and one of the world's most influential modern societies.
Participants will experience Japan beyond the usual tourist itinerary, exploring its history, neighbourhoods, art, food, and cultural institutions while considering the social and historical forces that have shaped the country.
Through thoughtful experiences and conversations, we'll make space for both the beauty and complexity of Japan, approaching the places we visit with curiosity, respect, and a willingness to look beyond what is immediately visible.
Folks will have the option to travel to South Korea only, join us for Japan only, or come along to experience both South Korea and Japan. Once you book either South Korea or Japan, you will get a discount code to book the other.
Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
TBD 2027
Ubud is internationally known for its beauty, art, spirituality, and wellness culture, but there is much more to Bali than the version created for visitors.
Participants will experience Ubud while looking beyond the tourism industry to explore Balinese history, culture, community, spirituality, and the ways colonialism and global tourism have shaped the island. We'll consider questions of land, labour, cultural preservation, economic inequality, and what it means to travel responsibly in a place where tourism has an enormous impact on everyday life.
Through local experiences, food, art, conversation, and time within the surrounding community, we'll approach Bali with curiosity and respect, making space for both its extraordinary beauty and the complexities that exist alongside it.
Mauritius
Dates TBD
Mauritius is often presented to travellers as an idyllic island paradise, but its beauty exists alongside a complex history of colonization, slavery, indentured labour, migration, and cultural survival.
Participants will experience the island's landscapes, food, communities, and cultural traditions while learning more about the African, Indian, Chinese, European, and other influences that have shaped contemporary Mauritius. We'll consider how colonial history, labour, race, class, tourism, and global inequality continue to influence life on the island today.
Our experience of Mauritius will make room for its extraordinary beauty while also looking beyond the resort experience to understand more deeply the people, histories, and cultures of the place we're privileged to visit.
Mexico City, Mexico
For Day of the Dead
Dates TBD
Mexico City is a place of extraordinary cultural, political, and historical complexity, shaped by Indigenous civilizations, Spanish colonization, revolution, resistance, migration, and ongoing movements for social change.
Participants will experience the city through its neighbourhoods, food, art, museums, and public spaces while exploring the histories and systems that continue to shape life in Mexico today. We'll consider questions of colonialism, gender, class, race, Indigenous rights, inequality, and the movements that have challenged entrenched structures of power.
Mexico City invites us to experience its enormous creativity and energy while looking beyond the surface, making space for the histories, communities, and acts of resistance that have shaped one of the world's great cities.
Bogotá, Colombia
Dates TBD
Set high in the Andes, Bogotá is a vibrant capital known for its rich history, dynamic arts scene, and powerful cultural institutions. The city also sits at the heart of Colombia’s complex political history and ongoing conversations about peace, memory, and social change.
Participants will explore historic neighborhoods, renowned museums, and cultural sites that reflect both Colombia’s past and its evolving future. From colonial architecture to contemporary art and institutions dedicated to historical memory, Bogotá offers a compelling blend of culture, history, and discovery.
New Year’s Eve in
New York City
Dates TBD
New York City is one of the world's most influential cultural and political centres, shaped by immigration, activism, creativity, inequality, and generations of people fighting to make themselves heard.
Participants will experience the city through its neighbourhoods, cultural institutions, food, art, and public spaces while exploring histories of feminist organizing, racial justice, LGBTQ+ liberation, labour movements, immigration, and resistance. We'll also consider the profound inequalities that exist alongside the city's wealth and global influence.
Rather than experiencing New York only through its landmarks, we'll look at the people, communities, movements, and struggles that have shaped the city - and continue to challenge what it can become.
Extraordinary Destinations
Extraordinary Destinations
Curated Experiences
Curated Experiences
Unforgettable Journeys
Unforgettable Journeys
Other upcoming retreats
Intentional Experiences
Every destination and experience is chosen with purpose, creating opportunities to engage more deeply with the places we visit.
Meaningful Connection
Shared experiences and thoughtful conversations create space for genuine connection with women who want to engage with the world differently.
Critical Engagement
We look beyond dominant narratives to consider history, power, resistance, inequality, and whose stories are centred - or missing.
Thoughtful Travel
We approach the people, cultures, communities, and lands welcoming us with curiosity, humility, respect, and an awareness of our responsibilities as visitors.
Phillipines
Beyond its extraordinary beaches, the Philippines is a country shaped by Indigenous cultures, Spanish and American colonialism, resistance, migration, and powerful movements for social change. Through food, history, art, culture, and community, we'll explore the many influences that have shaped this remarkable archipelago and the lives of the people who call it home. We'll make space for both its extraordinary beauty and the complex histories and present-day realities that exist beyond the version of the Philippines most often presented to travellers.
Turkey
At the crossroads of continents, cultures, histories, and political movements, Turkey offers extraordinary complexity alongside its renowned food, architecture, landscapes, and cultural heritage. We'll explore the legacies of empires and the ways history continues to shape contemporary conversations about identity, gender, religion, secularism, migration, and power. Through the places and communities we encounter, we'll look beyond Turkey's most familiar landmarks to engage more deeply with a country that has long existed at the intersection of worlds.
El Salvador
El Salvador's landscapes, food, communities, and history tell the story of a country shaped by Indigenous history, colonization, civil war, migration, resistance, and profound political and social change. We'll look beyond traditional tourist narratives to consider how those histories continue to influence life in El Salvador today, while learning from the resilience, culture, and communities that have shaped the country. Our time there will make space for both its beauty and the complicated realities of a place whose story cannot be understood without listening to the people who have lived it.
United Arab Emirates
Look beyond the extraordinary architecture and global image of the United Arab Emirates to consider the rapid transformation, migration, labour, wealth, gender, culture, and power that have shaped the country. We'll experience its beauty and ambition while making space for the complexities that exist alongside them.
Morocco
Morocco's extraordinary food, art, architecture, landscapes, and communities reflect the Amazigh, Arab, African, Islamic, and colonial histories that have shaped the country. We'll explore how these histories intersect with contemporary questions of culture, gender, identity, migration, and power while experiencing the richness and diversity of Moroccan life. Rather than simply consuming the romanticized version of Morocco so often created for visitors, we'll approach the country with curiosity and respect, making space for its beauty, complexity, and the people and histories behind what we see.
Canada
Future retreats in Canada are currently being explored, with several locations and experiences under consideration. Wherever we gather, we'll engage thoughtfully with the land, its Indigenous histories and present-day realities, and the communities and stories that have shaped the place we're visiting.