Help us build our Dream - Sweet Retreats

Help us build our DREAM!

We are building Casa Chango Retreat Center!

…and we need your help!

Dear friends, community and supporters,

Greetings from our home, Casa Chango Mexico, where many of you have visited for our Sweet Retreats. For those of you who haven’t yet made it here, we can’t wait to share our place with you. It is our 10th year hosting circus fitness training retreats, and we have come a long way. Since our move to Mexico in 2016, we have settled in and expanded our programs for visitors and locals. We currently run up to 15 retreats per year including our intensive aerial training programs, family retreats, and personal retreats. We continue to grow our retreat offerings to include different people with different goals, desires, and needs.

Building a local community here in Puerto Escondido is also very important to us. We have been integrating more local classes, programs, and employment opportunities for our neighbors. We have a local kids’ circus program teaching valuable skills to children from various backgrounds and providing opportunities to perform in our community shows. Our family is growing, and we welcome more people to join in our projects, events, and community.

Land HO!!

Friends, we are ready to take the next step! In January 2020 we bought land on the river and 1 mile from the beach just outside of Puerto Escondido. Since then we have been building Casa Chango Finca del Artes Retreat Center using all the wisdom from the last 11 years experience of running retreats. We are reaching out to our community to help us raise money for the project. Our savings will cover most of the project. We need $100,000 to finish it up! We know that this is a lot of money, and we are confident in reaching our goal. Every little bit counts, and we are asking our community first.

A little history…

Sweet Retreats is run by us, Kerri Kresinski and Stuart Polkinghorne. We offer 7 day all inclusive retreats centered around intensive trainings in circus/aerial arts, acrobatics, yoga, dance and fitness while feeling great, eating well, and enjoying Mexican culture. Our top priorities are providing world class teaching, healthy, delicious meals and an atmosphere where guests feel completely at home.

Sweet Retreats began in 2010 when I (Kerri) went to the Dominican Republic as a guest teacher for a circus program at a resort. I returned home to San Francisco, California where I performed and taught circus arts full time, and told my students my idea to bring them to the beach for a training vacation retreat. The first retreat happened 5 months later, and I continued holding retreats in the DR for the next 7 years.

In 2016, I teamed up with Stuart (now husband), and we moved to Puerto Escondido, Mexico, a town known for its surf and international beach tourism. We created and staffed Casa Chango, a fully functioning retreat center in a rented community living complex, and immediately began holding retreats here. I have found that my organization skills, experience producing events, and mastery of my craft make me quite the entrepreneur. Stuart’s tireless commitment to quality, photography, design, and building skills make him my perfect partner. Together we are extremely motivated and committed to this project!

Our new retreat center will help to grow our offerings by increasing the quality of our accommodations and services, expanding our market, offering non-retreat accommodation rentals, creating an artist in residence program, and growing our local creative community.

We have a 5 acre piece of land on which to build our dream. We need $100,000 to finish the project, and it starts here and now with your generous donation. Donations range from $100-$100,000 and will be used directly to build Casa Chango Retreat Center. Donations are accepted through PayPal, bank transfers, or checks. Please email us at SweetRetreatsdr@gmail.com with any questions.

Email us at SweetRetreatsdr@gmail.com if you are interested in donating with a bank transfer.

PayPal takes 4% of your donation. If you want us to receive all of your donation, you can send your donation via ‘friends and family’ on PayPal to SweetRetreatsdr@gmail.com.
Email us for more info or with questions.

Objectives for Sweet Retreats and new Casa Chango Retreat Center

Finish building retreat center within 2 years. Retreat center will include:
- Guest house w community kitchen
- Private cottages
- Ocean view rooftop dance, yoga, training space
- Open air circus gym (double the size of our current gym)
- Infinity eco swimming pool
- Edible gardens and chickens for a sustainable food
- Employ more local staff creating local job opportunities.
- Continue to hold high quality retreats, residency programs, festivals and more.
Open the space to more guest teachers offering trainings in the following:
- - Family Retreats
  - Circus Training Residencies
  - AcroYoga
  - Aerial Yoga
  - Pole Dance
  - Bungee Dance/Fitness
  - Yoga and Meditation Retreats
  - Creative lifestyle, health, fitness, and rehab programs
  - Teacher Training/Certification Programs
Grow our local children’s social circus program.
Grow our artist in residence program
Continue to grow relationships with our local community with classes and events.
Offer a space where people can come learn, train, create, heal, and thrive.

For more information about Puerto Escondido and their plans there, click here.

Can you see our vision?
Do you believe in our dream?
We are committed to this project and appreciate all the support we can get!

We are also looking for private business loans. If you or anyone you know is interested in lending us funds for this project and would like to see our business plan, please email us at SweetRetreatsdr@gmail.com.

Donations range from $100-$100,000 and will be used directly to build Casa Chango Retreat Center. Donations are accepted through PayPal, bank transfers, or checks. Please email us at SweetRetreatsdr@gmail.com with any questions.

PayPal takes 4% of your donation. If you want us to receive all of your donation, you can send your donation via ‘friends and family’ on PayPal to SweetRetreatsdr@gmail.com.
Email us for more info or with questions.

We are offering the following rewards for your generous donations:

$20-$400 – our gratitude and personal thank you
$500 – 4 online tutorials with Kerri
$1,000 – 8 online tutorials with Kerri
$5,000 – a week long retreat for a family of 4 in our new retreat center
$10,000 – a week for up to 5 people at our new retreat center
$50,000 – 1 week long retreat per year for the rest of your life
$100,000 – a week long all inclusive retreat for you and up to 10 friends in our new retreat center, plus 1 week long retreat per year for you for the rest of your life

Please email us at SweetRetreatsdr@gmail.com for more info about how to make your donation via bank transfer.

or donate via PayPal

PayPal takes 4% of your donation. If you want us to receive all of your donation, you can send your donation via ‘friends and family’ on PayPal to SweetRetreatsdr@gmail.com.
Email us for more info or with questions.

We are also looking for private business loans. If you or anyone you know is interested in lending us funds for this project and would like to see our business plan, please email us at SweetRetreatsdr@gmail.com.