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Doctor Constance Scharff

@drscharff

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Storyteller, Explorer, and Founder of The Human Resilience Project

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While many of us try to frame expedition life as exciting, and let’s be honest, being in the field isn’t a normal Tuesday in suburbia, a lot of it is uncomfortable and boring. In Paraguay last week, we sat out torrential rains and avoided life-threatening floods. A lot of sitting in the heat wondering if we’d get to our field sites at all. Yes, it’s incredible and life-changing in many respects, and it’s not a constant grand adventure.

What is ALWAYS exciting, is the learning. We get to learn from people who rarely get to share their stories, and that is a gift I accept with great humility. It’s a thrill and an honor to learn from others and the world around us.

The Human Resilience Project had with us Explorers Club Flag 12 and Rolex watch Explorer 1 in the field in Paraguay.

www.THRProject.com

#TheHumanResilienceProject #exploration #resilience #wellbeing #women by @drscharff

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5 hours ago

One of the frustrating things about my work is that sometimes I meet exceptionally talented women who need a door opened if they’re going to live the lives they dream of. Often, these women and girls want an education. I met one such woman in Paraguay. Her community has been fighting for land for 50 years, which means the organization that usually provides scholarships to Indigenous girls won’t help her. She’s a pawn with no real agency. I don’t know if we can make a difference for her, but we’re going to find a local mentor—another woman—who will try to help her find a path forward.

What might the world be like if women and girls could give everything they want to the communities in which they live?

The Human Resilience Project has with us Explorers Club Flag 12 and Rolex watch Explorer 1 in the field in Paraguay.

www.THRProject.com

#TheHumanResilienceProject #exploration #Paraguay #resilience #wellbeing Explorers Club PNW Chapter The Explorers Club ROLEX The Explorers Club - Great Britain and Ireland Chapter The Explorers Club- Canadian Chapter #women taken in Centro Cultural De La Republica "El Cabildo" by @drscharff

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4 days ago

After completing our field interviews, the end result was learning a sad story, that the land the Tekoha Sauce have lived on for untold generations was taken in a government land grab. Their homeland was not flooded by Itaipu Dam and to the last man, they’ll continue the struggle to get it back.

The Human Resilience Project has with us Explorers Club Flag 12 and an Explorers Club Rolex watch in the field in Paraguay.

www.THRProject.com

#TheHumanResilienceProject #exploration #Paraguay #resilience #wellbeing Explorers Club PNW Chapter The Explorers Club ROLEX by @drscharff

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6 days ago

Countries need power. But if you’re building a dam and displacing communities to do so, HOW they are treated matters.

We’re learning how one community was displaced for the Itaipu Dam, and so far, let’s just say there’s a difference between the official narrative and that of the people displaced. We’ll learn more today as we continue our interviews.

The Human Resilience Project has with us Explorers Club Flag 12 and an Explorers Club Rolex watch in the field in Paraguay.

www.THRProject.com

#TheHumanResilienceProject #exploration #Paraguay #resilience #wellbeing taken in Itaipu Binacional by @drscharff

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7 days ago

Countries need power. But if you’re building a dam and displacing communities to do so, HOW they are treated matters.

We’re learning how one community was displaced for the Itaipu Dam, and so far, let’s just say there’s a difference between the official narrative and that of the people displaced. We’ll learn more today as we continue our interviews.

The Human Resilience Project has with us Explorers Club Flag 12 and an Explorers Club Rolex watch in the field in Paraguay.

www.THRProject.com

#TheHumanResilienceProject #exploration #Paraguay #resilience #wellbeing
Explorers Club PNW Chapter The Explorers Club The Explorers Club - Great Britain and Ireland Chapter The Explorers Club- Canadian Chapter ROLEX by @drscharff

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7 days ago

Massive storms in the area have made the road to our field site impassable, even with a massive four wheel drive. So we’re going to Itaipu Dam, the reason this population has been displaced.

Flexibility in the field is key.

The Human Resilience Project has with us Explorers Club Flag 12 and an Explorers Club Rolex watch in the field in Paraguay.

www.THRProject.com

#TheHumanResilienceProject #exploration #Paraguay #resilience #wellbeing
Explorers Club PNW Chapter The Explorers Club The Explorers Club - Great Britain and Ireland Chapter The Explorers Club- Canadian Chapter ROLEX Mary Paz Brown Beckelmann by @drscharff

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8 days ago

Our team is made up of elder women. This is a choice that allows us to enter communities that value women’s perspectives and experiences. It also means we’re likely to listen differently than other investigators. All of it helps us get significant insights in a relatively short period.

The Human Resilience Project has with us Explorers Club Flag 12 and an Explorers Club Rolex watch in the field in Paraguay.

www.THRProject.com

#TheHumanResilienceProject #exploration #Paraguay #resilience #wellbeing
@explorers_club_pnw @the_explorers_club @rolex taken in Paraguay by @drscharff

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9 days ago

The Alto Paraná community is our next stop. It will take us 6 hours to get to the area. Because of serious storms, we had to push out our departure by a day and rent a seriously large 4x4.

I am really looking forward to meeting this community. We have been in contact with their leader and they seem very welcoming.

The Human Resilience Project has with us Explorers Club Flag 12 and an Explorers Club Rolex watch in the field in Paraguay.

www.THRProject.com

#TheHumanResilienceProject #exploration #Paraguay #resilience #wellbeing
Explorers Club PNW Chapter The Explorers Club The Explorers Club - Great Britain and Ireland Chapter ROLEX by @drscharff

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9 days ago

It's that time of the year, for the FINAL request for SLU Class Notes for 2026 (for the next edition of St. Lawrence Magazine to hit your mailbox in 2027).

Your classmates would love to hear your life updates. Please send to your class reporter OR if you don't know who that is, I'm happy to accept notes from any class year and pass them along to the appropriate person.

I'm class reporter for 1994.

Please SHARE this with all SLU alumni.

@everylaurentian @stlawrenceu @st.lawrencealums taken in St. Lawrence University by @drscharff

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10 days ago

Let’s talk for a moment about ethical expeditions, work that gives back to the communities that facilitate the work: reciprocity.

The Alto Paraná community asked for seeds and food as my gift to the community for participating in The Human Resilience Project. We are given the community’s time in the form of voluntary interviews that ask about their views on what makes them resilient. We give back something they value, in this case seeds and food.

So we bought seeds—excluding broccoli—because that’s what they requested. It does make me smile they were specific about no broccoli. 🥦

I also like to include children in our expeditions, whenever possible. Pictured is the daughter of our community partner, helping us choose seeds.

This is what an expedition looks like, choosing seeds to give back to communities in gratitude for what they give.

The Human Resilience Project has with us Explorers Club Flag 12 and an Explorers Club Rolex watch in the field in Paraguay.

www.THRProject.com

#TheHumanResilienceProject #exploration #Paraguay #resilience #wellbeing

Explorers Club PNW Chapter The Explorers Club ROLEX taken in Asunción, Paraguay by @drscharff

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10 days ago

Within 3 minutes of returning from getting the seeds the Alto Paraná community asked for as a gift, “the sky ripped open and the rain poured through a gaping wound, pelting the women and children…”. The expected storm broke. Now we wait until it passes, and it’s safe to travel to our field site. The good news: the rain is cooling.

This is what an expedition looks like, waiting for storms to pass. Explorers Club Flag 12 and an Explorers Club Rolex watch in the field in Paraguay with The Human Resilience Project.

www.THRProject.com

#TheHumanResilienceProject #exploration #Paraguay #resilience #wellbeing
The Explorers Club Explorers Club PNW Chapter ROLEXMary Paz Brown Beckelmann by @drscharff

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10 days ago

In the field, conditions change. We just roll with it. Whether it’s unexpected dangerous weather or the need to source additional resources, flexibility is key. We’re staying an extra day in the capital to wait out the storm. Safety first.

#TheHumanResilienceProject #exploration #Paraguay #resilience #wellbeing Explorers Club PNW Chapter The Explorers Club ROLEX by @drscharff

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11 days ago