BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Dec. 30, 2025 - PRLog -- The Human Resilience Project (THRP) is closing out a breakthrough year with discoveries that are rewriting our understanding of how humans thrive despite adversity, and opening 2026 with an ambitious expedition schedule.
In 2025, operating under Explorers Club Flag #12 and with an Explorers Club Rolex watch, the group completed two expeditions that revealed sophisticated resilience mechanisms transcending culture and geography.
In Kenya, researchers interviewed members of the Gabra, traditionally camel-herding nomads who have lost 85% of their livestock to drought. As their traditional way of life ends, the team documented three profound survival strategies: radical acceptance of reality without resistance; unquestioning faith that finds meaning in all outcomes; and reciprocity that binds communities to rise or fall together.
In Aotearoa (New Zealand), the team studied how the Māori have successfully resisted assimilation while building political and cultural power. They identified five core resilience elements: whakapapa: kinship connecting people to ancestors and land; whanaungatanga: collective responsibility to those yet to be born; whenua: sacred relationship with land as a living relative; te reo Māori: language preservation as cultural lifeline; and humor as both defiance and healing.
"These aren't just survival stories, they're instruction manuals," said Dr. Constance Scharff, principal investigator for the project and THRP's founder. "What we're discovering has immediate relevance as communities worldwide face climate change, displacement, conflict, and ultimately, transformation."
The work continues in 2026. THRP is fielding and seeking funding for four expeditions:
- Indonesia (Sumatra) — Batak communities, conservationists, and rangers protecting orangutan populations amid ongoing deforestation
- Alaska — Iñupiaq peoples navigating radical Arctic transformation
- Israel — Examining desert agriculture innovation and resilience amid ongoing conflict
- Paraguay — Guaraní peoples defending ancestral lands
The 2025 expeditions proved the concept, yielding important insights. The 2026 slate will expand our understanding of universal human resilience strategies, knowledge necessary as we navigate an uncertain future.
"The communities we collaborate with face accelerating pressures. In some cases, the knowledge they hold risks disappearing entirely," said Scharff. "We have a narrow window; we're inviting supporters who understand this urgency to join us."
To support 2026 expeditions or learn more, go to the website: The Human Resilience Project.
THRP is affiliated with the California Institute for Human Science.
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Source: The Human Resilience Project
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