Culture Hack Labs has opened applications for the 2026 Rhizome Fellowship, a nine-month program for narrative practitioners, artists, journalists, storytellers, and activists working at the intersection of culture change and regenerative solutions. The fellowship is fully funded, with no cost to participating organizations.
The program is built around five research-driven pathways: restoring justice and ecological life, building regenerative economies, returning land to community stewardship, advancing bioregional governance, and reconnecting spiritual and cultural practices with the living world. These pathways emerged from the Culture Hack Labs research series “Beyond the Carbon Fixation: Pathways to Regenerative Futures,” which examines how communities can liberate land, waters, and ecosystems from the enclosures of capitalism and colonialism.
How the Fellowship Works
The program runs from May through December 2026 with bi-weekly online sessions on Thursdays and a one-week in-person gathering in Costa Rica in late October. Fellows develop narrative intervention projects using the Culture Hack Method, with mentorship, peer exchange, and project incubation support throughout.
Applicants must apply as a collective or organization with at least two participants. Each selected project receives a nine-month scholarship that includes learning sessions, personal advisory support, access to methodology and tools, and all travel expenses to Costa Rica. No direct funds are distributed to participants.
Bioregional Governance as a Core Pathway
Of particular relevance to the Cascadia bioregion, one of the five fellowship pathways focuses explicitly on bioregional community governance: decentralized governance structures that empower communities to manage their resources in alignment with ecological limits. This represents a growing recognition within global narrative and systems change work that bioregionalism offers a concrete framework for the cultural transformation these movements seek.
How to Apply
Two introductory open calls are scheduled for March 26 and April 2, 2026. Attendance at these sessions is required to apply. The application deadline is April 16, 2026, with fellows announced in early May.
The 2025 cohort drew over 200 applications from 45 countries, with 21 fellows selected. Visit the Rhizome Fellowship page for full details, FAQs, and the application form.