Radically Rural: 2026 Summit
Reckoning & Reorienting
Radical means going to the roots. And roots, by their nature, do not act alone, they form relationships. As they grow, they turn away from what is toxic and toward what is nourishing.
This year’s summit invites participants to walk in both worlds: to reckon honestly with what is coming apart in the-world-as-it-is-now, while exploring the practices already stabilizing and readying rural communities for profound transformations: the-world-as-it-could-be
Reckoning
Many of us sense that the old maps no longer match the terrain. We are facing real pressures: affordability, housing shortages, childcare gaps, education strain, fragile funding systems, ecological & social breakdown, and more.
These forces are reshaping daily life in rural places right now.
Reckoning means naming them clearly and opening space for honest exploration of the upstream drivers of many of the intersecting challenges of our time.
Reorienting
Rural communities are not standing still. The summit provides a rare opportunity to gather as neighbors, artists, organizers, journalists, farmers, public servants, and practitioners across many sectors. Like roots, we will form and deepen relationships.
In our sessions, we will encounter communities practicing new (sometimes old) patterns of cooperation and care. We will explore models and tools for stabilizing local systems through municipal resilience efforts, strong local journalism, food systems, shared governance, land stewardship, and more.
