Research articleI present a case study of institutional hybridization in Mbinga district within and across politically defined boundaries after the occurrence of stress, which purist institutions (state institutions or customary institutions independently) fail to contain. Thus, based on the experiential learning and facilitation by non-local-based players, a hybrid institution is designed in one spatial space at a certain temporal point. This seems to be successful in addressing the stress. As such, other social players at another politically defined boundary adapt the hybrid institution based on their local context. Similarly, some actions governed by the hybrid institution at specific spaces of time and place out-scale across the politically defined boundaries to other spatial and temporal spaces. As a conclusion, the implications of out-scaling and hybridization are given with reference to socio-economic development and environmental conservation.