The dual transition, understood as the convergence of digital transformation and environmental sustainability, has emerged as a central strategic paradigm for territorial development and innovation policy. However, existing scholarship has predominantly focused on urban, industrial, and technologically mature environments, leaving rural and artisanal production systems underexplored. This gap is theoretically significant because conventional innovation ecosystem frameworks insufficiently explain how innovation emerges in contexts where tacit, culturally embedded knowledge constitutes the dominant productive resource. To address this limitation, this study introduces the concept of Intelligent Knowledge Ecosystems (IKEs), defined as socio-technical and territorially embedded configurations in which collective intelligence, knowledge recombination, and accessible digital-environmental capabilities interact to generate adaptive, inclusive, and sustainable innovation processes. Unlike conventional innovation ecosystems, which frequently emphasize formal institutional arrangements and market-oriented value creation, IKEs position tacit community knowledge as a strategic innovation asset and conceptualize technology as an enabler of collective learning rather than as an exogenous driver of transformation. Methodologically, the research adopts a participatory action research design implemented over a 12-month intervention in an artisan ceramic production community in Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato, Mexico. The study involved 48 participants, including artisans, university students, researchers, and institutional actors. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, co-creation workshops, and field observations, and analyzed using thematic coding and process tracing to identify causal mechanisms underpinning ecosystem emergence and innovation dynamics. The findings indicate that innovation in this context does not emerge through isolated technological adoption, but through structured processes of knowledge recombination between traditional artisanal expertise and contemporary digital and sustainability-oriented tools. These interactions improved productive efficiency, supported more sustainable production practices, strengthened local capabilities, and reinforced cultural identity. The study contributes in three principal ways. First, it advances innovation ecosystem theory by proposing the IKE construct as a more inclusive and context-sensitive framework. Second, it provides empirical evidence from a traditionally underrepresented setting. Third, it offers a transferable model for integrating universities, communities, and accessible technologies in support of territorially grounded dual transition strategies.