Projects:
KoKoTé – The Uri Bag Manufactory
KoKoTé is both a professionally managed company for bags and accessories of the highest quality and a unique social project. Entrepreneurs, a renowned designer, and people with a refugee background work together in Uri.
The goal is to prepare adults with a refugee background (especially women over 26) for the Swiss labor market through remedial training and practical experience. Through an internship, they learn what Swiss employers expect in terms of reliability, cooperation, and behavior.
A certain language level (tested at the beginning and end of the internship) is a prerequisite for a follow-up solution: be it a pre-apprenticeship (VOL 26+), a vocational training (EFZ/EBA), or a permanent position. Almost 80% achieve this goal – thanks in part to ongoing adjustments to training and support measures.
Women's empowerment project
The women's empowerment project of the Association Equilibre is aimed at refugee women over 26 years of age with family responsibilities who live in Switzerland. The goal is to enable them to access recognized vocational training (EBA or EFZ) and to support them on their path to a self-determined, financially independent life.
Since many of these women have little or no formal education and often live in isolation, the project offers individualized learning and education plans tailored to their prior knowledge, living conditions, and learning goals. The duration of the remedial education can range from one to five years, depending on individual needs.
The participants are accompanied by experienced professionals, including vocational trainers and mentors, who provide both technical and personal support. The project places particular emphasis on practical, everyday learning, building self-confidence, and long-term integration into society and the world of work.
The project is primarily funded by the Hirschmann Foundation. Additional support comes from cantonal offices, integration agencies, the regional employment center (RAV), the Swiss Red Cross, as well as private companies and foundations. The women's children also indirectly benefit from their mothers' improved educational opportunities and social integration.
The comprehensive evaluation report on this project, prepared in 2025, shows that the resources invested were well worth it and the objectives were fully achieved. (see evaluation report ).
Educational and employment integration measures for women with a refugee background in the Circular Lab, Atelier & Workshop at Kaiserhaus Bern
The activities of the Association Equilibre with the KoKoTé work integration project and the numerous associated educational measures for people with a refugee background and especially women have so far been limited to the canton of Uri.
In 2025, the Association Equilibre produced a comprehensive evaluation report on this project. The report shows that the resources invested were well worth it and that the objectives were fully achieved (see evaluation report ). Therefore, the decision was made to scale the project to Bern.
From April 2026, KoKoTé, together with the association Circular LAB and other partners, will operate an open workshop and studio on the first floor of the Kaiserhaus in Bern , which will be publicly accessible and in which, in addition to production, regenerative circularity in the field of textiles, fashion, bags and accessories as well as ceramics will be visibly practiced: Care, Repair, Refurbish, Re-Innovation and Upcycling.
Furthermore, and this is where the knowledge and experience of the AE comes into play, women with a refugee background are to be trained until they obtain a vocational qualification.
For those interested, here is a short version of the project description .