Franz Huber and Dr. Yvonne Herzog

Before Franz Huber, an entrepreneur from Uri, decided to set up the non-profit association Association Equilibre, he had previously worked for several years as a voluntary mediator of internships and apprenticeships for young refugees in the canton of Uri and beyond.

As an entrepreneur, he had good contacts in the business world, which was beneficial to a successful placement. He soon noticed that there were many offers for young refugees, but almost none for refugees older than 26. He met some refugees who were repeatedly unemployed after doing unskilled jobs and also those who had been "looking at the ceiling" (quote from a refugee) in their flats for years and were threatening to slip into depression.

He also noticed that many refugees had attended a German course once, even for a longer period of time, but because of a lack of contact with the local population or no opportunities to speak German regularly at a place of work, they quickly lost the German they had once learned.

Franz Huber, together with his wife Yvonne Herzog, then founded the most comprehensive project of the Association Equilibre to date, the JLT Company AG. In particular, the board members of the Association Equilibre, Francine de Reynier, Carsten Jörgensen and FX Brun are heavily involved in the "JLT / KoKoTé" project on a voluntary basis in addition to their board activities.

KoKoTé was launched in 2019 and is the brand for bags and accessories made from ecological materials. The products impress with their simple and elegant design.