Under the umbrella of Elisabeth ASBL’s network of social institutions, Yolande Coop is an altruistic societal impact company working for inclusion. Since 2007, Yolande Coop has been supporting people with disabilities in their jobs. This SIS has set up 8 workshops offering a professional environment adapted to the specific needs of its employees. “Our mission is to teach our employees a trade, support them in developing their skills and enable them to work as independently as possible,” explains Christiane Schong, Deputy Director of Yolande Coop. Its commitment to the personal development of its employees makes Yolande Coop a profoundly social initiative.
Originally a cooperative, Yolande Coop became a societal impact company in 2019. “We work for the honest inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities,” explains Christiane. “The Impact Luxembourg label gives us a serious image when it comes to our external representation,” she continues, “it offers us visibility so that we can promote the integration of people with disabilities in the labour market.”
To put this spirit of inclusion into practice, Yolande Coop has set up eight sheltered workshops. This government designation applies to workplaces whose structure and organisation have been adapted to the needs of employees with disabilities. It’s a way of giving everyone the chance to fulfil their potential in a profession.
Each workshop is supervised by professionals in the field who pass on their knowledge while remaining attentive to the needs of each person working there. The workshops have two main areas of distribution: services and production. The services are mainly requested by the Elisabeth institution, but also by companies and, in some cases, private individuals.
As for production, each workshop makes its products according to the rules of the craft. The “KichenAtelier” kitchen provides meals for the Elisabeth institution, but also makes food products for sale, such as jams, sauces, liqueurs and many other delicacies. Vegetables for this gourmet workshop come from the vegetable garden of the “Evergreen” workshop, a market gardening and outdoor maintenance project in Betzdorf. This edible garden is maintained without toxic products or pesticides, following a natural philosophy. It’s an approach that not only cares for the planet, but also for Yolande Coop’s employees, who carefully tend this piece of land.
The bakery, KlouschterBrout, produces a wide range of bakery products using natural ingredients, which can be ordered for events or gourmet breakfasts. The “De SeefenAtelier” soap factory offers delicately scented liquid and solid soaps and shampoos made using traditional craftsmanship.
The creations from all these workshops are sold in various Yolande Coop sales outlets. The Buttik SeefenAtelier is in Betzdorf, the Boulangerie Mondorf shop is in Mondorf-les-Bains and the third shop is in the wonderful Butterfly Garden in Grevenmacher, the “Päiperleksgaart”. This unexpected little paradise, run by Yolande Coop, attracts around 40,000 visitors a year who come to admire the butterflies and small tropical animals housed in this glass and green greenhouse.
Among the Yolande Coop products on display are soaps and shampoos in a variety of scents, breads and pastries of all kinds, jars and liqueurs to suit all tastes, and even local vegetables from “Evergreen”, sold once a week in Betzdorf. Other outlets outside Yolande Coop also sell their products, including Kaf Lokal in Esch, Luxembourg House and Pall Center. A catalogue is available on their website https://www.yolandecoop.lu/fr/yolande-coop/ and can be browsed to see all the products made in these workshops as well as the services offered.
