EKO

What EKO does

Association EKO! (SIREN 851 768 317) is a French non-profit association (loi 1901) recognised d'intérêt général, founded around 2015 by Marjolaine Bert, who remains directrice. It operates from Briançon (Hautes-Alpes) with antennas in Marseille and on Lesbos (Greece) and runs four platform modules: (1) Low-tech & Réfugiés, the flagship programme launched in 2018 on Lesbos and replicated in France from 2021 that builds resilience and socio-professional autonomy of exiled persons through low-tech skills; (2) Low-tech A(l)titude, a 2025–2027 European LEADER co-financed territorial project co-led with Environnement & Solidarité covering three communautés de communes in the Grand Briançonnais; (3) Low-tech Loko, a forthcoming dedicated experimental site targeting 13 emblematic low-tech systems and 15 active members; and (4) ekolok, the ecological-and-solidarity colocation network launched at COP21 in December 2015. The underlying technology stack is low-tech rather than digital: simple, locally-resourced systems (solar cookers, rocket stoves, Norwegian hay boxes, solar dryers, solar air heaters, photovoltaic panels, bike pedal generators, permaculture designs, eco-construction, Linux) — 93% of materials sourced from recovery or upcycling, with open-source tutorials disseminated via the Low-tech Lab wiki.

Name

EKO

Legal name

Association EKO!

Website

https://asso-eko.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Association EKO! is a French non-profit that builds resilience and socio-professional autonomy in exiled persons and Grand Briançonnais residents by teaching low-tech skills (solar cookers, rocket stoves, permaculture) via makerspaces, trainings and integration programs across Briançon, Marseille and Lesbos.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainability education and low-tech training

NAICS

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54), Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental, Health & Safety / Sustainability (EHS, Environmental Compliance CE) (EDAAALAO)

Keywords

• Low-tech education
• Refugee socio-professional integration
• Permaculture design training
• Ecological transition workshops
• Solidarity colocation networks

Headquarters

HQ city

Briançon

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Tax-deductible donations (individual and corporate): Donations collected via HelloAsso; individuals deduct 66% from income tax up to 20% of taxable income; enterprises deduct 60% from corporate tax within limits of €10,000 and 0.5% of annual turnover.
2. Membership fees (prix libre): Free-to-set-price membership; 2/3 of the amount is tax-deductible; supports activities and signals symbolic adherence.
3. European LEADER funding for Low-tech A(l)titude project: Project co-financed by the European LEADER fund for a 2-year duration from 01/07/2025 to 30/06/2027.
4. Free-and-conscious-price training fees (permaculture CCP): Permaculture Design Certificate (CCP) training priced 'prix libre et conscient' with a minimum of €800 plus optional lodging and lunch; billed per participant per session.
5. Reuse and up-cycling of donated materials and premises: 93% of materials come from recovery/upcycling; venues, tools, materials, food and vehicles are donated or loaned free of charge, reducing cash expenses.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

Association EKO! is a French non-profit association (loi 1901, SIREN 851 768 317) that delivers low-tech training, ateliers and socio-professional integration programmes to exiled persons, local residents and ecological-transition professionals across its Briançon, Marseille and Lesbos antennas. Its core deliverables are the Low-tech & Réfugiés programme, the Low-tech A(l)titude territorial project, the Low-tech Loko experimental site and the ekolok solidarity-colocation network, supported by certifying trainings such as the Permaculture Design Certificate (CCP/PDC).

Product overview

Association EKO! is a French non-profit (association loi 1901, SIREN 851 768 317) that delivers a portfolio of low-tech projects rather than a single unified product. The architecture is platform-plus-modules: EKO! acts as the associative umbrella and runs four core programs — Low-tech & Réfugiés (the flagship resilience program for exiled people in Lesbos, Briançon and Marseille since 2018), Low-tech A(l)titude (the European LEADER-funded territorial project for the Grand Briançonnais co-led with Environnement & Solidarité from July 2025 to June 2027), Low-tech Loko (a forthcoming dedicated low-tech experimentation place) and ekolok (the convivial ecological colocation network launched at COP21 in 2015). These modules share sub-products such as the Permaculture Design Certificate (CCP) training, the Low-tech Makerspaces (Briançon, Marseille, Lesbos) and the open-source tutorials published on the Low-tech Lab wiki.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Low-tech & Réfugiés: Project improving resilience and autonomy of exiled people through diffusion of low-tech know-how and socio-professional integration into ecological trades.
• Low-tech A(l)titude
• Low-tech Loko
• ekolok

Products and services

• Low-tech & Réfugiés Flagship programme launched in 2018 that builds the resilience and autonomy of exiled people through low-tech skills diffusion and socio-professional integration into ecological trades. Active at Lesbos (Greece), Briançon and Marseille, with discovery ateliers, certifying trainings, socio-professional accompaniment, Low-tech Makerspaces and support for ecological-transition actors.
• Low-tech A(l)titude Territorial project co-led with Environnement & Solidarité and co-financed by the European LEADER fund (01/07/2025-30/06/2027). Offers low-tech trainings (permaculture design, photovoltaic panel installation, solar air heater fabrication, rocket stove fabrication), low-tech ateliers (solar dryer, bike electrification, hay box, solar tube, Linux, solar cooking, basketry) and the annual Festival Low-tech across the Grand Briançonnais.
• Low-tech Loko Dedicated low-tech experimentation and sharing place co-created by EKO!. Aims to install 13 emblematic low-tech systems (lightweight habitat/yurt/tiny house, compost, dry or separation toilets, rainwater harvesting, water filter, rocket stove, bike pedal, chickens, hay box, solar cooker, solar dryer, solar water heater, lacto-fermentation, foraging, basketry, homemade cosmetics) plus 6 complementary realisations (permacultural design, agroecology, pallet-wood signage, LPO refuge, land art). Targets 15 active members and 5 activities on-site.
• ekolok Network programme developing and supporting convivial, ecological and solidarity-oriented collective housing (colocations). Maintains a contact database, a dedicated Facebook page and a free downloadable 'Guide de la colocation écologique et solidaire' co-authored by Marjolaine Bert and Célie Couché, edited by Colibris. Provides 8 practical fiches with exercises.
• Permaculture Design Certificate (CCP / PDC) training Two-week participatory certifying training delivering the internationally recognised Permaculture Design Certificate (CCP/PDC). Held in Briançon (Hautes-Alpes) with conscious pricing (minimum €800 plus optional lodging and lunch), in partnership with Renouv'Alpes, and delivered by multiple trainers covering permaculture design principles, climatology, water management, botany, regenerative agriculture, governance, ethics and traditional/vernacular strategies.
• Low-tech Makerspace Physical meeting, repair, fabrication, learning and sharing space dedicated to low-tech and sustainable jobs, located at Les Terrasses Solidaires (34 route de Grenoble, Briançon), La Base (Marseille) and the operational site in Lesbos. Used as a training venue for the Low-tech & Réfugiés and Low-tech A(l)titude programmes.
• Low-tech tutorials on the Low-tech Lab wiki Free open-source tutorials published on the Low-tech Lab wiki platform (wiki.lowtechlab.org) to enable self-experimentation with low-tech solutions (solar cookers, rocket stoves, hay boxes, solar dryers, photovoltaic panels, solar air heaters, etc.), under the 'Group: Low-tech with Refugees' group.

Quantifiable outcome

• 15,000+ beneficiaries since 2018
• +4 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core, historical and recognition.

• Environnement & SolidaritéflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-develops and co-runs the Low-tech A(l)titude project in Grand Briançonnais. Co-financed by Europe LEADER from 01/07/2025 to 30/06/2027. Co-organises the Festival Low-tech (3–5 October 2025). Hosts the professional low-tech training at Ferme de Environnement & Solidarité (5 rue Joseph Silvestre, Briançon).
• Low-tech LabflagshipTechnology or IntegrationHosts EKO!'s free open-source tutorials on the wiki.lowtechlab.org platform under 'Group: Low-tech with Refugees'. Co-hosts the national Low-tech Lab annual seminar at Briançon (4–8 October 2025) during the Festival Low-tech.
• HelloAssocoreGTM or Marketing PartnerOnline platform powering EKO!'s donations, memberships and course registrations (e.g. helloasso.com/associations/eko-low-tech). Also runs the 'Cours certifiant à la permaculture' shop.
• Renouv'AlpescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for the photovoltaic panel installation training (21–25 September 2026) within the Low-tech A(l)titude project.
• Low-tech Lab de GrenoblecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-runs the solar air heater (chauffe-air solaire) training (16–18 October 2026) within the Low-tech A(l)titude project.
• Ticket for ChangehistoricalOthersCoached founder Marjolaine Bert in social entrepreneurship at the launch of the ekolok project (December 2015, COP21 in Paris).
• Association ColibrishistoricalGTM or Marketing PartnerEdited and disseminated the 'Guide pratique de l'habitat collectif écologique et solidaire' co-written by Marjolaine Bert and Célie Couché (March 2016).
• Low-tech Lab (pilot programme origin)historicalStrategic or Co-development PartnerLow-tech Lab launched the pilot project 'Low-tech for Refugees' on Lesbos in March 2018. EKO! continues and replicates this approach in France under 'Low-tech & Réfugiés'.
• Réseau PRECIrecognitionOthersGranted the Prix Coup de cœur du public au Prix Initiatives Circulaires 2025 for the Low-tech & Refugiés project.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Ticket for Change: French social-entrepreneurship support organization that coached EKO!'s founder at the launch of the ekolok project in 2015. Adjacent peer in the social-impact incubator ecosystem; comparable as a French non-profit developing purpose-driven projects via training and incubation, but not a direct operational competitor.

Broad incumbents

• Emmaüs France: Major French solidarity-economy federation active in refugee reception, circular economy (recycling/upcycling) and socio-professional integration. Strong mission overlap with EKO!'s Low-tech & Réfugiés programme, though operating at national scale with a much broader scope.
• Habitat & Humanisme: French non-profit developing affordable and ecological housing. Strong overlap with the ekolok project's mission on convivial, solidarity-oriented and ecological colocation, though at a much larger national scale.
• Singa: French non-profit supporting refugee integration through entrepreneurship and cultural exchange. Comparable in its focus on socio-professional integration of exiled persons in France, but broader than EKO!'s low-tech-specific training pathway.
• Les Petits Débrouillards: Large French non-profit running hands-on science and ecological education ateliers for diverse audiences. Comparable as a national-scale association using workshops and makers to diffuse practical know-how, though operating across a broader STEM remit than low-tech.

Direct peers

• Low-tech Lab: French low-tech movement and wiki publisher that originally launched the 'Low-tech for Refugees' pilot in Lesbos in 2018, later replicated by EKO!. Closest peer: shares the same low-tech pedagogical methodology, open-source wiki platform and Lesbos origin story.
• Open Source Ecology: International movement that open-sources the Global Village Construction Set of 50 industrial machines. Comparable peer in the open-source low-tech ecosystem and DIY fabrication philosophy that underpins EKO!'s ateliers and makerspaces.
• Environnement & Solidarité: Co-developer and co-leader of EKO!'s Low-tech A(l)titude project; co-hosts the Festival Low-tech and hosts professional low-tech training at its Ferme in Briançon. Shares the same Grand Briançonnais territory, low-tech training mission and EU LEADER-funded delivery model.

Emerging players

• La Recyclerie Sportive (Marseille): Operates the first recyclerie sportive in Marseille's northern quartiers, co-located with EKO!'s Marseille antenna at La Base. Comparable as a regional circular-economy/upcycling operator with overlap in low-tech repair and community makerspace activities.
• Association Colibris: French ecological transition movement that edited and disseminated EKO!'s ekolok guide. Comparable as a national convener for ecological lifestyles, eco-habitat and collective housing themes that overlap with the ekolok project.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@assoEKO
• Facebookfacebook.com/lowtechwithrefugees
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/associationeko
• Instagraminstagram.com/lowtechwithrefugees
• Xx.com/association_eko

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about EKO