What Stiftung Bernaville does

Stiftung Bernaville is a Swiss nonprofit foundation (Stiftung) headquartered in Schwarzenburg, Canton of Bern, providing integrated residential care, adapted employment, and day-structure services for people with physical, intellectual, or psychological disabilities. Its service stack spans 365-day housing (Wohne), sheltered workshops (Schaffe) with an internal school (Schuel), job coaching and temporary labor-market integration support (Temporär mit Bernaville), and a full volunteer/godparent community program (Freiwillige, Götticlub). The foundation's commercial product and service portfolio is operated across multiple in-house departments — firewood production (in cooperation with Universitäre Psychiatrische Dienste Bern / UPD AG), a garden center (Gärtnerei) with plant wintering, a laundry (Wösch), industrial services in metal/paper/carton packaging, hand weaving (Handweberei), and culinary services (Mahlzeitendienst, catering, banquets, café) — all distributed through its own retail outlets (Bernaville Shop und Café, Holzplatz with 24/7 self-service, Gärtnerei with 24/7 self-service) plus an online firewood ordering channel with zoned delivery.

The business model is a hybrid direct-to-consumer social enterprise: revenue is generated from the sale of own-produced goods and services to local consumers and SMBs in the Bern/Schwarzenburg region (firewood priced Fr. 10–230 per unit with Fr. 25–40 zoned delivery, plus catering, laundry, garden, and handicraft transactions), supplemented by industrial/packaging service contracts and residential care funding. There is no disclosed revenue, no public pricing beyond firewood, and no third-party reseller or distributor network. Marketing is local and referral-driven, supported by a Mailchimp newsletter and the bernaville.ch website, with Google Analytics used for traffic analysis.

Technology disclosure is limited: no proprietary platform is described, and core workshop activities use conventional manual methods (hand weaving, woodworking, gardening, laundry, food preparation). The UPD AG cooperation is the only disclosed strategic institutional relationship, securing raw wood supply and continuity of service for the legacy customer base of Werkstätten Bern. The foundation is governed under Swiss foundation law with no parent company, shareholders, or institutional investment structure disclosed.

Name

Stiftung Bernaville

Legal name

Stiftung Bernaville

Website

https://bernaville.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Stiftung Bernaville is a Swiss nonprofit foundation in Schwarzenburg, Canton of Bern, providing 365-day residential care, adapted employment, and vocational integration services for people with disabilities, funded by a mix of commercial sales (firewood, garden, laundry, industrial, culinary) and residential-care payments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Disability Services and Sheltered Employment

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Community Food Services (624210), Curtain and Linen Mills (314120)

SIC

Miscellaneous Furniture & Fixtures (2590)

akta.pro primary industry

Disability Services & Independent Living Support (BPAGACAG)

Keywords

• Sheltered employment services
• Residential disability care
• Adapted workplace programs
• Social foundation services
• Vocational day programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Schwarzenburg

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Retail Products — Handicrafts, Firewood, Plants: Sale of self-produced goods including firewood (produced in cooperation with UPD), plants and gardening products from the garden center, textiles from the hand weaving workshop, and firelighters. Products are sold via the foundation's own shop, garden center, wood yard, and online ordering form.
2. Laundry Services (Wösch): Washing, processing, and mending services offered as part of the adapted workplace offerings for people with disabilities.
3. Culinary & Catering Services: Meal delivery service, catering, banquets, and café operations. The Bernaville Café and Shop serve meals and refreshments to visitors.
4. Industry & Industrial Services: Industrial services involving metal, paper, and carton processing. Includes mass packaging and assembly services, provided as adapted workplace solutions for people with disabilities.
5. Residential and Day-Structure Care: Housing services (Wohne) operating 365 days a year and day-structure programs (Tagesstruktur / Schaffe) providing meaningful employment for people with disabilities. Temporary integration support (Temporär mit Bernaville) helps place individuals in the primary labor market.
6. Plant Wintering Services: Garden center offers plant wintering services as part of its product and service range.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Stiftung Bernaville is a Swiss nonprofit foundation that operates adapted residential housing, sheltered employment, and day-structure programs for people with disabilities in Schwarzenburg, Canton Bern. It runs multiple production workshops (firewood, gardening, laundry, hand weaving, industrial services, and culinary services) that employ people with disabilities and sell the resulting goods and services — firewood, plants, textiles, meals, laundry, industrial packaging — through its own shop, café, garden center, wood yard, online ordering form, and direct delivery within a defined regional zone.

Product overview

Stiftung Bernaville operates a multi-service foundation offering adapted housing and employment for people with disabilities. The product portfolio includes: Brennholz (firewood production with UPD cooperation), Shop (online/physical retail with hand-woven textiles and fire starters), Gärtnerei (greenhouse and gardening services), Wösch (laundry services), Industrie & Dienstleistige (industrial services with metal, paper, cardboard), Kulinarisches (meal delivery, catering, café), and Bernaville Shop und Café (combined retail and café). The foundation's operations span residential services (Wohne) and daytime structured activities (Tagesstruktur), with products sold both online and through physical locations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wohnen (Residential Care)

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Universitäre Psychiatrische Dienste Bern (UPD) AGcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Bernaville and UPD AG operate a cooperative firewood production facility. Wood is delivered to Bernaville's wood yard where it is processed (cut, split, packaged) in steps adapted to the abilities of Bernaville's workers, then sold under Bernaville's brand. This partnership allows Bernaville to reliably serve the long-standing customer base of Werkstätten Bern and meet growing demand.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Stiftung Wagerenhof: Swiss foundation in Uster operating sheltered workshops, residential care, and day-structure programs for people with disabilities under a similar integrated model. Most directly comparable peer given the workshop + Wohnen + day-structure offering.
• Stiftung Joël: Swiss foundation providing residential and vocational services for people with disabilities, including adapted workplaces and supported employment pathways. Comparable scope of care-to-employment services in a single foundation structure.
• Stiftung Brüttelenbad: Swiss foundation providing sheltered workplaces and residential care for people with disabilities in the Bern region, with similar workshop-based revenue model and regional concentration.
• Stiftung Roggenhof: Swiss foundation combining residential living, workshops, and agricultural/green-care activities for people with disabilities. Comparable diversified activity portfolio including a garden/agriculture component similar to Bernaville's Gärtnerei.

Broad incumbents

• Pro Infirmis: Switzerland's largest disability advocacy and service organization, operating across cantons with broader scope (advice, accommodation, work integration) than Bernaville but serving the same beneficiary segment.
• Inclusion Handicap (Dachverband): Swiss umbrella organization of disability service providers, policy advocacy body relevant to Bernaville's funding and regulatory environment. Not a direct service peer but a structural comparable defining the same operating landscape.
• Caritas Schweiz: Major Swiss social-services NGO offering sheltered employment, integration programs, and housing support across Switzerland. Operates at greater scale and broader mandate, with overlapping services in adapted workplaces and labor-market integration.

Emerging players

• Lebenshilfe: German federation of disability service providers operating sheltered workshops (Werkstätten), residential homes, and integration services. Cross-border comparable with similar workshop + residence structure at much larger scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/stiftungbernaville
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stiftung-bernaville

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Stiftung Bernaville