in 1964 when switzerland took in 1,000 tibetan refugees, henri and jacques kuhn provided them with jobs and company housing. in 1967, on the advice of the dalai lama, they founded the tibet institute rikon with an endowment of 100,000 francs and land for building. the institute was inaugurated in 1968 and has become a major religious centre for tibetans in switzerland and neighbouring countries. even now, employees of kuhn rikon have many workers of tibetan descent.