Waching macine made of Beetroot is a collaborative exhibition by three museums — Estonian Agricultural Museum, Estonian Road Museum, and Tartu City Museum—featured as a main project of the Tartu 2024 European Capital of Culture program. The exhibition explores the DIY spirit and inventiveness of the Soviet era.

During the Soviet period, every household and collective farm had small garden plots that helped enrich the table during times of scarcity. Hardship and limited resources spurred people's creativity. Ingenious tools and machinery were invented for gardening, not only built but also repaired to serve their owners for decades.

"Valuable gadgets" were sourced from scrapyards and farm repair shops, where resourceful individuals with "golden hands" assembled parts into tractors or other machines. These masters were also inventors, as they had no models to follow, relying instead on trial and error. Welding and locksmithing skills were undoubtedly advantageous.

Harvested produce was processed at home into preserves, jams, juices, and other goods, with new and exciting recipes constantly being sought out and collected.

The exhibition will be open to all enthusiasts from April 24, 2024 to December 31, 2025.

No rural home or dining room was complete without the beautiful textiles crafted by the hostess, which adorned both the table and the spaces they occupied.

These themes are also addressed in the exhibition, inviting visitors to reflect on how necessity can be turned into choice.

Come and explore the ingenuity and DIY skills of people from the past!