A unique example of 150 years old community work and the self-organization of the population of the Kvemo Machkhaani village is a theater, for construction of which each resident of the village had been collecting money for 9 years. They managed to do it and on July 25, 1899, the Theater of Kvemo Machkhaani was opened with the play “Khanuma”.

The architect of the building is unknown. The 2-story brick construction merges well with the urban environment of the village and, at the same time, its interior architectural concept is similar to contemporary European theaters - the building provides space for reading and the opportunity to hold various discussions or educational events.

Each resident of Kvemo Machkhaani was involved in the implementation of various initiatives important for the village – they were setting priorities of the village in economic, cultural-educational or other areas and then raising funds in different ways. Results of their self-organization and initiatives are as follows: school, reading room, theater, public workshop depot-bank, pharmacy and etc.

Community Development Center (CDC) and Center of Contemporary Art - Tbilisi (CCA), with the support of the Open Society Georgia Foundation, searched for a lot of interesting stories of community self-organization before the occupation of Georgia, similar to that of Kvemo Machkhaani, and published a book containing them.

The occupation of 1921 discouraged all kinds of motivation and initiative as in Machkhaani, as well as in other villages or regions of Georgia. Since then, initiatives were rarely heard in the village. While today, there have appeared young people thirsting for novelty and culture. One of the examples of this is the campaign, which is a chance for the second life of the Kvemo Machkhaani Theater. They invite theaters from different cities to perform in Kvemo Machkhaani.

#ShareTheResponsibility because #ThisCountryIsYours