In the village of Nashtifan in northeastern Iran, Mohammad Etebari serves as the last keeper of an ancient tradition. Now elderly, Etebari has dedicated his life to keeping the town’s few dozen historic windmills turning.

But Etebari doesn’t know how much more time he has, and none of the younger generation seem interested in the hard work of daily maintenance. Without his regular attention, the windmills that have put the town on the tourist map may one day stop.

“It’s the pure, clean air that makes the windmills rotate—the life-giving air that everyone can breathe,” Etebari says in the above video. (See what you know about wind power.)

Made of natural clay, straw, and wood, the windmills have been milling grain for