Siah Rudbar Village is located in the eastern Alborz Mountain range. One of the main biosphere reserves of Taxus Baccata tree in Iran, this village has pristine nature and environment.

 Locals named this evergreen tree “Sorkhdar”. It is also known as the “Tree of Life” because it’s a natural heritage that remained from Ice Age. The forests surrounded Siah Rudbar Village have been registered as Iran’s national natural heritage.

Fortunately, in these recent years, locals started to conserve this precious plant instead of large-scale cutting and selling it. We tried to create more sustainable job opportunities for them such as reviving forgotten crafts, improving tourism, and growing herbs.

Now, all the locals love Sorkhdar the same as their children and try their best to save it. We also ran a campaign named “I am a Sorkhdar too” and try to build the culture of environmental conservation with the help of locals.