Kenyans fear Dakatcha Woodlands biofuel expansion
23 March 2011
By Will Ross
BBC News, Dakatcha
Sitting in the shade of a tree next to his thatched mud hut in in Kenya's Dakatcha Woodlands, Joshua Kahindi Pekeshe is defiant.
"We are not going to let this land go even if it implies shedding blood," he told the BBC.
"Land is very essential to us. We farm and get our livelihood from it. On this land we bury our dead."
He is one of the numerous individuals opposed to the production of a large biofuel plantation in the area, about an hour's drive inland from the seaside town of Malindi.
It is a dry location and home to some 20,000 people as well as worldwide threatened animal and bird species.
Ambitious goals
An Italian company has asked the authorities for approval to lease 50,000 hectares there to grow jatropha curcas, whose seeds are rich in oil that can be turned into bio-diesel.
This plant, originally from South America, has actually long been grown in Africa as a hedge to keep out animals - goats stay well away as it is toxic. The location impacted is community land which is being kept in trust by the regional council.
Kenya Jatropha Energy Ltd is 100%-owned by the Milan-based Nuove Iniziative Industriali SRL.
It has actually leased nearly a million hectares in Africa
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Kenyans Fear Dakatcha Woodlands Biofuel Expansion
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