Kenyans fear Dakatcha Woodlands biofuel expansion
23 March 2011
By Will Ross
BBC News, Dakatcha
Being 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 suggests shedding blood," he informed the BBC.
"Land is extremely important to us. We farm and get our livelihood from it. On this land we bury our dead."
He is one of the many individuals opposed to the production of a big biofuel plantation in the location, about an hour's drive inland from the seaside town of Malindi.
It is an arid area and home to some 20,000 people as well as internationally threatened animal and bird species.
Ambitious objectives
An Italian business has asked the authorities for approval to rent 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 dangerous. The location affected is neighborhood land which is being kept in trust by the local council.
Kenya jatropha curcas Energy Ltd is 100%-owned by the Milan-based Nuove Iniziative Industriali SRL.
It has leased nearly a million hectares in Africa
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Kenyans Fear Dakatcha Woodlands Biofuel Expansion
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