Kenyans fear Dakatcha Woodlands biofuel growth
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 bold.
"We are not going to let this land go even if it means shedding blood," he informed the BBC.
"Land is really 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 development of a big biofuel plantation in the location, about an hour's drive inland from the coastal town of Malindi.
It is an arid area and home to some 20,000 individuals along with globally threatened animal and bird types.
Ambitious goals
An Italian company has asked the authorities for permission to lease 50,000 hectares there to grow jatropha curcas, whose seeds are abundant in oil that can be turned into bio-diesel.
This plant, initially from South America, has actually long been grown in Africa as a hedge to stay out animals - goats stay well away as it is poisonous. The location impacted is neighborhood land which is being held in trust by the local council.
Kenya Jatropha Energy Ltd is 100%-owned by the Milan-based Nuove Iniziative Industriali SRL.
It has actually leased almost a million hectares in Africa
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Kenyans Fear Dakatcha Woodlands Biofuel Expansion
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