Kenyans fear Dakatcha Woodlands biofuel expansion
23 March 2011
By Will Ross
BBC News, Dakatcha
Sitting in the shade of a tree beside his hut in in Kenya's Dakatcha Woodlands, Joshua Kahindi Pekeshe is defiant.
"We are not going to let this land go even if it indicates shedding blood," he told the BBC.
"Land is extremely essential to us. We farm and get our livelihood from it. On this land we bury our dead."
He is among the many individuals opposed to the production of a large 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 worldwide threatened animal and bird types.
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 stay out animals - goats remain well away as it is harmful. The location affected is community 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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