Kenyans fear Dakatcha Woodlands biofuel growth
23 March 2011
By Will Ross
BBC News, Dakatcha
Sitting in the shade of a tree beside 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 indicates shedding blood," he told the BBC.
"Land is extremely important to us. We farm and get our income from it. On this land we bury our dead."
He is among the numerous people opposed to the creation of a large biofuel plantation in the location, about an hour's drive inland from the seaside town of Malindi.
It is an arid location and home to some 20,000 individuals in addition to globally threatened animal and bird species.
Ambitious objectives
An Italian business has asked the authorities for approval to lease 50,000 hectares there to grow jatropha, whose seeds are rich in oil that can be turned into bio-diesel.
This plant, initially from South America, has long been grown in Africa as a hedge to keep out animals - goats remain well away as it is poisonous. The location affected is neighborhood land which is being kept in trust by the local council.
Kenya Jatropha Energy Ltd is 100%-owned by the Milan-based Nuove Iniziative Industriali SRL.
It has rented nearly a million hectares in Africa
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Kenyans Fear Dakatcha Woodlands Biofuel Expansion
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