Kenyans fear Dakatcha Woodlands biofuel growth
23 March 2011
By Will Ross
BBC News, Dakatcha
Being 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 means shedding blood," he told the BBC.
"Land is really crucial to us. We farm and get our income from it. On this land we bury our dead."
He is among the lots of people opposed to the production of a big biofuel plantation in the location, about an hour's drive inland from the coastal town of Malindi.
It is a dry location and home to some 20,000 people along with internationally threatened animal and bird types.
Ambitious goals
An Italian business has actually asked the authorities for permission to lease 50,000 hectares there to grow jatropha curcas, whose seeds are rich in oil that can be developed into bio-diesel.
This plant, originally from South America, has long been grown in Africa as a hedge to stay out animals - goats stay well away as it is toxic. The location affected is community 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 rented nearly a million hectares in Africa
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Kenyans Fear Dakatcha Woodlands Biofuel Expansion
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