Kenyans fear Dakatcha Woodlands biofuel expansion
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 livelihood from it. On this land we bury our dead."
He is among the numerous people opposed to the development of a big biofuel plantation in the area, about an hour's drive inland from the coastal town of Malindi.
It is a dry area and home to some 20,000 individuals in addition to globally threatened animal and bird types.
Ambitious goals
An Italian company has asked the authorities for consent to lease 50,000 hectares there to grow jatropha, 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 remain well away as it is harmful. The area impacted is community land which is being kept in trust by the regional council.
Kenya Jatropha Energy Ltd is 100%-owned by the Milan-based Nuove Iniziative Industriali SRL.
It has actually rented practically a million hectares in Africa
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Kenyans Fear Dakatcha Woodlands Biofuel Expansion
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