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<br>Kenyans fear Dakatcha Woodlands [biofuel](https://stocktwits.com/symbol/MNEL) expansion<br> |
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<br>23 March 2011<br> |
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<br>By Will Ross<br> |
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<br>BBC News, Dakatcha<br> |
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<br>Being in the shade of a tree beside his thatched mud hut in in Kenya's Dakatcha Woodlands, Joshua Kahindi Pekeshe is defiant.<br> |
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<br>"We are not going to let this land go even if it means shedding blood," he told the BBC.<br> |
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<br>"Land is really crucial to us. We farm and get our livelihood from it. On this land we bury our dead."<br> |
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<br>He is among the numerous people opposed to the development of a big [biofuel](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy) plantation in the area, about an hour's drive inland from the coastal town of Malindi.<br> |
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<br>It is a dry area and home to some 20,000 individuals in addition to globally threatened animal and bird types.<br> |
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<br>Ambitious goals<br> |
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<br>An Italian company has asked the authorities for consent to lease 50,000 hectares there to grow [jatropha](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86), whose seeds are rich in oil that can be developed into bio-diesel.<br> |
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<br>This plant, [originally](https://stocktwits.com/symbol/MNEL) 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.<br> |
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<br>Kenya [Jatropha](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048) Energy Ltd is 100%-owned by the Milan-based Nuove Iniziative Industriali SRL.<br> |
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<br>It has actually rented practically a million hectares in Africa |
