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 bold.
"We are not going to let this land go even if it means shedding blood," he told the BBC.
"Land is very essential to us. We farm and get our income from it. On this land we bury our dead."
He is one of the many individuals opposed to the production of a big biofuel plantation in the location, about an hour's drive inland from the seaside town of Malindi.
It is a dry area and home to some 20,000 individuals as well as worldwide threatened animal and bird species.
Ambitious objectives
An Italian company has actually asked the authorities for authorization to rent 50,000 hectares there to grow jatropha curcas, whose seeds are rich in oil that can be become bio-diesel.
This plant, originally from South America, has long been grown in Africa as a hedge to keep out animals - goats remain well away as it is toxic. The location impacted is community land which is being held in trust by the regional council.
Kenya Jatropha Energy Ltd is 100%-owned by the Milan-based Nuove Iniziative Industriali SRL.
It has leased almost a million hectares in Africa
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Kenyans Fear Dakatcha Woodlands Biofuel Expansion
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