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 implies shedding blood," he informed 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 lots of people opposed to the production of a large biofuel plantation in the location, about an hour's drive inland from the coastal town of Malindi.
It is an arid area and home to some 20,000 people as well as internationally threatened animal and bird species.
Ambitious objectives
An Italian business has asked the authorities for approval to rent 50,000 hectares there to grow jatropha curcas, whose seeds are abundant in oil that can be become bio-diesel.
This plant, initially from South America, has actually long been grown in Africa as a hedge to keep out animals - goats remain well away as it is harmful. The area affected is community land which is being held in trust by the regional council.
Kenya Ltd is 100%-owned by the Milan-based Nuove Iniziative Industriali SRL.
It has actually rented nearly a million hectares in Africa
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Kenyans Fear Dakatcha Woodlands Biofuel Expansion
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