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 informed the BBC.
"Land is extremely important to us. We farm and get our income from it. On this land we bury our dead."
He is one of the many people opposed to the development of a large 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 individuals in addition to globally threatened animal and bird types.
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, 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 dangerous. The location affected is community land which is being kept in trust by the local council.
Kenya jatropha curcas Energy 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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