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 Woodlands, Joshua Kahindi Pekeshe is defiant.
"We are not going to let this land go even if it indicates shedding blood," he informed the BBC.
"Land is really essential to us. We farm and get our livelihood from it. On this land we bury our dead."
He is one of the lots of individuals opposed to the development of a big biofuel plantation in the location, about an hour's drive inland from the coastal town of Malindi.
It is an arid location and home to some 20,000 people along with globally threatened animal and bird types.
Ambitious objectives
An Italian company has actually asked the authorities for permission to lease 50,000 hectares there to grow jatropha, 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 stay out animals - goats remain well away as it is harmful. The area affected is community land which is being held in trust by the local council.
Kenya jatropha curcas Energy Ltd is 100%-owned by the Milan-based Nuove Iniziative Industriali SRL.
It has rented almost a million hectares in Africa
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Kenyans Fear Dakatcha Woodlands Biofuel Expansion
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