Kenyans fear Dakatcha Woodlands biofuel growth

23 March 2011

By Will Ross

BBC News, Dakatcha

Sitting in the shade of a tree next to 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 implies 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 among the numerous individuals opposed to the development of a big biofuel plantation in the area, about an hour's drive inland from the coastal town of Malindi.

It is an arid location and home to some 20,000 individuals along with globally threatened animal and bird types.

Ambitious goals

An Italian business has actually asked the authorities for permission to lease 50,000 hectares there to grow jatropha, whose seeds are rich in oil that can be turned into bio-diesel.

This plant, originally from South America, has actually long been grown in Africa as a hedge to stay out animals - goats remain well away as it is toxic. The location affected is community land which is being kept in trust by the regional council.

Kenya Jatropha Energy Ltd is 100%-owned by the Milan-based Nuove Iniziative Industriali SRL.

It has actually rented practically a million hectares in Africa