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 indicates shedding blood," he informed the BBC.

"Land is very crucial to us. We farm and get our income from it. On this land we bury our dead."

He is one of the numerous individuals opposed to the creation of a big biofuel plantation in the area, about an hour's drive inland from the seaside town of Malindi.

It is a dry location and home to some 20,000 people as well as internationally threatened animal and bird species.

Ambitious objectives

An Italian business 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 developed into 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 area impacted 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 leased nearly a million hectares in Africa