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 bold.

"We are not going to let this land go even if it indicates shedding blood," he informed the BBC.

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

He is among the numerous 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 a dry area and home to some 20,000 people as well as globally threatened animal and bird types.

Ambitious goals

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

This plant, initially from South America, has long been grown in Africa as a hedge to keep out animals - goats remain well away as it is toxic. The location impacted is neighborhood land which is being held in trust by the local council.

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

It has actually leased nearly a million hectares in Africa