Kenyans fear Dakatcha Woodlands biofuel growth
23 March 2011
By Will Ross
BBC News, Dakatcha
Being 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 suggests shedding blood," he informed the BBC.
"Land is really important to us. We farm and get our income from it. On this land we bury our dead."
He is among the lots of individuals opposed to the creation 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 in addition to globally threatened animal and bird species.
Ambitious goals
An Italian business has asked the authorities for consent 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 stay well away as it is harmful. The location impacted is neighborhood 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 actually rented practically a million hectares in Africa
1
Kenyans Fear Dakatcha Woodlands Biofuel Expansion
Nelle Thring edited this page 3 months ago