Kenyans fear Dakatcha Woodlands biofuel expansion

23 March 2011

By Will Ross

BBC News, Dakatcha

Being in the shade of a tree beside 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 means 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 lots of individuals opposed to the development of a large 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 individuals in addition to worldwide threatened animal and bird species.

Ambitious goals

An Italian company has asked the authorities for permission to rent 50,000 hectares there to grow jatropha curcas, whose seeds are abundant in oil that can be become bio-diesel.

This plant, originally 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 location affected is neighborhood 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 leased almost a million hectares in Africa