Kenyans fear Dakatcha Woodlands biofuel expansion

23 March 2011

By Will Ross

BBC News, Dakatcha

Sitting 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 extremely essential to us. We farm and get our livelihood from it. On this land we bury our dead."

He is among the lots of individuals opposed to the creation of a large biofuel plantation in the location, about an hour's drive inland from the seaside town of Malindi.

It is a dry location and home to some 20,000 individuals as well as worldwide threatened animal and bird types.

Ambitious goals

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

This plant, originally from South America, has long been grown in Africa as a hedge to keep out animals - goats remain well away as it is harmful. The area affected is community 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 leased practically a million hectares in Africa