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 bold.

"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 livelihood from it. On this land we bury our dead."

He is among the lots of people opposed to the production of a big biofuel plantation in the location, about an hour's drive inland from the coastal town of Malindi.

It is a dry location and home to some 20,000 people along with 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 abundant in oil that can be developed into bio-diesel.

This plant, originally from South America, has long been grown in Africa as a hedge to keep out animals - goats stay well away as it is dangerous. The area affected is neighborhood land which is being kept in trust by the regional council.

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

It has actually leased almost a million hectares in Africa