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<br>Kenyans fear Dakatcha Woodlands [biofuel](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) expansion<br> |
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<br>23 March 2011<br> |
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<br>By Will Ross<br> |
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<br>BBC News, Dakatcha<br> |
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<br>Being in the shade of a tree beside his thatched mud hut in in Kenya's Dakatcha Woodlands, Joshua Kahindi Pekeshe is bold.<br> |
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<br>"We are not going to let this land go even if it means shedding blood," he informed the BBC.<br> |
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<br>"Land is very crucial to us. We farm and get our livelihood from it. On this land we bury our dead."<br> |
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<br>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.<br> |
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<br>It is a dry location and home to some 20,000 people along with worldwide threatened animal and bird types.<br> |
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<br>Ambitious goals<br> |
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<br>An Italian business has asked the authorities for consent to lease 50,000 hectares there to grow [jatropha curcas](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm), whose seeds are abundant in oil that can be developed into bio-diesel.<br> |
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<br>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](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159352/mission-newenergy-debt-free-focused-on-biofuel-joint-venture-60797.html).<br> |
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<br>Kenya [jatropha curcas](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159346/mission-newenergy-delivers-maiden-biodiesel-production-to-global-oil-major-24476.html) Energy Ltd is 100%-owned by the Milan-based Nuove Iniziative Industriali SRL.<br> |
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<br>It has actually leased almost a million hectares in Africa |
