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 implies 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 many 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 area and home to some 20,000 people in addition to worldwide threatened animal and bird types.

Ambitious goals

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

This plant, initially from South America, has actually long been grown in Africa as a hedge to stay out animals - goats stay well away as it is dangerous. The area impacted is community 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 nearly a million hectares in Africa