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<br>Kenyans fear Dakatcha Woodlands [biofuel](https://www.abnnewswire.net/companies/en/31347/%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%A9%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%97-Mission-NewEnergy-%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%B3%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%94.html/4) 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 extremely important to us. We farm and get our income from it. On this land we bury our dead."<br> |
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<br>He is one of the many people opposed to the development of a big [biofuel](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy) plantation in the location, about an hour's drive inland from the seaside town of Malindi.<br> |
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<br>It is a dry location and home to some 20,000 individuals along with worldwide threatened animal and [bird species](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile).<br> |
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<br>Ambitious goals<br> |
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<br>An Italian company has asked the authorities for [authorization](https://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/ASX:MBT/Mission-NewEnergy-Ltd) to rent 50,000 hectares there to grow [jatropha curcas](https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/0cqd_rb), whose seeds are rich in oil that can be turned 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 stay out animals - goats stay well away as it is harmful. The location affected is neighborhood land which is being held in trust by the regional council.<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 rented nearly a million hectares in Africa |
