Like thousands of other Kenyans who have farmed here for generations, Mutua expects to be moved off his land to pave the way for the nation's largest mining project. A Canadian mining company has discovered the world's largest unmined deposit of titanium in the area. A metallic element that is resistant to corrosion and heat, titanium is used in aircraft, rockets, eyeglass frames, golf clubs and bicycles and in the production of pigments in paints, papers and plastics. When production begins in 2002, it will mine 10 percent of the world's known titanium reserves for the next 20 years. Critics say the project will not only jeopardize the way of life for almost 5,000 small farmers, but will also damage the fragile ecosystem of a coastline famed for its palm-fringed beaches, blue lagoons and coral reefs.
Most squatters are subsistence farmers who grow cashew nuts, citrus fruits and coconuts.
Their way of life is traditional, and a deed means little to many of them. Mutua is also irate that compensation is based on land value and not the mineral wealth beneath it. The company says it will also pick up the tab for the farmers' relocation. Goutier said that once mining operations are concluded, her company will rehabilitate the land and hand it back to the title holders. But Dr. Wellington Wamicha, a soil scientist at Nairobi's Kenyatta University, doubts the land would still be suitable for farming.