MANILA, Philippines—Seeing rice husk left on the fields in Iloilo where he taught as an agriculture professor, Alexis Belonio thought of putting them it to good use: he invented a stove powered by rice husk, whose leftover ashes he used either as a fertilizer or a raw material for fiber cement boards.
For providing a clean alternative to stoves powered by costly fuels like liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), the 49-year-old Belonio received the associate laureate citation of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise in 2008.
He is the first Filipino to get the citation from the luxurious wristwatch brand which annually honors outstanding projects for the poor around the world.
There are already a few cooking stoves fueled by rice husk, a common sight in countries like the Philippines where rice is the staple food. Belonio said the country generates about two million tons of rice husk every year. continue reading...
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