Using Rice Husks As Alternative Fuel Source

An engineer from the Philippines has recently invented a clean-burning, cooking stove that runs completely from rice husks.

Cooking stoves that use rice husks are not a new invention since they have been used centuries before, but they also were dirty to use and often toxic to use.  Alexis Belonio found a way to use the rice husks and have them emit clean, non-toxic air.  One pound of rice husk can generate about 20 minutes of cooking.  The stove's greenhouse emissions are half of what fossil fuels generate.  Using rice husks as a primary fuel source can save families $150 a year in kerosene costs, which boils down to about 10% of an impoverished family's income.

 His early gas stoves used to cost about one hundred dollars, which was way too much for low income families.  Working hard, he was able to simplify his design and got the price down to $20.  He also shares his designs over the internet free of charge, which allows people to copy his designs to make their own stoves using their own materials.

Reading this article really made me happy, because I saw someone who genuinely cares about humanity.  He tries to make everything affordable for low-income families, while still caring about the environment.