Its inventors – Dan Rodriguez and Lito Larino of Calamba City (Laguna) – call it "kalan kalikasan", which takes the form of a steel cylinder.
The sides are closed. Fire and heat cannot escape from the cylinder and, therefore, energy produced by the fuel is not wasted.
The stove uses as fuel coconut husk, firewood, and dried young coconut shells commonly thrown as trash.
"When our farmers and villagers begin to use these materials as fuel for this stove, the trees in our forests will be saved," said Rodriguez and Larino in a report sent this writer.
The stove has been found to cook 40 pieces of suman in one setting. It is also good for cooking corn on the cob and peanut for commercial purpose, and for heating bathwater and for cooking big volume of food when there is a village wedding. – Rudy A. Fernandez