He was "the first Filipino to receive the Rolex Award for Enterprise" in 2008 for his invention of a low-cost and environment friendly rice husk stove.
[3] He serves as the incumbent chair of the Agricultural Engineering and Environmental Management department of Central Philippine University.
As an expert, he had already designed thirty devices such as paddy dryers and water pumps which can be used by low-income Filipino farmers.
Belonio used good engineering and ample ventilation for his stove, which is characterized by a small fan that is powered either by grid electricity or batteries, producing a more efficient burn of the rice husks.
It does not produce any smoke and the burnt rice husks can still be used as coal and also as insulating cement for traditional stoves fueled by wood.