In 1997, the Doi Num Sub project was started in Chiang Rai, located in northern Thailand, by community development students from the National Institution of Development Administration (NIDA) who observed that the communities grew and used herbs for their own culinary and medicinal uses. The mission of the project was to encourage these impoverished communities to increase their production of these organic herbs to secure a source of stable income.

　　　 The project was first supported by the Chiang Rai Community Development Fund under the Ministry of Interior, Thailand. Since then, the project has grown, creating a multitude of jobs for these communities, sharing traditional Thai herbal knowledge from the communities, and processing raw materials into health and beauty products to help distribution, maintaining loyalty, fairness, and equality with the communities.

Northern Thailand, in particular the Chiang Rai Province, Thailand northernmost mountain which shares borders with Myanmar and Laos, was a victim of drug trafficking. The hill tribes found the cultivation of poppy flower (the source of opium) a source of income, but the use of opium caused unrest, production was unreliable, and excessive growth damaged the land.

The Royal Project (initiated by the King of Thailand) aimed to eradicate this cultivation by substituting with cash crops such as fruits and flowers, providing alternative jobs, in order to improve the living environment for these people. The Doi Num Sub Project is part of this project to change the way these communities live, by supporting the growth of herbal plants and tea in these areas.

As a community business, the Doi Num Sub Project operates on a different philosophy to a regular business, aiming for sufficiency and enhancement of quality of life, rather than the highest monetary benefit. The project objectives place emphasis on development of the community, co-operation, self-support, and to create opportunities and hope for the people.

The meaning of Doi Num Sub is the mountain that collects water, referring to the rich soil and vast amounts of ground water that gathers in brooks and flows into rivers, keeping the land fertile. A name that represents the growing opportunities for these communities in the future.

Doi Num Sub products emphasize on utilizing traditional Thai herbal knowledge and medical cures, to increase value of the harvested crops, and to give opportunities to other groups in the community. The sauna tent, one of Doi Num Sub products, uses cotton fabric hand woven by the locals. Today, Doi Num Sub exports to many countries, sharing products of quality and care from the communities of Chiang Rai.

Tent patent certification	Project activity licence	Department of Commerce prime export product certificiation mark
2005 Prime Minister export award (presented by former PM Taksin)		2007 OTOP Next Generation Top 10 (presented by current PM Surayuto)
Doi Num Sub Project Affiliates (Thailand) DEP Department of Commerce bureau of export promotion Ministry of Health Ministry of Science and Technology Education Research Organisation (TISTR) (Japan) Thai government trade center Doi Num Sub Project Awards 2003: OTOP product champion (5 stars) 2003: Brand Name from Department of Commerce 2005: Scientific and Technical Research Organization (TISTR) quality inspection certificate 2005: Prime Minister Export Award 2006: Licence to open school from Ministry of Education 2006: Thai government planning Trade Center in Osaka 2007: OTOP Next Generation Top 10 Award Exhibitions and Appearances Pacific Flora 2004 Tokyo Beauty World 2005~2007 Health and Beauty Show 2001~2006 Tokyo Gift Show 2007 * We'd appreciate many customers who helped us to promote our 　 project.