The Doi Kham Royal Project was begun when King Bhumibol Adulyej visited Chiang Mai during the cool season in 1964. The number of people growing opium poppies was increasing. At the king's command, the royal project was created to provide alternative sources of income for hill-tribe villages that formerly relied on opium production and slash and burn farming. All of products of the Doi Kham Company are produced by the royal project.