The CBIRD Centre in the village of Sub Tai, in the Pak Chong District of north-eastern Thailand, is one of many such centres across the country, launched by Thailand's Population and Community Development Association in the mid-1980s. These Community-Based Integrated Rural Development Centres confront the twin challenges of low economic development and biodiversity loss through the participation of rural communities in a variety of sustainable livelihood activities.

The residents of Sub Tai had suffered over many decades from economic marginalization and the lack of many basic social services. High local indebtedness had forced many to poach in the neighbouring Khao Yai National Park to supplement low incomes: the CBIRD Centre therefore created a self-help loan group that would encourage conservation practices as a requirement for entry, and the development of environmentally-friendly businesses through providing low-interest loans.