Paul (Paulo) likes to say “we’re writing a new story” about
community, collective work, and environmental respect.
Dr.
Paul B. Siegel, Ph.D. has been a Rural Development Consultant with the World
Bank for more than 20 years working in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe,
Middle East, and Latin America.
The
focus of Dr. Siegel’s research and many of his publications have focused on community
development, economic diversification, agricultural policy, environmental
economics, and most recently conceptualizing and applying the asset base
approach and social risk management.
A lecturer
at Tennessee University and
Virginia Polytech, Dr.
Siegel served as Department Head of Economics & Management,
Tel Hai College, Israel where he lived on kibbutz.
My experience living on kibbutz had significant impact on my
personal and professional development, shaped my sense of identity, enriched my
connection with community, and a desire for a simple life in balance with the
land and nature.

Paul attributes kibbutz with his appreciation for communal living, collective work, and being close to nature with living on kibbutz. Interestingly, it was his experience living in Israel that generated interest in Costa Rica and more specifically Finca Rio Perla, which he would eventually call home.

That first visit to Finca Rio Perla was like a dream; so green, so serene, so
beautiful it was literally breathtaking…almost without words….
Because
I am a writer, “without words” may sound strange, and yet each time we’ve
returned it’s been like re-dreaming a dream...good dream.
As my company name Peace of Paper Productions indicates, peace is the mantra that guides my mind and my work and I
have often envisioned a place where writers could “write in peace”… free from pressures, responsibilities, and distractions; write.
Surrounded
by spectacular waterfalls, tranquil, cool, and very green, I can say Finca Rica
Perla is a writer’s dream. In fact, it is our amazing waterfalls; the
mystical powers of water; and the pure, clean, refreshing energy of the river
that makes Finca Rio Perla that right place for writers.