PELAKITA.ID – Compared to several other villages in Towuti Subdistrict, Tole might not be considered an ideal village.
This is because, to obtain clean water from wells, residents must dig as deep as around 80 meters—even though the village is surrounded by three lakes with abundant water: Lake Matano, Lake Mahalona, and Lake Towuti.
“The water for ablution in our mosque has to be sourced from a depth of 81 meters,” said a friend as we enjoyed a delicious cup of coffee prepared by the village staff, just a short distance from their beautiful mosque.
Despite this, to the writer, Tole is a charming village. It is a result of the division of the original Mahalona Village. Tole has grown with blessings from rice fields, farmlands, and water seeping from a natural pond.
This pond serves as the main source of clean water for local residents, although they must install pipes up to 300 meters from the pond to their homes because digging a well would require going very deep.
When we visited the village, we saw two women drying cloves. “These aren’t from here, sir, they’re from Kolaka,” said one of them. Over time, Tole has developed as a village supported by commodities from rice fields, pepper, and several cocoa trees. Some residents also work as employees at nickel mines.
Aside from pepper, other sources of livelihood exist—such as businesses along the roads, including food stalls, small shops, and building material stores.
The Tole–Mahalona or Libukan route is frequently traveled by passenger vehicles from Morowali or even Kolaka, making the village well-positioned for economic growth—especially if nickel mining activities continue to thrive.
That afternoon, Salama’, a resident originally from Balocci, Pangkep, was leveling a flooded rice field. I asked, “What are you planning to plant, and when will you start?”
“I’m not sure yet, just leveling it for now,” he replied with a smile.
Oh, one thing I didn’t get to ask the people of Tole—where did the village get its name? Was it perhaps inspired by a name starting with Tom…Le…? #eh
Pontada, August 3, 2025
