Socio-Economic Transformation of the Rural Community: A Historical Study of Koluwoka Village, East Sumalata District, North Gorontalo Regency (2010–2022)

Abstract

Prior studies on village division mostly treat social and economic change separately and at a general or national scale, leaving the integrated socioeconomic trajectory of individual coastal villages underexamined; Koluwoka Village, formed in 2010 from the split of Deme I Village, has never been studied academically despite this gap. This study addresses that gap by examining the village's socioeconomic transformation during 2010–2022 using a historical method (heuristics, source criticism, interpretation, historiography) combined with sociological and economic theory. Data were drawn from in-depth interviews with 12 purposively selected informants, field observation, and archival documents, validated through source and technique triangulation. Findings show that division significantly reshaped both social and economic life: socially, interaction patterns shifted, educational awareness rose, and religious values were reinforced amid adaptive lifestyle change; economically, livelihoods diversified beyond fisheries and agriculture, though farming remains dominant. The novelty of this study lies in integrating social and economic data within a single historical framework and in documenting previously unrecorded local primary sources. It contributes to local-history literature on split-off villages and offers a replicable model for similar cases, while also informing more equitable village development policy.