The Oral History Project
The Oral History Project records Seychellois voices, elders and returnees especially, and preserves them with proper consent. Ten good interviews are a cultural archive; a hundred are a national treasure that did not exist before. This page gives you everything to do one well: a consent form, a simple recording workflow and a transcript template, all free and built to the Oral History Association standard.
- Recorded interviews are first-hand experience, the strongest and least fakeable kind of record [ORAL HISTORY ASSN]
- Informed, written consent comes before recording, and the narrator can restrict or withdraw [ORAL HISTORY ASSN]
- Each interview pairs an audio or video recording with a written transcript and a short summary [ORAL HISTORY ASSN]
Every Seselwa elder carries a library. When they go, it burns. The point of this project is simple: sit with them, press record, and keep it. You do not need to be a historian. You need a phone, an afternoon, and consent.
Consent form ↓
Free to download and adapt. Signed before you record. Lets the narrator choose exactly how their words may be used.
Download .txt →Transcript template ↓
The shape of a proper transcript: header, summary, keywords, timestamps and transcriber's notes.
Download .txt →How to record one, in five steps
- Ask, and get consent first. Explain the project, agree what may be shared, and sign the consent form together before recording. Let them pick option A, B or C on how it is used.
- Set up simply. A quiet room, a phone on a stable surface, airplane mode on so calls do not interrupt. Record a ten-second test and play it back. Good sound matters more than good video.
- Ask open questions and then listen. Where were you born, what was the yard like, why did you leave, what was the hardest part, what do you want the grandchildren to know. Then be quiet. The silences are where the real answers come from.
- Log the basics. Name, date, place, language, and a one-line note of what was covered, while it is fresh. Back the file up in two places the same day.
- Transcribe and check. Fill in the transcript template, keep Kreol in Kreol with a short gloss, and let the narrator read it and correct names and dates. Their corrections are part of the record.
Kreol and English, both
Record in whatever language the story wants to be told in, and that will often be Kreol. Where an interview is in Kreol, the transcript stays in Kreol, and any translation is added alongside, never on top. As with the rest of this site, we will not machine-translate a narrator's Kreol into something they did not say; a Kreol transcript is checked by a Kreol speaker.
What happens to it
Send the signed consent and, if you wish, the recording and transcript to hello@seychellesabroad.org. With the narrator's permission we preserve it in the archive and, for option A, publish it here with full credit under CC BY 4.0. You may also simply keep it in your own family. Either way the story is saved, which is the whole point.
- Oral History Association. Principles and Best Practices for Oral History. 2018. original · archived accessed 2026-07-15The discipline's standard for informed consent, recording ethics, transcription and preservation. Our consent form and workflow are built to it.
- FamilySearch (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Seychelles Genealogy (research wiki). original · archived accessed 2026-07-15The practical guide to Seychelles records: civil registration from 1893, Roman Catholic parish registers, cemetery registers from 1903, and where each is held. Some collections need a subscription or a FamilySearch centre.
Cite this page
This page is a stable reference. Its URL will not change, its content is reviewed on a stated cycle, and our original text is licensed CC BY 4.0, so you may quote and reuse it with attribution. Every source above carries a live link and an archived copy.
Seychelles Abroad. (2026, July 15). The Oral History Project. https://seychellesabroad.org/archive/oral-history/“The Oral History Project.” Seychelles Abroad, 15 July 2026, seychellesabroad.org/archive/oral-history/.Seychelles Abroad. “The Oral History Project.” Last reviewed July 15, 2026. https://seychellesabroad.org/archive/oral-history/.