Gaelic heritage project Stòras Shlèite launches new website and guidance booklet
The library team at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, who manage the Stòras Shlèite Gaelic heritage project, have marked the completion of the first year of the initiative by launching the project’s new website (www.storasshleite.scot). A practical bilingual guidance booklet has also been published for individuals and communities who are thinking about setting up similar projects in their own areas. The guidance booklet is available to download from the project website.
The aim of the project, which received support from Bòrd na Gàidhlig and Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, was to record and preserve the oral traditions and music of the Sleat district in the south of the Isle of Skye and return this to the local community, an to the younger generation in Sleat.
Interviews, stories and local songs were collected during the first year – a selection of which is now available to see and hear on the new website. The site gives people the opportunity to listen to a sample of what has been gathered, including interviews with local people, stories, and songs and music belonging to Sleat, along with explanations of the material and its historical and cultural context.
Alongside the website, the library team has published a guidance booklet that provides step‑by‑step advice for individuals and groups who wish to start a similar local heritage project. The booklet features guidance on:
- how the heritage project was set up;
- what the project team learned through the process;
- collecting and preserving local heritage;
- benefits that came from the project;
- practical advice on community engagement work;
- opportunities for developing the project further.
The hope is that this booklet will assist anyone thinking of creating their own cultural projects and strengthening the heritage of their area and community.
Greg Thomson, Deputy Librarian at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig and project lead, said:
“I am delighted that we are publishing the project’s website and bilingual guidance booklet as we mark the successful end of the first year of Stòras Shlèite. I would like to express my thanks to everyone who supported us while we delivered a project that I think has been important for gathering the culture and language of Sleat in the first instance, and then to use that knowledge in new ways with the younger generation of Gaelic speakers in the area.”
“It has been a real honour for me personally, as someone who has lived in Sleat for 25 years, to collaborate with the local community to record and preserve the voices and stories of local people. We hope that both the website and this new guidance booklet will be useful to this community and inspiring to others who wish to begin heritage projects in their own communities.”
