Condoms become soccer balls in Africa

8:49 AM, Nov 8, 2013   |    comments
In some parts of rural Africa, handmade balls like this one are often made from old rice bags and tied together with fresh tree bark. Condoms are often used too -- they have a life span of three days when inflated to make a football. This picture was taken outside Pipeline FC, Nhambonda, Mozambique (CNN)
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(CNN) -- A boy takes a condom.

He inflates it slowly, each breath meticulously measured as the creation begins to take shape.

He takes some plastic and carefully wraps it around the condom, ensuring it can't be punctured before using pieces of shredded tire and an old rope to tie around the oddly shaped sphere.

This is football -- rural African style.

No grass, no shoes, just a machete knife on hand to chisel out the thorns which get stuck in the players' feet.

Welcome to Chicome -- a small village in Mozambique, located 150 kilometers off the beaten track and an eight-hour drive through the bush.

Chicome exists without electricity or running water -- instead it lives off the "Three F's": farming, family and football.

"Having less is interesting because it makes us see things in a different way," renowned international photographer Jessica Hilltout told CNN.

"What I know is that everyone says the same thing, how can people be so content?

"Happiness is a state of mind. You see people with so much who are buried in their belongings and burdened by their attachment to possessions.

"Those who have less also have less worries and are more focused on what is essential."

Chicome was one of the places where Hilltout's photos spoke loudest.

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