The first thing you notice at AMA restaurant in Urubamba, a small town in Peru’s Sacred Valley, isn’t the food – it’s the tiny voices.
Kids dart through the garden, clambering over a wooden play structure, their giggles carried by the crisp mountain air. Their working single mothers – some in the kitchen stirring pots, others weaving bright wool into sweaters – can keep an eye on them between tasks.
Julio Chemi Sanchez Hernandez, the restaurant’s founder, had a simple dream: to create opportunities for single mothers in the Sacred Valley and offer a space where they and their children could thrive. AMA has become a place where travellers don’t just stop for a meal but slip into an age-old proverb being brought to life: It takes a village.
Intrepid has been partnering with AMA for years, bringing small groups by to hear the stories of the single mothers behind the restaurant and learn what inspired Julio to start it.
Julio settled in Urubamba in 2018 after travelling around his home country of Peru the year before that. After spending time in the cities, jungles and mountains, it was his time in Cusco that left the deepest impact. ‘[In that time] I saw the Sacred Valley and noticed its amazing energy,’ he says. Julio explains that while he found many incredible restaurants and hotels born of that energy in the region, he struggled to find spaces that supported vulnerable people.
That’s why AMA was created. It means love in Spanish. Julio was raised by a single mother and is sure the not-so-secret ingredient behind her delicious food was love. He wanted to bring that same magic to AMA. ‘It’s not easy being a single mother, you need to take care of your kids all the time, but they have energy for it all. I see the energy, what is its name? Love. So I chose to work with single mothers,’ he explains.
Single mothers in Peru’s Sacred Valley often face significant challenges, from limited job opportunities and financial strain to social stigma and the burden of childcare. With few support systems, balancing work and family can be tough. AMA addresses these challenges by offering jobs, training and a supportive space where mothers can work without sacrificing time with their children, an option they rarely find elsewhere.
Lupita Castro Arias (Lupe), AMA’s head chef, has a 17-year-old son named Jean Piero. Lupe separated from her husband when her son was seven. She had to work to support him, but employers wouldn’t let her bring her son. ‘I had to leave him with my mom and it was very difficult.’
She met Julio in 2019, when her son was 12, while she was working in restaurants and hotels. When Julio offered her a job at AMA, she couldn’t have been happier.
‘Julio elevates you up the ladder. He has a big heart. That’s why I trust him and he trusts me,’ she says.
Lupe explains that in the Sacred Valley, almost nobody offers single mothers the kind of opportunities AMA provides. Being able to bring her son to work has made a difference for Lupe. ‘Because Julio allowed us to bring our children here, I was able to spend [more time with my son]. The other mothers bring their children, they do their homework. It’s normal, he gives us support for our children.’
Julio shares that while he may not have children himself, he has 45 single working mothers relying on him. ‘That’s 45 families,’ he remarks. ‘I have 45 kids. That’s a lot of responsibility.’
As the son of a single mother, Julio learned the art of not giving up. He says he knows how incredible it is to be able to create something that helps people. ‘If you have something in your mind, you have a dream or you have something to do… continue believing in yourself.’
AMA’s proof that it takes a village – not just to raise a child, but to build a community where everyone can thrive and, as Julio says, believing in yourself is where it all begins.
Intrepid travellers can visit AMA Restaurant on a number of trips in Peru, including Inca Trail Express and Sacred Land of the Incas.
