Raised by a single working mother, Julio created a restaurant that means 45 single mothers don’t have to choose between work and their kids. This is the story of AMA and how Intrepid travellers are helping build a community.
The first thing you notice at AMA restaurant in Urubamba, a 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 bite to eat but slip into an age-old proverb being brought to life: It takes a village.
A little oasis in a large town
Intrepid has been partnering with AMA since 2019, accounting for roughly 95% of the restaurant’s business, bringing small groups by, often en route to Machu Picchu, to hear stories from the single mothers and learn what inspired Julio to start AMA.
Visitors settle on to the front porch with a hot cocoa or coffee and a chocolate brownie – served in handmade ceramic mugs and plates no less – while Julio comes by to tell you the AMA story.
The women who run the show go about their day, knitting at tables with children beside them, whipping up meals in the kitchen with local ingredients or tending to the gardens in the large yard and manning the boutique. Visitors can linger over their hot chocolate or stroll the grounds, browse and shop shelves of handmade goods crafted by women from communities throughout the Sacred Valley.
Every purchase and visit directly supports a growing number of local women, most of them single mums. The restaurant and shop offer employment, training programmes, communal childminding, nutrition initiatives for kids and a fair-trade craft business. And Julio has plans to expand.
Julio’s story
Julio and his four siblings were raised by their single working mum, Giovanna, in Andahuaylas, which sits high up in the Andes’ Sacred Valley mountains, about seven hours from Cusco. Julio was the first of five kids, born when Giovanna was 19 years old. When Julio was young, she travelled from her small community to Lima, believing she would find better opportunities for herself and her children in a big city.
Julio remembers how she tried to study but it didn’t work out; she tried to start a business, but that didn’t pan out either. While raising Julio and his four brothers by herself, she never stopped pouring whatever energy, money and time she had into her children’s education.
After studying maths and science at university, Julio travelled around Peru for a year before settling down in Urubamba in 2018. He spent time in the cities, jungles and mountains, but 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 observed a lot about his country during that year of travel, but he kept noticing how many other women were in the same position Giovanna had once been in. ‘Many ladies from the community have good energy, talent and knowledge, but no have opportunities… And it’s the reason why I took the decision to move to Cusco and bring opportunities to these women,’ he explains.
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An idea is born
That’s why AMA – which means love in Spanish – was created. Julio grew up eating Giovanna’s food, and he’s certain the not-so-secret ingredient behind their delicious family meals was love. He wanted to bring that same magic to AMA, which offers single mothers in Peru’s Sacred Valley a way to work without having to choose between an income and their kids.
Single mothers in this region often face significant challenges, from limited job opportunities and financial strain to social stigma and the constant logistics 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, currently, 45 women from five regions in the Sacred Valley are working without sacrificing time with their children.
Lupe’s story
AMA’s head chef Lupita Castro Arias, or Lupe as she’s known, has an 18-year-old son named Jean Piero. Lupe separated from her husband when Jean Piero 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 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.’
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The star ingredient
Julio learned the importance of not giving up from his mum. He says he knows how incredible it is 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,’ he says.
The long-time partnership with Intrepid and all the travellers who have passed through his doors have helped Julio to push forward with those dreams, expanding his offering into local schools. While working with the women, Julio learned that many kids were going to school hungry having only had tea, water and bread for breakfast. So, AMA established a community initiative to deliver breakfasts to children in school. Using a peer-to-peer model, AMA chefs teach local mothers how to prepare nutritious recipes from local ingredients. This breakfast initiative operates through the school system so the benefits are shared across entire communities. In 2025, AMA delivered 500 breakfasts to school children. Their goal for 2026 is 2000 and 10,000 in 2027.
In 2027, in addition to the many Intrepid trips that pop by for a visit as they pass through the Sacred Valley, a new experience on Intrepid’s Peru: Women’s Expedition will introduce travellers to the craft of chocolate-making in a hands-on workshop led by the women of AMA.
Beyond that, Julio is looking for a new space for AMA and hopes to expand AMA into a community open kitchen project near the market where tourists can take cooking classes with AMA’s chefs using locally sourced ingredients.
AMA’s proof that it takes a village – not just to raise a child, but to build a community where everyone can thrive. Whether you live in that village or pop by to visit the people who call it home and who are actively working to make it better, you leave understanding that believing in yourself goes a long way.
Find out how your travels can create real change with The Intrepid Effect. You too can visit AMA restaurant on various Intrepid trips into the Sacred Valley, including Inca Trail Express and Peru: Women’s Expedition.
