Among the Amuesha (Yanesha) indigenous people, single women practice agriculture differently and opportunistically construct subsistence strategies differently than most tribal members. Single women cross gender‐defined boundaries that traditionally determined participation in subsistence. Single women cultivate small lowland fields cut from young secondary regrowth. Crop density is high while diversity is lower because crops needing heavy labor are avoided. Crop rotation is delayed, resulting infields that are older than normal. Home gardens are important. In a broader context, creative subsistence strategies are opportunistically developed using child labor, barter, and cash. Off‐farm employment may be important. These trends may represent acculturation or some creative development within the larger trend of feminization of agriculture in Latin America.