Mission

Muddy Hands is a platform offering consulting, design, and education in natural and sustainable building practices. We work with experienced designers, builders, and teachers who form a collaborative community dedicated to finding sustainable solutions for the build environment and advancing natural building industry.

Muddy Hands is a resource for natural building education and maintains a directory of recommended builders and the services they offer. Services include design and construction drawings (including county-ready plans), consultations, connections to experienced building teams, specialized plastering and wall finishes, specialty earthen floors, and more.

 We also provide hands-on educational opportunities—workshops, work parties, and other resources—to help clients and communities participate in and achieve their goals for naturally built structures.

Muddy Hands connects clients with builders who provide services tailored to each project’s needs. Our directory brings together professionals who have worked both independently and collaboratively on a range of projects over the years. Muddy Hands fosters collaborations among builders to support clients in creating natural structures.

History

Amanda Fischer is the founder and organizer of Muddy Hands and project manager, architectural designer and plaster artisan for Healthy Home Artisans Inc. She is a designer, teacher, builder, project manager, adventurer, doula, traveler and avid learner!  Amanda has been designing, building and teaching conscious and sustainable structures for over 10 years. Prior to this, she attended university and holds a Masters of Architecture with a focus on Interior Architecture & Design and a minor in Business.  She taught as an Instructor in universities on the east coast prior to moving to Northern California where she obtained a certification as a Sustainable Building Advisor in San Francisco. This certification guides her in promoting sustainability through all stages of our built environments.  It also guided her to passionately dive into the Natural Building industry which she has been specifically focused on for the last years. Upon diving into the natural building realm, she has had the pleasure of learning from and co-instructing with Michael Smith author of the Hand Sculpted House.  She volunteered her time learning as much as she could during the beginning stages of her journey and has ambitiously embarked on teaching and building with these amazing natural building techniques. Amanda has worked on structures throughout Northern California and Thailand; teaching these skills to all enthusiasts that come her way.  

Amanda’s passion focuses on the art of empowerment through the use of natural and renewable materials to create spaces. As an ever evolving teacher, builder and designer Amanda focuses on creating built environments that inspire deeper relationships with the land, habitat and home by utilizing natural and locally sourced materials to create spirit filled spaces! Education and community are extremely important to her; she continues to teach workshops in California and beyond spreading the love and knowledge that reconnects us and home.

Amanda is currently building and teaching in Nevada County, California.