A recent trip to New Orleans was spurred by an AFFTA Confluence taking place there this past October 22nd and 23rd. AFFTA stands for the American Fly Fishing Trade Association which represents the community of fly fishing businesses aligned around the sustainable growth of fly fishing. Its members include an array of manufacturers, fly shop owners, guides and other businesses that have a connection to the fly fishing industry. In the past, AFFTA put on the annual business-to-business trade event, IFTD, International Fly Tackle Dealer Show which gave manufacturers an opportunity to cater directly to retailers and shop owners. The last of this type of event occurred two years ago. Now AFFTA is directing more of its attention to climate change, conservation and sales education and trends for retail operations.
Zen has not only been a member of this organization for years, but also participated in the IFTD shows of the past as well as the more recent industry Confluences, like the one that just took place in New Orleans. Members are often big companies like Patagonia, TFO and Ross Reels, just to name a few. Zen Tenkara is an anomaly at these gathers. We are a manufacturer and deal in the global market, but at a much smaller level than most other manufacturing companies. Tenkara is a niche within a niche, and although we are also considered a retailer with direct-to-consumer sales, we typically fall into the small cracks of most industry organizations.
Zen is a manufacturer, but very small scale in comparison. We sell to fly shops but deal with them differently than large companies that have many products. We do direct-to-consumer sales as a retailer, but through e-commerce. We are the oddball at these events for sure. Most of the breakout sessions and education offerings don’t pertain to us. We don’t have human resource issues. Our staff is tiny and intimate. Some of it is contractual, and we don’t own our overseas manufacturing facility. So why do we attend these and remain a member in this organization?
Representation. Each year as I reconsider our participation at these events, I find myself feeling like an ambassador for the tenkara community and industry. As the Whos from Whosville in Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Suess exclaims, “We are Here! We are HERE! WE ARE HERE!” Our voices count and our representation in these organizations is important. It helps shape the industries perception of tenkara and increases our acceptance into the fly fishing world. 
Is this important? I believe it is for a number of reasons. To begin, it opens doors into retail shops which would help tenkara customers have access to gear – to touch and feel gear before buying, and move past the online-only shopping experience. It increases services such as classes, clinics and guided trip offerings that cater to tenkara anglers. And finally, I think one of the most important reasons, it offers those new to fly fishing a segway into the sport without dropping a wad of money on fishing gear while improving their learning trajectory.
People who fall in love with fly fishing and/or tenkara fall in love with their environment and generally speaking, become better caretakers of it. They learn how beautiful and delicate the whole system is and become advocates for conservation, better water and wildlife management, and climate change.