Django - how do I select a particular column from a model?

Use values() or values_list().

If you use values(), You'll end up with a list of dictionaries (technically a ValuesQuerySet)

instance = MyModel.objects.values('description')[0]
description = instance['description']

If you use values_list(), you'll end up with a list of tuples

instance = MyModel.objects.values_list('description')[0]
description = instance[0]

Or if you're just getting one value like in this case, you can use the flat=True kwarg with values_list to get a simple list of values

description = MyModel.objects.values_list('description', flat=True)[0]

See the official documentation

Use the only method. Please read the documentation