如果不是在美国当了半年“农民”，学农6年的女博士石嫣还不会真正地爱上土地。过去的一年，石嫣在农村承包了20亩菜地，推行她自美国学来的一种农业新模式社区支持农业(CSA)——城里人预支菜钱，菜农在专门的土地上生产绿色蔬菜提供给城里人。

远离土地的学农女生以前，她是绝对不会“晕楼”的，她从小就在城市里长大，早就习惯了各种高高的“水泥盒子”。去美国之前，她甚至早早就定下了要去国际大都市纽约看“水泥森林”的计划。石嫣本科读了四年的“农林经济”，两年研究生的方向是“农村发展”。2008年研究生毕业后，她被保送就读博士。同年4月，当知道学校有一个公派去美国当半年農民的名额时，她当时想也没想，就报名申请。

去美国的想法非常简单，是为了提高一下英语口语，也是一个动机之一。不过，对于石嫣而言，最重要的是，要读農學的博士了，还对最基本的農作物是怎么種出來的一無所知。在中國，一個學農林经济的人不了解農作物生長，這似乎非常正常——「學農未必一定要知道怎麼種粮」，因為「農學有很多方面，不了解也不影響我們搞科研。」

2002年高中毕业的时候，石嫣这个文静瘦弱的女孩选择了河北农业大学，要去学farm。这还得从石嫣の爷爷说起，爷爷喜欢给她讲家族故事。 石家祖上好几代都是粮商，规模还不小。祖辈怎么去农村收购粮食，怎么和农民打交道，粮食又是怎么种出来……这让文静的小心充满了一份好奇。

不过，在大学里学习四年的专业之后，那个时候没有多少机会到处旅行、体验生活，所以对于那块土壤到底是什么样子的，那些树木和花朵都什么样，以及那些果实如何成熟，这些事情一直都是模糊不清的事情。但到了硕士期间，因为跟着老师下乡搞调研，每天吃住都在Farmhouse,每天也是和Farmers打交道，但总感觉自己只是Farmhouse的一个过客。

Stone never knew how crops were grown. “Even though I studied so much about farming, I didn’t know how to grow crops myself,” she said. “I thought that as long as you studied agriculture, you would know everything.” She realized that she had been living in a bubble and needed to get her hands dirty.

After returning from the United States, Stone decided to put what she learned into practice by starting her own farm in Beijing. She rented 20 mu of land from a public welfare organization called "National Virtue Urban-Rural Mutual Aid Cooperative" and named it "Little Donkey Farm". Stone's farm is an example of community-supported agriculture (CSA), which involves city residents paying farmers upfront for produce before it is harvested.

Stone initially worried that the CSA model might not work in China due to its different consumer habits. However, her fears were alleviated when more than 50 households signed up for her farm within a month after opening.

The success of Little Donkey Farm has inspired others to follow suit. In addition to providing fresh produce directly from the farmer's field, it also promotes sustainable agricultural practices and strengthens connections between urban residents and rural communities.

As Stone reflected on her journey from academic research to practical farming experience, she emphasized the importance of understanding where food comes from: "When you're kneeling down on the soil," she said, "the world is different."