diff --git a/fractal-gtk/build.rs b/fractal-gtk/build.rs
index 22fa29a0..11ec44a8 100644
--- a/fractal-gtk/build.rs
+++ b/fractal-gtk/build.rs
@@ -13,8 +13,9 @@ fn main() {
         .unwrap();
 
     // Generating build globals
+    let default_locales = "./fractal-gtk/po".to_string();
     let out_dir = env::var("OUT_DIR").unwrap();
-    let localedir = env::var("FRACTAL_LOCALEDIR").unwrap();
+    let localedir = env::var("FRACTAL_LOCALEDIR").unwrap_or(default_locales);
     let dest_path = Path::new(&out_dir).join("build_globals.rs");
     let mut f = File::create(&dest_path).unwrap();