diff --git a/build.py b/build.py
index eba4878e..cdaf25f6 100644
--- a/build.py
+++ b/build.py
@@ -1,8 +1,11 @@
+import os
+
+
 def create_mo_files(setup_kwargs):
     from babel.messages.frontend import compile_catalog
 
     cmd = compile_catalog()
-    cmd.directory = "canaille/translations"
+    cmd.directory = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "canaille", "translations")
     cmd.quiet = True
     cmd.statistics = True
     cmd.finalize_options()