diff --git a/src/Makefile.am b/src/Makefile.am
index d586299cb1586917ad7991c55b40c94f7b4982f8..7e44aed8b9933f4ac03412fa0df1a524267f751b 100644
--- a/src/Makefile.am
+++ b/src/Makefile.am
@@ -1,4 +1,8 @@
-SUBDIRS = include test parser mso liborcus spreadsheet python
+SUBDIRS = include test parser mso liborcus spreadsheet
+
+if BUILD_PYTHON
+SUBDIRS += python
+endif
 
 AM_CPPFLAGS = \
 	-I$(top_srcdir)/include \