diff --git a/bin/configuration.py b/bin/configuration.py
index 8068da6..763faf8 100644
--- a/bin/configuration.py
+++ b/bin/configuration.py
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ surveys should be under $HOME/etc/surveys/*.yaml. In both cases,
 $HOME is the home directory of the user running this script.
 """
 
-prefix = os.environ.get("HOME", ".")
+prefix = os.environ.get("DOUGAL_ROOT", os.environ.get("HOME", ".")+"/software")
 
 def read (file = None):
 	if file is None: