diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 291b19164..38106c801 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@ if(SLS_BUILD_ONLY_MOENCH)
 endif()
 
 
+
 set(ClangFormat_EXCLUDE_PATTERNS    "build/" 
                                     "libs/" 
                                     "slsDetectorCalibration/" 
@@ -102,6 +103,7 @@ else()
 endif()
 
 
+
 #Add two fake libraries to manage options
 add_library(slsProjectOptions INTERFACE)
 add_library(slsProjectWarnings INTERFACE)
@@ -224,8 +226,8 @@ if (SLS_USE_INTEGRATION_TESTS)
 endif (SLS_USE_INTEGRATION_TESTS)
 
 if (SLS_USE_PYTHON)
-    find_package (Python 3.6 COMPONENTS Interpreter Development)
-    add_subdirectory(libs/pybind11)
+    # find_package (Python 3.6 COMPONENTS Interpreter Development)
+    # add_subdirectory(libs/pybind11)
     add_subdirectory(python)
 endif(SLS_USE_PYTHON)
 
diff --git a/python/CMakeLists.txt b/python/CMakeLists.txt
index 21c02761a..6e4563b36 100755
--- a/python/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/python/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,6 +1,17 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: LGPL-3.0-or-other
 # Copyright (C) 2021 Contributors to the SLS Detector Package
 
+if (CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR STREQUAL CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR)
+    #if we are only building the python extension
+    cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.12)    
+    project(slsdet)
+    find_package(slsDetectorPackage 6 REQUIRED)
+endif()
+
+
+find_package (Python 3.6 COMPONENTS Interpreter Development)
+add_subdirectory(../libs/pybind11  ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/bin/)
+
 pybind11_add_module(_slsdet 
     src/main.cpp 
     src/enums.cpp