diff --git a/env.sh b/env.sh
index d8c2c5a..e88f121 100644
--- a/env.sh
+++ b/env.sh
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 # sourcing this file is needed to make local development and integration testing work
+export VOLTHA_BASE=$PWD
 
 # load local python virtualenv 
 . venv/bin/activate