diff --git a/lib/php/src/Thrift.php b/lib/php/src/Thrift.php
index 1e8f3fb..ee48092 100644
--- a/lib/php/src/Thrift.php
+++ b/lib/php/src/Thrift.php
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 <?php
 
-include_once PREFIX.'thrift/protocol/TProtocol.php';
+/** Set global THRIFT ROOT automatically via inclusion here */
+if (!isset($GLOBALS['THRIFT_ROOT'])) {
+  $GLOBALS['THRIFT_ROOT'] = dirname(__FILE__);
+}
+include_once $GLOBALS['THRIFT_ROOT'].'/protocol/TProtocol.php';
 
 ?>