diff --git a/Examples/python/import_packages/split_modules/vanilla_split/Makefile b/Examples/python/import_packages/split_modules/vanilla_split/Makefile
index c322b5aec..5d1c3521c 100644
--- a/Examples/python/import_packages/split_modules/vanilla_split/Makefile
+++ b/Examples/python/import_packages/split_modules/vanilla_split/Makefile
@@ -19,4 +19,6 @@ static:
 
 clean:
 	$(MAKE) -f $(TOP)/Makefile SRCDIR='$(SRCDIR)' TARGET='foo' python_clean
-	cd pkg1 && $(MAKE) -f $(TOP)/../Makefile SRCDIR='$(SRCDIR)' TARGET='foo' python_clean
+	if test -d pkg1; then \
+		cd pkg1 && $(MAKE) -f $(TOP)/../Makefile SRCDIR='$(SRCDIR)' TARGET='foo' python_clean; \
+	fi