diff --git a/srcpkgs/slang/template b/srcpkgs/slang/template
index b09e8ae7c5d..09555595385 100644
--- a/srcpkgs/slang/template
+++ b/srcpkgs/slang/template
@@ -16,6 +16,12 @@ checksum=9a8257a9a2a55099af858b13338dc8f3a06dd2069f46f0df2c9c3bb84a01d5db
 
 conf_files="/etc/slsh.rc"
 
+pre_configure() {
+	# configure test fails to detect termcap implementation if
+	# /usr/share/terminfo does not exist.
+	install -d /usr/share/terminfo
+}
+
 post_configure() {
 	sed '/RPATH/d' -i slsh/Makefile modules/Makefile
 }