diff --git a/src/helpers.rs b/src/helpers.rs
index 26031bc8..52d26f0d 100644
--- a/src/helpers.rs
+++ b/src/helpers.rs
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+use std::env;
 use std::fmt::Debug;
 use std::fs;
 use std::io;
@@ -44,10 +45,34 @@ mod crate_name;
 pub use crate_name::CrateName;
 
 pub fn cargo_home() -> Result<&'static Path, io::Error> {
+    fn cargo_home_inner() -> Result<PathBuf, io::Error> {
+        if let Some(p) = env::var_os("CARGO_HOME") {
+            let p = PathBuf::from(p);
+            debug!("using CARGO_HOME ({})", p.display());
+            return Ok(p);
+        }
+
+        // Standard $HOME/.cargo/bin
+        if let Some(mut d) = dirs::home_dir() {
+            d.push(".cargo");
+
+            if d.exists() {
+                debug!("using $HOME/.cargo: {}", d.display());
+
+                return Ok(d);
+            }
+        }
+
+        Err(io::Error::new(
+            io::ErrorKind::NotFound,
+            "Failed to detect cargo home",
+        ))
+    }
+
     static CARGO_HOME: OnceCell<PathBuf> = OnceCell::new();
 
     CARGO_HOME
-        .get_or_try_init(home::cargo_home)
+        .get_or_try_init(cargo_home_inner)
         .map(ops::Deref::deref)
 }