diff --git a/dev-python/orjson/orjson-3.6.8-r1.ebuild b/dev-python/orjson/orjson-3.6.8-r1.ebuild
index 1b9979d6e1..cafbf0c287 100644
--- a/dev-python/orjson/orjson-3.6.8-r1.ebuild
+++ b/dev-python/orjson/orjson-3.6.8-r1.ebuild
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 
 EAPI=8
 
+CARGO_OPTIONAL=1
 CRATES="
 	ahash-0.7.6
 	arrayvec-0.7.2