diff --git a/android/vm_demo_native/main.cpp b/android/vm_demo_native/main.cpp
index d7ff02e..e1acc05 100644
--- a/android/vm_demo_native/main.cpp
+++ b/android/vm_demo_native/main.cpp
@@ -361,8 +361,10 @@
 
 // This is the main routine that follows the steps in order
 Result<void> inner_main() {
-    TemporaryDir work_dir;
-    std::string work_dir_path(work_dir.path);
+    std::string work_dir_path("/data/local/tmp/vm_demo/");
+    if (mkdir(work_dir_path.c_str(), 0700) == -1 && errno != EEXIST) {
+        return ErrnoError() << "failed to create working directory " << work_dir_path.c_str();
+    }
 
     // Step 1: connect to the virtualizationservice
     unique_fd fd = OR_RETURN(get_service_fd());