diff --git a/provisioner/puppet-masterless/provisioner.go b/provisioner/puppet-masterless/provisioner.go
index 307ecce38..d96397e41 100644
--- a/provisioner/puppet-masterless/provisioner.go
+++ b/provisioner/puppet-masterless/provisioner.go
@@ -41,6 +41,10 @@ type Config struct {
 	// The directory where files will be uploaded. Packer requires write
 	// permissions in this directory.
 	StagingDir string `mapstructure:"staging_directory"`
+
+	// The directory from which the command will be executed.
+	// Packer requires the directory to exist when running puppet.
+	WorkingDir string `mapstructure:"working_directory"`
 }
 
 type Provisioner struct {
@@ -48,6 +52,7 @@ type Provisioner struct {
 }
 
 type ExecuteTemplate struct {
+	WorkingDir      string
 	FacterVars      string
 	HieraConfigPath string
 	ModulePath      string
@@ -73,7 +78,8 @@ func (p *Provisioner) Prepare(raws ...interface{}) error {
 
 	// Set some defaults
 	if p.config.ExecuteCommand == "" {
-		p.config.ExecuteCommand = "{{.FacterVars}} {{if .Sudo}} sudo -E {{end}}" +
+		p.config.ExecuteCommand = "cd {{.WorkingDir}} && " +
+		    "{{.FacterVars}} {{if .Sudo}} sudo -E {{end}}" +
 			"puppet apply --verbose --modulepath='{{.ModulePath}}' " +
 			"{{if ne .HieraConfigPath \"\"}}--hiera_config='{{.HieraConfigPath}}' {{end}}" +
 			"{{if ne .ManifestDir \"\"}}--manifestdir='{{.ManifestDir}}' {{end}}" +
@@ -85,12 +91,17 @@ func (p *Provisioner) Prepare(raws ...interface{}) error {
 		p.config.StagingDir = "/tmp/packer-puppet-masterless"
 	}
 
+	if p.config.WorkingDir == "" {
+		p.config.StagingDir = p.config.StagingDir
+	}
+
 	// Templates
 	templates := map[string]*string{
 		"hiera_config_path": &p.config.HieraConfigPath,
 		"manifest_file":     &p.config.ManifestFile,
 		"manifest_dir":      &p.config.ManifestDir,
 		"staging_dir":       &p.config.StagingDir,
+		"working_dir":       &p.config.WorkingDir,
 	}
 
 	for n, ptr := range templates {
@@ -256,6 +267,7 @@ func (p *Provisioner) Provision(ui packer.Ui, comm packer.Communicator) error {
 
 	// Execute Puppet
 	command, err := p.config.tpl.Process(p.config.ExecuteCommand, &ExecuteTemplate{
+		WorkingDir:      p.config.WorkingDir,
 		FacterVars:      strings.Join(facterVars, " "),
 		HieraConfigPath: remoteHieraConfigPath,
 		ManifestDir:     remoteManifestDir,
diff --git a/website/source/docs/provisioners/puppet-masterless.html.markdown b/website/source/docs/provisioners/puppet-masterless.html.markdown
index 953dca6ea..4ed566bc6 100644
--- a/website/source/docs/provisioners/puppet-masterless.html.markdown
+++ b/website/source/docs/provisioners/puppet-masterless.html.markdown
@@ -79,12 +79,18 @@ Optional parameters:
   this folder. If the permissions are not correct, use a shell provisioner
   prior to this to configure it properly.
 
+* `working_directory` (string) - This is the directory from which the puppet command
+  will be run. When using hiera with a relative path, this option allows to ensure
+  that he paths are working properly. If not specified, defaults to the value of
+  specified `staging_directory` (or its default value if not specified either).
+
 ## Execute Command
 
 By default, Packer uses the following command (broken across multiple lines
 for readability) to execute Puppet:
 
 ```liquid
+cd {{.WorkingDir}} && \
 {{.FacterVars}}{{if .Sudo}} sudo -E {{end}}puppet apply \
   --verbose \
   --modulepath='{{.ModulePath}}' \
@@ -98,6 +104,7 @@ This command can be customized using the `execute_command` configuration.
 As you can see from the default value above, the value of this configuration
 can contain various template variables, defined below:
 
+* `WorkingDir` - The path from which Puppet will be executed.
 * `FacterVars` - Shell-friendly string of environmental variables used
   to set custom facts configured for this provisioner.
 * `HieraConfigPath` - The path to a hiera configuration file.