diff --git a/init.el b/init.el
index 847ecae..828084f 100644
--- a/init.el
+++ b/init.el
@@ -29,6 +29,9 @@
       package-user-dir (expand-file-name "var/elpa"
                                          user-emacs-directory))
 
+;; if this is not here, init.el fails to load from a freshly-initialized repo
+(use-package llama)
+
 ;; no-littering
 (use-package no-littering
   :defer nil