Using a binary package with pip requires "a compiler and all of the development libraries", which GP said he doesn't want to do.
Personally I gave up a while ago and now I do "apt-get build-essential python-dev" on every new server, but it's not ideal. I really like the approach outlined in https://hynek.me/articles/python-app-deployment-with-native-... , but haven't gotten around to implementing it.
