app_settings.py

from helpers import override_settings

KONG_DEFAULT_SERVERNAME = 'ljworld.com'
KONG_DEFAULT_PYTHONPATH = '/home/code'

override_settings(globals())

helpers.py

from django.conf import settings

def override_settings(module_dict):
    """
    Given a dictionary of a module (obtained by calling ``globals``,
    presumably, override any variables also defined in django's
    settings.
    """

    for key in module_dict:
        if not key.startswith('__'):
            try:
                module_dict[key] = getattr(settings, key)
            except AttributeError:
                pass