diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index af1f246..865ab9d 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -3,4 +3,6 @@
 .vagrant/*
 *.swp
 gitian.sigs/*
+local/*
+!local/README.md
 zcash-binaries/*
diff --git a/local/README.md b/local/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..081d896
--- /dev/null
+++ b/local/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+local/
+======
+
+This directory is intended for content that is local to your work area, and
+not intended to be tracked by version control.
+
+This file is here to make git track the existence of this directory (git doesn't
+track empty directories).