diff --git a/pillar/id/README.md b/pillar/id/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8277b9a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pillar/id/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+This directory can be used for machine-specific pillar data.
diff --git a/pillar/role/README.md b/pillar/role/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..32cc3a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pillar/role/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+This directory is used for role-wide pillar data.