diff --git a/pavelib/prereqs.py b/pavelib/prereqs.py
index 220ab9cd5b..753233f6b2 100644
--- a/pavelib/prereqs.py
+++ b/pavelib/prereqs.py
@@ -14,9 +14,15 @@ NPM_REGISTRY = "http://registry.npmjs.org/"
 PYTHON_REQ_FILES = [
     'requirements/edx/pre.txt',
     'requirements/edx/base.txt',
-    'requirements/edx/post.txt'
+    'requirements/edx/post.txt',
 ]
 
+# Developers can have private requirements, for local copies of github repos,
+# or favorite debugging tools, etc.
+PRIVATE_REQS = 'requirements/private.txt'
+if os.path.exists(PRIVATE_REQS):
+    PYTHON_REQ_FILES.append(PRIVATE_REQS)
+
 
 def compute_fingerprint(path_list):
     """